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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Quiet {Flip} Book

 This is a project I have been working on since June. It's taken me a while, but I am SO happy with how it turned out!! Better than I expected! I'm not sure what to call it yet - it's a quiet book because it's made of cloth, but it's a flip/body/mix & match book... So for now, it's a quiet {flip} book!




Want to see how I did it?
If not, then I'm not really sure what to tell you... {awkward...}
For those that do, here we go!!


I started by getting on the computer and drew/illustrated eight different "people". I divided the page into thirds - heads, arms & body, and legs. I printed out a template to use as a guide to cut the fabric. I also printed out all the people to trace & stitch later.

I bought some thin, white cotton fabric and cut the 3 different sizes 'tabs'. (I would tell you dimensions, but I am still figuring out the pattern.) Since there will be 8 complete 'pages', I needed to cut out a front and back piece for each tab. I ended up with a total of 48 tabs (16 top, 16 middle, 16 bottom). I also cut out one piece of Warm & Natural batting for each tab. Sounds confusing, but hopefully it will all make sense soon.


Next, I got out my handy light board and traced all of my people onto their respective tabs with a water erasable marking pen. I started with the head, then left the fabric there and then traced the body. Same with the legs, just to make sure they lined up & that I was tracing everything centered.

I whipped out my embroidery hoop, huge bag of thread in every color & found a comfy spot on the couch. Then I stitched. And stitched...and stitched some more. Almost every night. Thank goodness for DVR! :) For more instructions on tracing & stitching, see my Fairy Stitchery Tutorial here.


Rinse your stitcheries to get rid of the marker and lay flat to dry. Once they are dry I recommend ironing. That should take care of most wrinkles. Sometimes the wrinkles don't completely come out, even with steam. I did figure out that if you spray your pieces with water with a spray bottle (just enough to be damp), then press your iron on the wrinkled area, it makes a huge difference in getting most of the stubborn wrinkles out.


To finish the tabs, I placed the cotton fabric right sides together (though it didn't really seem to have a right or wrong side) and then sewed them together leaving the left side open to flip. Be sure to clip corners so they will be nice & pointy.

And no, you aren't seeing things. I did change my logo in the middle of this project. I was just too lazy to go back & update the previous photos... don't judge me.


I chose leaving the left side open because that will be the side in the binding.
I folded in the edge & sewed it up. I'm sure there's lots of better ways to do this, but this method works fine for me!


Here is the pile of all the finished tabs! I recommend ironing after this step, too.
You don't have to, but it makes the next step a little easier.


I love when it's time to get the crayons out & color away! It's so fun! Don't be afraid to mix colors like I did on the pants here. Especially if you want a specific color that you don't have with your crayons. I usually try to match the thread color as close as possible. Just be careful when using a dark color crayon next to a lighter thread so you don't accidentally color over it!


Next, it was time to make the covers! I laid out one set of the tabs & measured the length & width, then added about an inch on each side. I had some leftover purple sparkly fabric from my Christmas stockings that I thought would be perfect for this project! I put a layer of batting in between two pieces of fabric for each cover. Then sewed right sides together leaving about a 3 inch gap, then flipped and sewed the hole closed.

With the help of my fantastic helper of a husband, we marked with the water erasable pen where the holes needed to be to bind the pages together. Then I just poked through the dots with a seam ripper, making a hole big enough for the rings to fit through.



After much searching, I finally found some SETS of eyelets in the right size. I found plenty of the one-sided ones. I wanted both front & back to look nice and didn't want the fabric to snag on anything if I had used the one-sided eyelets.



Eyelets are VERY simple to attach. My fingers are a little bruised after putting in 60 of these babies, but other than that it was so simple! I would be happy to do a tutorial on this if anyone is interested. But for now I will just run you through it.

Since I already had holes made, I just needed to clip a little into the hole to be able to push one side of the eyelet in. Then I flipped the fabric over to the back & place the smaller eyelet onto the larger one. Using the eyelet tool, the eyelet face-down on your anvil, tap the stick-tool-thingy with a hammer a few times and that's it!


I put the rings through and had so much fun flipping through it.
Can't wait to show it off & hope my daughter loves it as much as I do!

Here's a few of the "people" of my quiet {flip} book!


