Homemade "Paper" Books

Little P loves paper. LOVES. Every time he and I go to get the mail together, he is busy trying to wrestle it from my grip. I can't tell you how many times I have found pages of my books nibbled on, pieces of brochures missing, and chunks of business cards swallowed. Yes, my little boy has some of my graphic designer(and subsequent love of paper) jeans. So, in an effort to deter him from eating our mail, I knew that I needed to try something. 

 

The first thing we tried were these incredible indestructible books by Kaaren Pixton. They are fantastic. The have a paper feel, but they can't be torn. They are also washable. Fantastic. Little P thought they were great. As I was feeling the material, it reminded me of something... but what? Then I figured it out - Priority Mail envelopes! Those envelopes that are completely indestructible and sometimes so hard to open! I mentioned this realization to Little P's MiMa, and the next time she came to visit, she had a super neat homemade indestructible book for Little P! He loved it! It was a real Learning tool for him as he felt the paper with his little hands, manipulated the pages, and chewed on the "paper" texture.

Here's what you need to create your own indestructible book:

A few Priority Mail envelopes (free at the post office), a plastic shower ring, and a hold punch. Cut down your envelopes to the size you want you "pages" to be, then punch holes in the corners of each page. The awesome ting is, these things are so indestructible that the ring will never tear out from the holes. Believe me, I tried it (I also nibbled on a page before giving it to Little P, just to make sure we were all good. Nothing tore or broke apart.) Put the shower ring in the holes and Viola! Your own Indestructible Book! (Optional - they have pure white envelopes out there as well if you are concerned about the ink. I was at first, but that stuff is not coming off, no way, no how.)

Here's Little P enjoying the goods: