DIY Touch and Feel Book for Toddlers

Touch and feel books are books with a little interactive section on each page of the book, aiming to give the child a textural experience as he browses through the book. These books are a great hit with my little guy. Right from when he was a wee 3 month-old, he has showed a fond liking for books. He has a little Monster themed touch and feel book in his mini library which he often browses through and sits and enjoys touching the little patches of textures on every page.

So now that I am on my DIY journey with my little boy, I wanted to try my hands at making a personalised Touch and Feel book for him! It was with the intention of making an interactive book as well as a collectible or a keepsake which he can cherish for many years to come since I used his tiny palm prints to make this book! :)

Memory Quilt with Baby's First Year Clothes | Baby Quilt

Sewing is a new found love that I discovered during my pregnancy. As my first project, I sewed two identical baby quilt for my niece and yet-to-be-born little one. I loved the process and it got me addicted to sewing. I have sewed quite a bit ever since, mostly PJs, bedding sets, play-mats etc for my little boy. 

Completely self-taught, Pinterest has been my tutor and inspiration. I came across this idea of making onesie quilts, again while pregnant and decided right then that I was going to be making one for my baby someday! :)

I simply had to make this quilt and gathering the materials for it meant waiting for him to grow up a bit and actually outgrow the clothes! Hence, ever since he was born, I have been carefully selecting a keeping aside some of the cute little clothes he outgrew. I gave away most but a kept a few for this project of mine! 

Being a sucker for pretty fabric, I scouted around a fair bit to get the perfect fabric to go with my quilt project. I got this pretty cartoon print and felt it matched perfectly with my collection of baby clothes. Finally after my boy turned 16 months, I had just the right set of clothes and the perfect matching fabric and so I got around making the quilt. I could get to it in instalments and so I took me about 5 days (approx 6-7 hours in total) to complete this project. 

Oh, cutting up the adorable baby clothes was the toughest part! How cute and tiny they are! But well, the final outcome was very satisfying and I was immensely pleased with it. Every effort felt worth it all and I was glad to have created this little memory keepsake for my son to cherish for years to come!

DIY Chunky Puzzle

At 15 months, I had not yet introduced chunky puzzles to my little boy. I was not sure if he would understand the concept or if he would really like it. I was not sure what kind of puzzle to start with as he is yet to identify objects, fruits, veggies etc and yet to relate to them. 

So I decided to make my own frugal puzzle with bright attractive colours and simple basic shapes. I used cardboard scraps, bottle caps and colour paper to make this. This is really simple and took me just one nap time (Yes naptimes are my new measure of time these days!) 

My mini loved it and to my surprise was able to put in place most of the pieces. He struggled a bit with the triangle. I am very happy with the way this has turned out and the bottle caps, oh they make for perfect little handles for tiny chubby hands to hold on to :)

Bottle and Straws Activity for Toddlers

A very simple activity that we did a few days back, caught the mini's attention for longer than I had imagined. It made him sit in one place, concentrate, try to and actually manage to achieve the goals of the little game.

The activity was all about filling a plastic bottle with straws. It sounds really simple to an adult. But for restless little toddlers, this activity requires a fair bit of concentration, hand-eye coordination and the understanding of the whole purpose of the game. 

DIY Busy Box for Toddlers | Activity Box for Toddlers

Ever since my little boy started moving around and exploring the world around him, I have been researching on simple DIY toys to keep him entertained at home. One thing that caught my attention was Busy Books. 

Busy Books are pretty handcrafted cloth or felt books that are made with the child's interests in mind such that each page has an interactive activity for them to get involved and keep busy with. I absolutely loved the idea! Someday, I definitely wanted to try my hands at making one for my boy. While on this research, I got an idea on similar lines... of making a Busy Box!  

So my idea was to make use a huge cardboard box that I had lying home and convert it into an activity box with an activity on each side. I spent a few days figuring out what sort of activity I wanted to incorporate into my busy box. I wanted something simple, entertaining at the same time attractive enough to hold the attention of my little 15 months old boy. 

Hence, after much research and planning, I used a sturdy cardboard box, a few craft items and some simple toys to make a busy box with a different activity on each side. Well my mini spent 1 full hour on it with no damages... I consider that a success! :) 

This is my favourite DIY till date and I am proud with the way it has finally turned out! My heart does a happy dance every time he goes and plays with it by himself, exploring every element that I have thrown into it.