I made a pirate, superhero, mermaid, ballerina, hula girl, clown, cowboy and a fairy!

Since all the heads, bodies & legs are separate tabs, you can mix things up!!
 So fun!!

Would you like to comment?

  1. Hours and hours of fun....and I'm pretty sure my kiddos would like it too...hehehe what a great project for keeping tiny hands busy! Thanks so much for sharing that great tutorial!

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  2. OMG I need one for ME! This would keep me distracted in church or when we're on car rides! Forget the kiddos, this one is for me! SO CUTE!

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  3. This is so darn cute, I can hardly stand it!!!
    I would LOVE to have one of these for my little munchkin! :-)
    I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have you link this up for Share the Fun Friday at Little Lucy Lu, if you get a chance!
    (If not ... no worries!)
    AWESOME JOB!
    ~Bec :-)
    http://www.littlelucylu.com

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  4. WOW! How in the world did you stay so concentrated on it?? lol It's so in dept. I'm sure your little will love it.

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  5. This is so cute! Your newest follower form A Creative Princess blog hop! Hope you have a chance to stop by.

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  6. This is so cute! I had one of these growing up and I spent hours with it.

    I would for you to come share at Blog Stalking Thursday!
    http://thecraftyblogstalker.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-stalking-thursday-3.html

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  7. This is amazing-you can tell that you worked so hard on it-and it definitely paid off. WOW! On a yummy side note: The rolo cookies were a hit at my house and at work. Thanks for sharing them. :)

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  8. My goodness that is beautiful!

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  9. I love it! My sister is making my daughter a quiet book, but I don't think it will be quite the same. I might have to get started on this.:) I will be following to see what other ideas you have that I can stea...I mean copy.:)

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  10. I can only imagine the hours it took to make such a gorgeous book! What lucky kids!

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  11. I found your blog through a blog hop. I have my own company selling custom designed party supplies. I am just starting out but, as a stay at home mom trying to make some extra cash doing something I love, I feel like we have some things in common.

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  12. Love this idea - I always loved the flip books as a kid. Just pinned it!
    Cath
    http://dunnntoperfection.blogspot.com

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  13. This is a great little project idea! So great that I decided to feature in my Follow me Fridays post on my blog! Check it out: http://hotmomshelpfultips.blogspot.com/2011/08/follow-me-fridays.html
    Love your projects! -Robyn

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  14. so very cute!!!
    I'm not much of a sewer but I can tell this is a very time consuming piece!!

    Stopping in with Boost My Blog Hop! Pamela@http://anoterote.blogspot.com/

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  15. What a wonderful idea to make for little ones.
    following from boost my blog fridays
    http://www.theordinaryaunt.blogspot.com

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  16. WOW, that is amazing! What a labor of love! My kids would love that though, at least I loved those kinds of books when I was little. However, I never had anything as cool as that. I'm seriously in awe.

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  17. That's a great idea!
    Stopping by from the Friday hops to say hello.
    You can visit me at
    http://poshonabudget.com/2011/08/friday-friend-connect-3.html

    Have a great day!
    POSH

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  18. cute stuff! newest follower from design it chic

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  19. WOW - Super cool. I absolutely love it..
    Hello there.. Officially following you from boost my blog hop today.. Lovely blog.. Awesome posts.. Settling in to read some more.. ;)) Hope you can stop by my blog sometime.. I'm Marilyn from http://theartsygirlconnection.blogspot.com/ .. Ciao :))

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  20. That is amazing, such a lot of work, but so worth it

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  21. This is so cute! I bet it was a lot of work, but so worth it!! I featured this on my Friday 5, have a great weekend!
    www.modernwivelyhood.blogspot.com

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  22. Awesome job, Lindsey! What a treasure for your kiddos!

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  23. I really really love this and am eager to start one of my own, but I am drawing challenged!!:) It's the only thing I'm stumped on! Would you be willing to share/email your templates? Thank you! Kim_howard15@hotmail.com

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  24. This is AMAZING. You can tell that you spent a lot of time on it. I'm sure whoever receives it, will LOVE it.

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  25. wow- this is the cutest thing ever!! if i get started now i just may finish in time for xmas!! Found you on the tater tots and jello party!! =)Tiffany
    Breakfast at Tiffany's

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  26. this is amazing. do you sell these because I would totally buy one!!

