Sewing Pattern Review: Rebecca Page's The Quiet Book Add ON

The newest Rebecca Page pattern - the Doll's House Quiet Book Add On - had me hooked from the moment I set my eyes on it!

My imagination ran wild, and I went a bit off course from the pattern with adding in SO many personal touches.

I have no kids, but I have imagination and am a big kid at heart. I wanted to create our story - our life!  So from home to driving to our camp land, to tenting it under the stars with a bit of Geekdom - here's a peek into our life. And with the Add on, having the option to add more pages in, I'll continue adding on pages as life happens.

What is included in the Original Doll House Quiet Book?

- 5 rooms - Bedroom, Living Room, Tent, Swimming Hole, Campfire

- 3 Dolls - Mouse, Kitty, and Bear

I used the Bear and Kitty from the original for my dolls...but ALSO added in my own pets - our two Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Fynn and Gideon! 

How, you ask? 

I found a few different silhouettes on Google, printed them out, and sewed them together - Gideon looking up at us (as he does), and silly Fynn looking in the distance with a bandana on.

What is included in the Add On for Dolls?

- A boy and girl with several hair options to create Mini-Me's!

- There is a skirt option or pants option for bottoms.

I MADE them myself and Husband.

Husband has a Star Wars shirt on, and cute belt with belt loops (hand sewn!).

I have an infiniti scarf, silly top, jeans with POCKETS!, and a lace sash to add some more girliness.

This pattern has no limits!

For the Add On, it includes more pages:

- Road & Hillside

- Barn

- Outhouse

- Tractor

- Garden

- Kitchen

- Bathroom

- Backyard

I opted for:

- Original outside house

- Add on Buttons for expansion

- Road & Hillside

- Outhouse WITH Fire pit (I'll tell you how!)

- Tent

So I used both the original AND Add On Bundle for my book




Aren't those flowers cute?

Buttons for the Add On

Dolls playing in front of the house!

We're home!



It's bigger on the inside!

Front door with button to open it, and cute curtains hung

Ready for picking! The flowers are removable!



Next up are the Road and Outhouse Firepit area.

I'm creative, and decided the finger puppets included with the Farm design were meant not to be chicks, but our 3 parrots! 


So I created our African Grey, Cockatiel, and Caique Parrots! These were totally free styled with their feathers, and I used lace, felt, and ribbon for a great end result. 

I attached snaps to their backs, and snaps in the clouds and above the tree branch to allow them to perch where they wanted to.

I cut a piece of gnome fabric I had to be the "driver" of the car as well - because I like gnomes.

AND for the fire pit, I just halved the pattern size in order to fit it beside the fire pit.  We love our fire pits at our camp land in Quebec!

Both inner pages

Speedy gnome with button wheels and headlight!

Don't let the cat get the birds!

See the snap on the back?

I really love how they turned out!  Rosco, Stryder, and Merlin - SO cute! 

The outhouse page!

Handy Carrying Strap

Notice the clouds on the straps!  And I stuffed the logs too for a full effect.

Everybody poops!



Oh Husband - peeing with the door open again! And notice his CUTE pockets!  That's iron on patch stuff I got from Walmart and cut to size. Ironed on before putting the stuffing in.

Look at the details!  Even a button to hold the door closed.

Last but not least, the Tent Page (back).

I made a shooting star, and added a Tardis by the moon!  If you know what the Tardis is, you're Geeky Cool!

I added lace to the bottom as I accidentally cut the exterior flaps too short - it looks pretty!  And then I needed to add Ribbon to the sides and front flaps to finish off the edges of the linen I used for the main part of the tent.




Tent Page!

See the Tardis??



Shooting Star!

Night time! 

Lace fixes everything!

I LOVED making this book.  It was a work of dedication with so many little details - but I loved the ideas that it encouraged.

It's also a great scrap buster.

I highly recommend this pattern for your kids, nieces, nephews, grandkids, kids you like, YOURSELF! 

Bring out the kid in you while creating it and owning it - make it YOURS.

Around Christmas Time, I highly suggest the Advent Calendar or its Add On.  Add on a page or two for the kiddos with Christmas Cheer from those patterns and totally freestyle the Quiet House!

The Painting of Gideon's New Bowl @ The Pottery Place

I visited a local ceramics shop - The Pottery Place - last summer to paint a cute mug and turtle during a Bachelorette Party, and really wanted to go back to paint something else.

Then Gideon's food bowl broke. 

He's afraid of metal bowls, so we had to opt for either plastic or ceramic.

I scoured the local stores and Interweb for something different - we wanted something special enough for him, but alas, we found nothing. 

I then found a picture of Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night" while Googling "Unique Dog Bowls" or "Tardis" - I don't remember which. I had seen it before, and knew one day I would paint it (with my own flare). 

My inspiration was in full force and I knew I was going to paint "Starry Night" on Gideon's new bowl.

With the dogs.

And a Tardis.

Just because I can.

So, I went in a Friday night after work, and painted for almost 3 hours.

You start with the lightest colour to the darkest. And put 3 coats of each colour.

With tedious details, I ended up going back Saturday for another 2-3 hours to finish the bowl.

And unlike painting on canvas, you don't paint the background colour on the entire canvas, then paint over those colours...but you don't want to overlap, or the colours may look muddy after the kiln fires away.

Then I had to wait a week to pick up the bowl.

It's not exactly how I envisioned it, but given the painting technique and a shaky hand for outlines, I think it turned out decent enough. 

Gideon and Fynn encompassed in Starry Night while the Tardis flies above their heads.

Gideon even ate out of it and wasn't afraid. Win-win!

I would definitely recommend The Pottery Playhouse in Stittsville, Ontario, for anyone looking to get their creativity on - even if you're not creative, you can paint a one-of-a-kind item that is made with love.

You just have to bring a donation ($ or non perishables) as your sitting "fee," which are then donated right back into the community.

I plan on returning soon to paint one of their new Garden Gnomes - I have to make a Zombie Gnome!

Husband says I should try to sell it. *I* think NOT. I remember the last time I sold my wares...it turned into a 6 year adventure!

Once I'm done my current professional exam, I THINK I'm ready to conquer painting the bird room into a mural. That will be a task in itself!

The Artsy Side of Crystal

Better late than never - and a little bit refocus not just on awesome products I have been given the opportunity to review, but focus on life in general.



Anyone who really knows me knows that I'm creative.



If people don't know me, they're amazed by my awesome creations.

I may be Clark Kent by day...but my true passion is being artsy!



Here's my whirlwind of September/October creations.



The Stairwell Family Tree

We painted most of the house at the beginning of September.



After painting, Husband requested a tree in the stairwell.  So I painted  a tree covering 3 walls. Then the birds. Later on, the pups.


There are also 2 leaves on the tree, as I couldn't decide if I wanted leaves on it or not - they in turn represent Husband and myself.

This was all Freehand.

The dogs...I couldn't finish these until I knew Fynn would be ok

The dogs, The Tree, The Parrots

Merlin & Rosco - Rosco even has fangs

Stryder doing his dance

Calvin & Hobbes zipping down the stairs (covering up where Fynn broke the wall 3 times)

Halloween

I won the Costume contest FINALLY at work.  I've been the Tardis, a Zombie Pirate, Parrot, and this year - Dragon!  Shazam!

My boss is also awesomesauce and let me decorate the workplace like a crime scene.  It was a lot of fun, and made me thankful Pinterest wasn't around when we got married.  

We forced all team members to wear silly hats and take Prison pictures to post on our wall.  Everyone got a laugh out of it, and people really came out of their shells :)

Handprints and writing were mainly myself and my boss - we're a bit crazy. Weapons and Evidence Tags were hand crafted by moi.

I'm in the Pen!

Merlin and me - our annual Halloween Selfie. Awesome 5 minute mesh makeup for dragon scale effect!

YES! I finally had a reason to make the Dexter Cupcakes!  Handmade Sugar Glass and all :)

My co-worker was Spaghetti and Meatballs - I was heating her up. Such a fun day!

I also created Christmas gifts for family - we're having it a month early with my family as my parents leave for Amurica on December 1st this year.  So weird.  

What's next on the creative list?  

Crystal's Epic Murder Mystery Party at the Cat's Meow Jazz Club - Prohibition Age debauchery will ensue!

Photobooth with props there will be!