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January 25, 2011 | 37 Comments

DIY Eye-Spy Book

When I saw this post by Jenae over at I Can Teach My Child ( who will be a guest poster tomorrow so don’t miss it! ) my head was running with ideas on how to make something similar. I would be lying if I told you it was easy, maybe it would have been with no kids but I had an infant in my arms while taking every picture and a 4 year old helper wanting to “help”. However the results were pretty cool and it’s a great book to take to church or somewhere else where talking is frowned upon.  It’s been tested out by a handful of friends already and our Eye-Spy Book  was quite the hit at a playdate last week. So the effort was worth it. Here is how we made it.

  1. Gather your materials. This is a long list so take notes! I gathered a bunch of categories of my son’s toys. You can use anything for the pictures but I went with themes because it was easy to just grab bins from his room and the family room. You will also need some back drops. I chose plain Jane construction paper, you will need some foam letters and a camera. A good camera would be better but my point and shoot was OK.  Once the pictures are developed ( or printed out) you will need some self laminating pages, a hole punch, and some binder rings.
  2. Start by using the foam letters to write Can You Find and take a picture. This will be the cover page.
  3. Next do the first lay out.  Lay the toys you are looking for on the page.  I laid out the whole search page first then picked a few out to lay on the can you find page. Take a picture.
  4. Replace the objects you used and take a picture of the full lay out.
  5. Repeat this is a bunch of different toys.  I always used the same black paper with ” Can You Find ” in foam letters for the search page. It made the process quicker.
  6. I took this picture for the back cover.
  7. Have the pictures developed or print them out on your printer. 
  8. Time to laminate.  Now in my dream house I have a craft room with awesome natural light and a laminator. But in reality I have my kitchen and these cool laminator envelopes that are sorta tricky but they laminate so clearly without a machine that they are worth it. I had a few bubbles but nothing too bad.  Remember to laminate in order so 2 pictures front and back to each page.
  9. Punch holes.
  10. Pop the rings through and you are done! I like using the rings because I have plenty of room to add more pages.
  11. Time to find things! 

More I-Spy Crafts

I Spy BottlesI-Spy Bottle

I-Spy Bag

Filed Under: 5 minute sparklers, 5 senses, Age Preschool, Age: Toddlers, Eye Spy, Preschool Crafts, Sense of Sight, Sensory Activities | 37 Comments

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37 Comments

  1. Aneladgam says

    January 25, 2011 at 1:16 am

    But that’s AMAZING! I’m putting myself to make such a book for my son at once!

    to Aneladgam" aria-label='reply to this comment to Aneladgam'>reply to this comment
  2. Savannah says

    January 25, 2011 at 3:34 am

    What a great idea! My son loves the toddler find it book he got from grandma, but it’s getting too easy for him..though it might be a while since I don’t have a colour printer, I’ll definitely have to try this, thanks!

    to Savannah" aria-label='reply to this comment to Savannah'>reply to this comment
  3. Jenae @ I Can Teach My Child says

    January 25, 2011 at 5:40 am

    Thanks so much for the link, Allie! I love how the book turned out!!!

    to Jenae @ I Can Teach My Child" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jenae @ I Can Teach My Child'>reply to this comment
  4. The Iowa Farmer's Wife says

    January 25, 2011 at 6:00 am

    This is the neatest thing I’ve seen in a while! I was just thinking yesterday how I’d like to get her an I SPY book, but now I can MAKE one! This is so neat! I’m so excited for this project. How big are your pages if you don’t mind me asking?

    to The Iowa Farmer's Wife" aria-label='reply to this comment to The Iowa Farmer's Wife'>reply to this comment
  5. The Iowa Farmer's Wife says

    January 25, 2011 at 6:02 am

    Also, do you have a Costco nearby? They have a good laminator for only $17.99 and it comes with 100 laminating sheets! Just thought I’d share. 🙂

    to The Iowa Farmer's Wife" aria-label='reply to this comment to The Iowa Farmer's Wife'>reply to this comment
  6. Elissa says

    January 25, 2011 at 6:43 am

    That’s great! My kids LOVE the I spy books so having one with their own toys would be so much fun!

    to Elissa" aria-label='reply to this comment to Elissa'>reply to this comment
  7. Sharon says

    January 25, 2011 at 7:53 am

    Wonderful idea! You could probably do this just as cheaply by uploading the photos to a site like snapfish then using a photo book code to get the book for free or really cheap. I think I’ll try it this way and use some family group pictures, too.

    to Sharon" aria-label='reply to this comment to Sharon'>reply to this comment
  8. Toddler Approved says

    January 25, 2011 at 9:34 am

    love this!! we were just discussing how we wanted to make an i-spy book for an upcoming road trip.

    to Toddler Approved" aria-label='reply to this comment to Toddler Approved'>reply to this comment
  9. Joyce says

