Page 1: flower vase

Items needed: 5 chunky buttons, felt, and ric rac.

Teaches: how to button/unbutton, color matching

Cut out the following pieces:
Felt Vase (1)
Felt Flowers (5 x 2)
Assorted ric rac for vase decor (1) and flower stems (5)

Directions: After the vase is cut out, cut out a piece of ric rac to line the top of the vase with, and sew it onto the vase. Sew the vase on the page, leaving the top lip of the vase open (to stick the rick rack stems down in).
Cut out 2 flowers of equal size of each of the 5 colors. Sew the 2 felt flowers together so that the flowers are double thick (or you can just use the flower felt shapes shown below from Joann's $1 bins that are already thick enough- you won't have to double up and won't have to reinforce the button hole with these). Once the flower felts are sewn together, sew a buttonhole (that will be large enough to fit the buttons through). Place the flowers where you want them on the page, and make a small x through the button hole on to the fabric so you know where to place the buttons.

Before you sew on the buttons, cut and place ric rac stems on the page. Sew the stems into place so that they come out of the vase lip and end where the x's are for the buttons. Then sew on the buttons using a shank fashion. This will help keep the button from laying too close to the fabric and so the felt can fit under it when fastened.
If you want, you can add a little word box (flowers) like I did with some pellon fabric and permanent markers. Write the word on the pellon, cut it out, and then sew it on the page.

Ta dah! Your first quiet book page is finished!!! Don't you feel proud!

Here's a pic of my mom's flower vase page in her old book:And here's a link to a sketch she drew in the 70's while preparing her quiet book: