a "been-there" mom of six offers encouragement
to wives, young mothers, and those not so young,
and simple common-sense approaches to
the "ings" of life:
child-rearing (hints and helps), homemaking (all areas),
cooking (simple, cheap, and do-it-yourself)
making (toys and gifts), preparing (for the unexpected),
maintaining (sanity and peace in this increasingly crazy world) and more---
all aspects of making the most of making do on little---
and having fun in the process.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

My Quiet Book Project Follow-up

Thankfully my on-going quiet book project* is going to be successful if the prototype was any indication.  We gave it to our granddaughter Wren for her first birthday.  Using 9x12 felt squares for the pages made it almost as big as she was, but as you can see that didn't stop her. 


17 month old Wren and her "special book"

Her parents save the book  for special occasions like when it is necessary for her to sit quietly and be occupied for long periods of time.

On Thanksgiving Day we received a call from our grand-daughter and her husband ---- we are going to be great-grandparents!!! Our first!  Three other grandsons are of marriageable age and I, for some reason, am
not getting any younger, so I must get back on the ball and finish up the rest of the quiet books while I am still around and still able.

*all of my quiet book pages, and how to's, are included on this blog site.

This desert snake page is one of the most popular
But . . .

 I have gotten side-tracked.

Background: My sister, from the time they were little, gave each of our children an ornament for Christmas.
With six children that was a lot of ornaments over the years.  And they all loved it and looked forward to putting their own on the tree each year.  As they got married they took their ornaments with them where they appear each year on their trees. 

We have done the same for our grandchildren (usually buying the ornaments when they are on sale after Christmas for the next year.) 

You wouldn't expect anything else from Simply, Gail the cheapskate would you? !!!

For Wren's first two Christmases we gave her cute, but commercial, bird ornaments.

This year I found a true treasure in Susan and her blog  
Downeast Thunder Farm.  

www.downeastthunderfarm.com 

Susan designs and creates life-like (and almost life-size) birds using felt and generously provides the patterns free of charge! You can even request a bird if you want one that is not already in her on-going collection.
Her only stipulation is they can be used to make a profit.  

When I published this post  yesterday the three below photos showed up in separate places where they belonged. When I looked at it today, where these photos had been, were blank spots with tiny jpeg symbols.  How can/did that happen? I've been trying to fix it for over an hour and this is the best I can manage.  The three are now joined as one!  And probably too small to really see.

Once again, sorry. And thanks for bearing with me.

On the right, Wren is 19 months old and sitting in her car seat with the quiet book
when she was in the car for over an hour on a long drive. Her parents sent this
photo saying "she spent one-half hour on just the mitten page."

The photo on the left is the winter wren ornament I made for Wren for this Christmas.

The middle photo is now-27-month-old Wren hanging her wren on the tree. 
I happened on Susan's site the very week our local fabric/craft store had felt squares on sale for 20 cents each!

No more after Christmas ornament sales for Simply, Gail!

Almost daily, I watch one-to-two hour block of  television and weekly, spend one and one-half hours in a support group for the loved-ones of addicts where we learn and teach how we can  live life without us being addicted to our addict.  (that's  another series of my posts)

Now this down time is being put to additional use!!  So far I have "under construction" cardinals, robins and a "fantasy bird" using the wren pattern in three shades of blue and turquoise.  I do the initial handwork during the TV hours and the around-the-edge blanket stitch during the support group.

Still need to add the beaks on two of them.
I am leaving openings at the bottom of each for the stuffing---
I'll add the stuffing to them later and then finish stitching them up.

Life is good!
Have a happy, peaceful, grateful day!

I am, Simply Gail




Sunday, December 6, 2015

Noah's Ark Quiet Book Page Redesigned ...

because  I haven't been happy with the original way I tried to keep the animals "penned" in (using felt straps) on the ark's ramp.  


I doubt if it has been a bother for our  little granddaughter Wren but I am sure it has been a bit of a pain for her parents when it's time to close that page.

In the middle of last night, an idea came to me on the way to revamp the ramp!

Velcro and shoestrings!

The entire page is constructed the same way as the original except  I cut  both sections of 3/4" wide  velcro in half length-wise to make the sections narrow. Then I sewed the loop parts along the sides of the ark and the smooth parts along the sides of the ramp. 

I only sewed the velcro pieces down the middle of each, not along the edges.

I used shoelaces to string the animals.

You can go to the original instructions for the Noah's Ark page by copying the below into your search bar.  

Be aware, however, that for some reason the first page to come up will be the counting page. Simply scroll down and the ark appears.

http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/search?q=quiet+book+noah%27s+ark

Yes, I am Simply, Gail and I am cheap and I can be creative but I am certainly/obviously NOT computer savvy

 Have a grateful and peaceful day.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the                          world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,                         neither let it be afraid”            
                                                                                                            John 14:27