Monday, January 21, 2013

DIY Book of Textures (sensory book)


I am making this post because I couldn't find a tutorial ANYWHERE online.  I visited my best friend a few weeks ago and her 3 year old had this book that her pre-school teachers made. Sawyer fell in LOVE with it, so I knew I had to make one for her.

It was fairly simple once I had all of the supplies.  To make it you will need:

CD sleeves (Office Depot)
1" album rings (Hobby Lobby)
reinforcement labels (Office Depot)
Hole Punch
Double Sided Tape

Different materials for texture. I used:
Silky-silk fabric
Leathery-leather scraps in the jewelry making section at hobby lobby
Bumpy-snakeskin scrapbook paper
Crinkly-plastic that I removed from the CD sleeves
Furry-fur in the craft section
Foamy-foam sheets
Scratchy-glittery foam sheet
Rough-cardboard scrapbooking sheet


 I first (very carefully) removed the plastic from the CD sleeves. This was tedious because the paper rips easily. 


Once I had the plastic removed, I made three holes on the side of all the sleeves.  I then put reinforcement stickers over the holes. 

Next I cut each texture to the size I needed to fit into the sleeve. I then put pieces of double sided tape on the back of the material and slid it into the sleeve.  Then I taped the flap shut with clear packing tape.

After I had all of the sleeves finished, I put them together with the album rings.  I printed a label to go in the front sleeve, and that was it!  I went through and wrote in sharpie each texture.  I wanted to print cute ones, but the space is pretty small so I just wrote them.  











It's a HUGE hit!  She has been playing with it for a few days now, and it's holding up well.  I have gone back and reinforced some spots with more clear packing tape, but so far she's being pretty gentle with it!  


I hope this helps anyone who wants to make one of these for their little one!  














9 comments:

de said...

Well done tutorial. Good sensory activity. A winner!

Unknown said...

I have been desperately looking for this. Thank you!!!

Unknown said...

Awesome ! Thanks for sharing.

satupermata said...

me too..this is great!

Unknown said...

Where did you find the items for your pages,like the green bumpy?

Downtown Foodie of Richmond said...

Love this idea! I've been trying to think up a way to do something like this. Yes, where did you find the texture items? In the fabric store, which is where I was thinking to go, they usually make you get a whole yard, which can be quite pricey. I will try this by hot gluing to cut poster board squares because my son is quite rough for those sleeves, but very nice idea.

Downtown Foodie of Richmond said...

Well, I just called Hobby Lobby, and they let you buy fabric in smaller quantities than a yard.

CA said...

Thank u so much! I’d like to prepare something like this for my baby ��

patty said...

Thank you for sharing. It's a great idea