My Growing Book Collection
I’m so proud of my growing collection of handmade books. Filled with my art, silly ideas, hours of sewing and finessing, and special details. They’re colorful, playful, textural, interactive, and filled with animals and music… all of my favorite things! Here’s a closer look into each one of these projects.
The books I’ve designed over the last two years.
This “book” closes into a record-inspired purse.
Inside, felt artists perform for the crowd on stage beneath lights and a disco ball.
Superstar Quiet Book Pattern
When my daughter turned one, I was inspired by @blueberrypatterns and her interactive felt books and dolls. I ended up paying homage to my past as a touring musician, and designed a record album purse that opens into a stage, tour bus, and green room. It’s filled with instruments, musicians, a disco ball, metallic felt and sequins – a toy that is completely rockstar-worthy! Sew your own with my digital pattern and step-by-step tutorial.
Take the show on the road with this SUPERSTAR Quiet Book Pattern! Children will delight in this whimsical representation of a musician’s life on tour. This pattern and full tutorial is riddled with fun details that will inspire little ones for hours of imaginary play!
A hand-stitched felt book of songs.
Retro Christmas Songbook
I love it when handmade items have multiple functions, so when tasked to design a holiday-themed tutorial as a member of Benzie Design’s Maker Team, I wanted to create something special that could be displayed, sure, but could also be used. I am a music teacher and have always loved Christmas music, so I sought to create an heirloom songbook for the holidays. I drew on some of my favorite midcentury illustration techniques of expressive line work and bold shapes and transferred them into embroidery and felt appliqué. I then used Adobe inDesign to create a booklet of public domain Christmas carols that includes lyrics and musical key suggestions. Many stitching hours later, and voilá fa la la la la!
You can make your own with the free pattern and tutorial on Benzie Design.
Imaginative interpretations of animals and their instruments.
Each animal is named for a famous musician, composer, or character.
ABC Musical Animals
When my second daughter was born, I completely removed any expectations of having creative time to myself. I anticipated sleep-deprivation, toddler-juggling, healing, and schedule upheaval. And yes, while all of those things were certainly true, these things were also true: 1) I’ve done this before and have lived-experience, 2) I have rotating family members in town to take care of my toddler so I can primarily focus on the baby, and 3) that newborns sometimes sleep… a LOT!
So while my newborn took naps, I took to the iPad. My art teacher, Lisa Bardot, was hosting an art challenge to draw an animal for every letter of the alphabet. I took it one step further to add musical instruments, and it was the first art challenge I’ve ever fully completed. I used Gelato to create a print-on-demand book, and gave copies to friends and family as my holiday gift.
The illustrations are imaginative and musical, and you can purchase a copy for the little person or music-lover in your life.
Can you tell which books are real and which are felt?
A book within a book within a book!
Felt Book Box
Remember when I said that I like my handmade creations to have double functions? Well, what better than a beautiful book that doubles as a treasure chest? My daughters and I love using ours for storing all sorts of tiny surprises.
You can make your own with this free tutorial on Benzie Design’s blog.
A fabric crinkle book to scrunch and squish.
Linus & Louie Teach Their Brother…
Last, but not least, is the fabric crinkle book I designed for my sister’s baby shower, featuring her two adventurous cats. I had so much fun sketching cats and babies in silly poses! Learn all about my process here.