    <3
    tia
    http://twobirdsonwire.blogspot.com/

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  27. WOW! That must have taken forever to make!!! Love it, and I'm sure your kids do too!

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  28. This is AMAZING!!! You have put so much work into it. You should be so proud for all the wonderful comments you will receive.
    I found you from SOSSS, because I was featuring just above you with with my card!
    Well DOne, I'm your newest follower!

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  29. This is fantastic! It is such a great idea!!! I am on a quiet book kick lately, and I think this will be the next "page" I do. I love it, love it, love it!

    Thanks for sharing!

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  30. Wow! It looks so cute. My girls would love something like this. I'll have to start sketching.

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  31. This is absolutely adorable! It looks like such a fun project to make for my little one. I was wondering if you would be willing to share your templates with me? I don't have the best drawing skills, and these are so cute! I would really appreciate it. maijagray@gmail.com

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  32. awesome book!! I'm in love with it)))))
    I also like to sew children's toy-books, if interested, can look)))
    http://ledenika.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-post_3624.html

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  33. I absolutely love this project! So much work. I have been experimenting with mixed media fabric adorment as well. I like the combination of thread and fabric paint. There are so many possibilieties. We bought recently a really cute game puzzle that incorporated the same idea of mixing and matching body parts and my daughter loves it. Thank u so much for sharing

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  34. WOW, this is fantastic! My girls LOVED these types of books (they still do) it's always fun to mix & match.

    Would love for you to link this up to the Sunday Showcase - http://momto2poshlildivas.blogspot.com/2011/08/sunday-showcase-81411-link-up-share.html It's a child centered linky party!

    Bernadette

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  35. This is adorable! What a great idea!!! I'm your newest follower! :)
    http://domesticcharm.blogspot.com

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  36. Absolutely amazing, Lindsay!! What a lot of hard work and love you put into that. So cute!! Thank you so much for linking up!

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  37. Amazing! Such a great idea and love that it is on cloth!

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  38. Wow! What a great idea, and what a LOT of work! You put so much time, effort, and creativity into this project! Awesome, awesome job! My son would love something like that. And I have to admit, I want to flip through it and make funny people myself. ;)

    Amy
    oneartmama.blogspot.com

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  39. Oh my! How cute! You are one very talented lady! I'm wondering if you are sharing your patterns? I'd love to make these for my granddaughters for Christmas. dwfillmore@gmail.com

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  40. Coolest quiet book EVER! Love it and wish I had some of your talent! Hope you will share with my Pink Hippo party @ http://pinkapotamus.blogspot.com/2011/08/pink-hippo-party-42.html

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  41. Amazing. This is so cute and such a fun idea. I would love it if you would stop by and share this at the crafty link party going on right now at Lines Across My Face.
    :)Rachel
    http://linesacrossmyface.blogspot.com/2011/08/cure-for-common-monday-4-craft-link.html

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  42. I am speechless…this book is amazing…and I can just imagine all the hours ( I meant months) you have put into it…it’s easily the best quiet book I have seen…wow…I am your newest follower

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  43. I LOVE THIS! It is amazing, thank you for sharing at Calling All Crafters!!!!

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  44. I love this idea so much!


    I'd love for you to link up to our "Crafts for Under Twenty-Somethings" Thursdays this week! It's a blog hop specifically for kids and teens ideas, so your ideas would be perfect! I'll hope you'll come link up this Thursday.

    bearrabbitbear.blogspot.com


    Melanie

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  45. Amazing Job! All of that hard work and time paid off.

    Hopping over from My Junk Drawer.
    Amanda Joy
    www.joyinthejumble.com

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  46. I love it! Do you sell them? They are so creative. Thanks for sharing.

    emileenreynolds@yahoo.com

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  47. OMG...can I love this anymore!!! Adorable and fantastic idea! Great job :)

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  48. Oh how cute!!! You are so talented! Great job!

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  49. This is so awesome, wish I had one when my kids were little!

    I run Fun Family Crafts, a site similar in nature to Craftgawker and Spotlight, but different in that it's a library of craft tutorials geared only at kids. I have featured your fun post here
    http://funfamilycrafts.com/quiet-flip-book/

    FFC also accepts submissions! Please consider this an invitation to submit as many kid friendly craft tutorials as you like. I look forward to seeing what you submit!