    January 25, 2011 at 3:24 pm

    So fun!

    to Joyce" aria-label='reply to this comment to Joyce'>reply to this comment
  10. Rachee says

    January 25, 2011 at 5:42 pm

    Love it!
    I am going to try this with my preschoolers at storytime.
    Thanks!
    -r

    to Rachee" aria-label='reply to this comment to Rachee'>reply to this comment
  11. Bea says

    January 25, 2011 at 9:19 pm

    I am so doing this for my girls, this will be great book to bring to church so they can be reverent, and you think it will be a good present for a one year old? I am so making one for him if you say yes!! thank you, you are so smart!!

    to Bea" aria-label='reply to this comment to Bea'>reply to this comment
  12. Kristi @ Creative Connections for Kids says

    January 25, 2011 at 9:58 pm

    What a great way to support language development!
    Very unique 🙂

    to Kristi @ Creative Connections for Kids" aria-label='reply to this comment to Kristi @ Creative Connections for Kids'>reply to this comment
  13. Caz says

    January 25, 2011 at 10:20 pm

    This is an awesome idea, I love it!! Definitely making a few for the car and pram, they will be terrific for keeping my girls amused while we are travelling. Thankyou!

    to Caz" aria-label='reply to this comment to Caz'>reply to this comment
  14. Krista says

    January 26, 2011 at 5:01 am

    I love your ideas. Thank you for sharing so many wonderful ones.
    What size pictures did you develop for the booklet? Is a 4 X 6 size big enough?

    to Krista" aria-label='reply to this comment to Krista'>reply to this comment
  15. Shauna says

    January 26, 2011 at 7:52 am

    I was also wondering what sizes your pictures were? I LOVE this idea and I think I am going to use it for Christmas (planning ahead) as a homemade gift. Thanks for sharing!!

    to Shauna" aria-label='reply to this comment to Shauna'>reply to this comment
    • admin says

      January 26, 2011 at 3:31 pm

      I did 4×6 – I wanted to do 5×7 but the laminator sheets I had were 4×6 .

      to admin" aria-label='reply to this comment to admin'>reply to this comment
  16. Jennifer says

    January 26, 2011 at 8:20 am

    I love this idea. Would be a great homemade gift too – I don’t know a single kid who doesn’t love these books!

    to Jennifer" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jennifer'>reply to this comment
  17. Karen says

    January 26, 2011 at 1:42 pm

    Fantastic, how fun this will be to make one for Valentine’s Day! Karen
    Sippy Cup Centrl

    to Karen" aria-label='reply to this comment to Karen'>reply to this comment
  18. Lenetta @ Nettacow says

    January 30, 2011 at 8:32 pm

    Awesome idea – I’ll be linking on one of my weekly roundups soon. I also wanted to comment – I use clear contact paper a ton for “laminating”. It probably isn’t as good as the real thing, but much cheaper for sure.

    to Lenetta @ Nettacow" aria-label='reply to this comment to Lenetta @ Nettacow'>reply to this comment
  19. Heather says

    February 3, 2011 at 9:58 am

    Love this idea! I have big plans now. 🙂

    to Heather" aria-label='reply to this comment to Heather'>reply to this comment
  20. Rachel says

    July 20, 2011 at 12:36 pm

    Thanks for this, I am working on one for my kids now.

    to Rachel" aria-label='reply to this comment to Rachel'>reply to this comment
  21. beth says

    October 18, 2011 at 8:46 pm

    I love how you made this! Would you mind sharing the photos you used, they look great. I would love to make an i spy book but know i dont have the time to gather all the toys.

    to beth" aria-label='reply to this comment to beth'>reply to this comment
  22. Yogamama says

    June 14, 2012 at 3:22 pm

    I used your way of making a book to make a vacation memory book. http://toddlefast.blogspot.com/2012/06/toddler-proof-vacation-photo.html Not as much work as this I-spy book but it was fun and made me feel crafty! My little one loves looking at pictures of herself.

    to Yogamama" aria-label='reply to this comment to Yogamama'>reply to this comment
  23. Marsali says

    August 18, 2015 at 3:04 pm

    How sweet! Would you possibly be willing to email me your images, so that I could print them and make this book? I’d love it, if you wouldn’t mind! marsaliandrews (at) gmail

    to Marsali" aria-label='reply to this comment to Marsali'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      August 19, 2015 at 12:57 am

      I will see if I still have the full res photos!

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment

Trackbacks

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    January 25, 2011 at 2:02 am

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by parentingjoy, Pamm. Pamm said: DIY Eye-Spy Book: When I saw this post by Jenae over at I Can Teach My Child ( who will be a guest poster tomorr… http://bit.ly/fYNfZX […]

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  2. Jesse Bear, Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear (And The UPS Store Giveaway) | Naturally Educational says:
    January 28, 2011 at 2:15 pm

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