2 Books created for children

Brooke's daughter PB turned 2 recently, and I wanted to make her a couple books to take to church with her. I did something similar for Jordan's children, so I knew I needed to make them more durable.

For the first book I used clear vinyl from the fabric store.
I glued pictures I got online or from the clipart in my word processor onto both sides of heavy cardstock. There is a big library of free images on all sorts of religious, family, and nature topics here .

Then I cut strips of vinyl 2 times as long as the cardstock. PLUS about 2 inches and about 1 inch wider that the cardstock. Since I was using 5" x 7" pictures, I cut my vinyl into 14" x 6" strips. I folded the strips in 2 and placed my cardstock at the fold. I sewed a seam right next to the picture as shown here. I tucked in a 1" strip of vinyl along  the top (where the holes are)  before to make it stronger. 






I punched holes in the top margin. (Ouch! This hurt my hand!) and then used binder rings to hold them together.

You could use this technique with coloring pages or puzzles to make them reusable with dry erase crayons or markers.

The other book is a personalized one to remind PB that Jesus loves her. This one could also be adapted to any topic for any child.

I bought a little 2.5" x 2.5" photo album with a magnetic closure on at a craft store. Any size would work.
I collected clipart and photos and printed them on cardstock the right size. I also glued a picture on the cover. Quick and easy!