    If you would like to display a featured button on your site, you can grab one from the right side bar of your post above.

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  50. I've seen this around the blog world the last few days and wanted to stop by and tell you good job. I'm impressed. I just started a new link party on my blog today and I'd be honored if you'd join up with this. http://caribbeanmissionarywife.blogspot.com/2011/08/t-time-21-and-link-up.html
    have a lovely day, Maria

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  51. O.M.G!!! I LOVE it!! You put so much work into this, and it turned out amazing! I'm going to have to recreate this, although I'm positive I could never make it look as great as yours! Awesome job!! -Juli

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  52. that is super creative idea! great job!
    xoxo

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  53. Ok, you get THE BEST MOM EVER award! Those books are adorable and you have the patience of a saint. I would have quit after my first mistake! Incredible job and thanks for the inspiration and for joining the Pinkalicious Thursday Party! Hope to see another fabulous creation this week!
    XOXO,
    Tasha

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  54. I cannot believe the detail in this and the work that went into it. Absolutely beautiful!

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  55. I just love this!! I wish I could draw because I would love to make it for my daughter. I might have to find someone to draw the people for me because this is just too cute! Thanks for sharing it.

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  56. Oh My Goodness this is amazing! Just a fantastic job! You put SO much work into this, but would you be willing to share your people patterns? Or at least kind of tell me how you did it on the computer? If not, I totally understand--you did an awesome amount of work!
    kgdive[at]kc[dot]rr[dot]com

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  57. Wow this is amazing! I can't imagine having the patience to do all of that detailed sewing. It turned out great!!

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  58. Love this!!! i'm not very good at sewing, but will defo be trying to make a paper version

    would love it if you would link up to my new link party Serenity Saturday over at serenityyou.blogspot.com

    xxxx

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  59. If you are sharing I would love your template for the people. So cute and such a great idea. emamoo@juno.com

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  60. Wow! Lots of work and love in this adorable flip book! A definite keepsake, long after your child is grown. I agree with Amber...so cute and would love one for me :o) (Actually, great to have when future grandbabies are visiting...)

    Blessings & Aloha!

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  61. How fun! Good job. Thank you so much for linking this up to mine and Lindsays Party Show and Share! Come on over and visit and follow me.

    A mommy's life...with a touch of YELLOW
    tyandwhitneyulrich.blogspot.com

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  62. Lindsay, you are freakin' amazing!! I love them!! It is seriously so cute. Once again, I am completely in awe of your many talents!! :)
    Have a good day!
    Camille

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  63. I think this is the best thing I have ever seen on a blog! I want it soooooo bad! I will be highlighting this link on BCD tomorrow!

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  64. ADORABLE! I want one for my future kiddos! You would sell these like hotcakes on Etsy! :)

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  65. LOVE it! I am so in awe of your talent! Any chance you would share your "people" templates? I sew - but I'm a pretty sucky artist! Thanks for sharing such an awesome project!

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  66. This...is...AWESOME. Sooooo much work. You are amazing. Visiting from We Did it Wednesday and SOOO glad I did. Your tut is fabulous.

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  67. This is such a great project! LOVE IT! I hope you will link up to Scrappy Saturdays linky party @ candacecreations.blogspot.com

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  68. That looks amazing! I would love to make one for my daughter - don't know if I have the patience, though! :)

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  69. So darling! I too would love a copy of the templates if you are sharing. Thank you for showing your talent!

    Ershay8(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  70. wow, that's fantastic. if you do decide to share your templates, i would LOVE a copy!

    thanks so much....

    lifeasamama at gmail dot com

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  71. This is adorable! I don't know if I would have the patience to do that. Good job!

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  72. This is the cutest flip book I have ever seen! And it is quiet!?! Well done. Thank you so much for linking up at Savvy HomeMade Monday. I hope you will party again tomorrow!

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  73. Oh my goodness. I'm blown away! This is gorgeous, and so much work!!! Just amazing.

    Thanks for linking to the Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop!

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  74. You ROCK! This is a piece of art! Great job...really...I can't say that enough!!!

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  75. wow! that is so much work! beautiful book. congratulations! and thanks for the tutorial. :)

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  76. That is the cutest book! I think it is well worth the time, and you did a fabulous job! Thanks for sharing this!

