Quiet Book Pattern - Temple Page

Scroll down for a free pattern printable!

To see the entire quiet book page-by-page click here

This was one of my favorite pages to design and make. It was also one of the easiest:) I tried to make this look like the Idaho Falls Temple, but you could easily tweak it to fit your temple.

Each square is 2 1/2 inches square. They are all attached with simple velcro. Since I wanted the temple blocks to be white, I decided to make the background blue for a sky. I added a little strip of green across the bottom for grass. I considered flowers, trees and sunshine, but I went simple instead.

I found some cool gold shimmery fabric in my mom's stash that I used for Angel Moroni and the door panels. Angel Moroni is cut out in yellow felt, then I stitched around the gold shimmer. He comes off with velcro too.

For fun, the doors on the bottom open to reveal a wedding picture of hubby and me. I didn't have any vinyl, so I cut a square out of a scrapbooking page protector. Add your velcro on the back first, then zigzag 3 sides of your page protector to the square. After adding yellow panels to the doors, stitch down the sides onto the block. Get it? Easy, turned out adorable!

Enjoy a free printable:

{Click for a larger view and to print}

Quiet Book- Car & Road Page

Scroll down for printable pattern pages!

To see the entire quiet book page by page click here

To see details on page size and fabric click here

This page was a blast to make and perfect for my little boy. There's lots to do on this road. The traffic light has velcro pieces that let each color come off. The red garage holds two cars and there are buildings to drive to.

You will need:

Pattern pieces

Thin yellow rick rack, for the yellow line down the road

Black fabric or felt cut to 2 inches

4 buttons for car wheels

Click on pattern pages for full size, print on 8.5x11 and cut.

I found some fun shimmery fabric for the top of the car, I just stitched it on top of the felt and then added buttons. The road and houses are fabric zigzagged on. Have fun arranging and designing your road - I did! You could also add trees, pushes, more buildings, etc.

Linking in with Made by You Monday at Skip to my Lou

and Talented Tuesday at My Frugal Family

and What are Little Boys Made of at 733

and I heart naptime's Chocolate Sundae Scoop

Quiet Book Details

Here are some of the details on my quiet book, so you can get started or finally finish yours!

Each page measures 9x12. It's a good size to fit on a child's lap, but still big enough to make some fun pages. I bought a thick white canvas fabric for all of my pages, I purchased it at Walmart for around $3 per yard. I really like how thick, sturdy and durable the canvas is, only problem, every time you touch it it frays.

After my pages were finished, I arranged them back to back. I really needed to take care of the fraying problem, plus stitch them together, so I used bias tape around the edges. I love the finished look it gives, plus no more fraying. It looks much better than zigzagged pages. I used the "Extra Wide Double Fold" in white.

Now, let's talk cost. I spent about $40 on materials for my quiet book, but it easily could have cost more. Walmart occasionally has their felt on sale for 10 cents, most other craft stores have it for around 25 cents. Keep an eye out for sales! Joann's had 50% off all notions a while ago and I was able to get all my bias tape, velcro, snaps, eyelets and book rings for half off. I also raided my mom's and grandma's scrap fabric.

This book was so much fun to make and I hope it lasts for at least 10 years of sundays! Leave a comment if you have any other questions or I left anything out.

And in other news, I just have to share, today is April 6th right? April, as in springtime! I took this picture of my backyard 20 minutes ago. Winter wonderland, eek! I took it through the back window because it is just way to cold to go outside. Since the weather is so icky, I guess I'll have to stay inside and sew:)

Quiet Book Revealed

I started working on this quiet book for my son on January 1st. Finally, 4 months later, the quiet book is ready to rock n' roll. I will be posting patterns and step-by-step instructions for the individual pages, so keep checking back.

I'm so delighted with this book, I love how it turned out. I do have to confess that I have several more pages in various stages of completion, but I really wanted to get the majority in the book.

I sewed binder rings into my cover so that the pages can go in and out. The back cover has a little pocket for treats or extras.

Feel free to leave a comment with any questions, and I'll work on getting my directions and patterns posted.

For details on page size and fabric, see this post.

Inside Cover: This book belongs to our family
Peek-a-boo mittens with family picture underneath (Click here for printable pattern)


Building blocks for the Idaho Falls Temple (Click here for a free pattern printable)
Noah's Ark with animals inside


Jonah and the Big Fish
Weave King Benjamin's Tower


Red, Yellow, Green Light
Garage, Road, and 2 cars (Click here for a free pattern printable)


Picking the Apples with snaps
Make a Pumpkin Face


Barn with animal finger puppets (Click here for page instructions)
Button flowers and velcro leaves


Tic Tac Toe
Tying a shoe


Mailbox, paper and pen (Click here for page instructions)
Build an ice cream cone (Click here for a free printable pattern)


Matching velcro Shapes
Back cover with pocket


Want to see the quiet book I made for my friend Janette? Click here. To see the quiet book I helped my friend Keree with click here.

Homemade Onion Rings

I don't know what onion rings have to do with April Fool's Day, but what a wonderful dinner it made! I love the gooey batter that covers onion rings, but I wasn't about to pour in a can of beer. I played around with this recipe until I got the right consistency. I used half of a large onion, sliced it and pulled apart the rings. The batter made 20 onion rings, so double or half as needed. Husband suggested we put them on hamburgers, yum!

Husband Rating: 5 stars

1/2 of an onion, about 20 rings

1/2 cup flour + 2 Tbsp.

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup cornmeal

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. baking powder

Dash of black pepper

Dash of chili powder

Oil for frying

Slice onion and separate rings. Place in a bowl of ice water for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together 1/2 cup flour, cornmeal, garlic salt, baking powder, pepper and chili powder. Crack in one egg and 1/2 cup milk. Stir together until smooth. Remove onions from water, pat dry. In a shallow bowl put 2 Tbsp. of flour. Place each onion ring in the flour to cover, then dredge through the batter. (I used a fork to plop in the batter and smear it around, then put it right in the oil.) Fry in oil until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel to cool. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce or on a burger.

I was just thinking too, these would be so easy to freeze and reheat when we're making burgers and craving onion rings! Mmmm . . . .

Strawberry Shortcake

It's that wonderful time of year again, when strawberries are under $4 and actually look red and delicious! I was so delighted when at the grocery store last night I noticed a carton of strawberries for a glorious $1.50. They are fat, red and mmmm so sweet! This isn't a traditional shortcake, but it ends up being spongy and soaks in the delicious strawberry juice. It only makes an 8x8 pan, so double if you have a crowd.

Husband Rating: 4 stars

Cake:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

2 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 and grease your 8x8 baking pan. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating about 4 minutes each time. Stir in vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder and add to creamed mixture, beating well. Stir in milk until batter is smooth, pour into pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until top is golden brown and springs back. Cool and serve.

Strawberry Topping:

1 carton strawberries

2 Tbsp. (or to taste) of sugar

Wash and slice strawberries. In a bowl, mash until strawberries are a juicy liquid. Add sugar. I like my strawberries a little more tart, but add sugar until it tastes good to you. Pour over cooled cake and serve with whipped cream.

Gift for Mom Apron

Just finished this apron for a friend's mom and had to show it off. I love the whimsical sage and flowers combined with the hot pink cheetah print. Sassy and sweet!