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  77. Wow--that is so adorable and totally impressive! Definitely going on my "to do when I have the time list!" New follower via Mommy Monday very much looking forward to new posts and reading back through your archive! :)

    Nissa

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  78. For those of us who are totally lacking in drawing skills to know of a place to find pictures like that. I can stitch great, but drawing is way beyond my talents!

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  79. Really appreciate you linking up this awesome masterpiece at the Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop :)

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  80. This is fantastic! my daughter would love this, but i suck at drawing. does any one know a site where i could print off some pictures to make my own book?
    katg@iprimus.com.au

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  81. Thanks for linking up to last week's Tuesday Confessional link party! You've been featured so grab a brag button and let everyone know that you are a big deal: http://www.craftyconfessions.com/2011/08/awesome-features-from-last-weeks.html
    This week's link party is going on now, so don't forget to link up!
    ~Macy

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  82. What a great idea! I love it! Thanks for sharing :)

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  83. I love this and want to get started on one for my little guy!! I was wondering if you would be willing to share/email your templates? There is no way I could draw those cute figures!! Thanks a ton! Meganford1986@gmail.com

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  84. love, Love, LOVE this! I'm with Megan though, anyway you'd be willing to share/sell/email your templates?
    Thanks,
    erinn.pack@gmail.com

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  85. I LOVE this - you are amazing! I have seen a few people ask for the templates and I am also drawing challenged. Would you be willing to email them to me?

    alyschmuhl (at) gmail (dot) com

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  86. Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo amazing!!!


    Love, love, love it!

    Beijinhos
    Ana

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  87. oh my heavens - this is absolutely darling!!

    i would be very interested in purchasing your patterns for the people ... please?

    mjmcvey@hotmail.com

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  88. If by chance you would sell your super cute people patterns...I would love to purchase them. This quiet book is beyond cute!
    My email is garynbrina (at) hotmail dot com.
    Thanks!

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  89. What an amazing project. I would love to purchase a pattern if you ever make it available -
    sewfunhighland@yahoo.com

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  90. I love embroidery, in fact I have an etsy store devoted to embroidered onesies and tees. I love this quiet book idea. I have three daughters, my youngest just 4 months. Although I probably wouldn't get this done in time for Christmas, I'd like to aim for my youngest daughter's birthday. I noticed a lot of people have asked if you would be willing to share/sell your template. I like sewing and coloring but am not terrific at drawing. Would you email me littletowheads@gmail.com

    Oh, and my etsy store is http://littletowheads.etsy.com

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  91. Found this on Pinterest. I'm drawing/sewing/embroidery challenged, but I could easily adapt this with crayons and a laminator, if I had the characters to be colored in. I haven't been able to find a search function on your blog to see if a pattern is yet available. Have you finished/posted it?

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  92. We have a couple of flip books that my daughters LOVE, but they are easily ripped. I am excited to try making one of these! I can't wait for the pattern!

    tersacrawford@gmail.com

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  93. Fantastic! You did a top-notch job on this one. I absolutely love it! Do I dare add this to my current list of projects?! It's just so stinkin' cute!

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  94. Fantastic! You did a top-notch job on this one. I absolutely love it! Do I dare add this to my current list of projects?! It's just so stinkin' cute!

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  95. Sorry if these questions have already been asked but there were just too many comments to read! :0)
    I LOVE LOVE LOVE this project, it's the first on my list for crafts this year!
    Few questions:
    1.Did you use crayola fabric crayons?
    2.Did you set them any way?
    3.What thread did you use? (I've heard that embroidery thread bleeds when washed)
    4.I would love a tutorial on the eyelets, they still scare/confuse me a bit.

    Thanks so much!

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  96. Hey, nice site you have here! Keep up the excellent work!
    Flip Books Software

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  97. I bought this pattern last month and finally finished my book last week! Thanks for offering the pattern and for making it so easy to follow!

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  98. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the flip book idea! So unique! I featured it on my blog today! Hope you like it! Thanks!!
    http://benikeboutique.blogspot.com/2012/02/quiet-booksofficially-added.html

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Thank you so much stopping by! If you have any questions, please leave them here and I'll try to answer ASAP!