This project is great tactile way for your eight-month-old to explore different textures with his or her hands or with the full body, if crawling. I made the project with quite a few hacks, since I’m no seamstress. If you’re skilled with a needle and thread, you’ll want to sew various fabrics onto a larger piece of fabric and present that more elegant version to your baby.

But this mama wields a hot glue gun! I used a pliable piece of craft foam as the backing and firmly hot-glued down: reflective paper, burlap, fluffy fabric, smooth cotton, two corks, an old sock, and a second piece of bumpy craft foam.

Veronika couldn’t wait to get her hands all over this! She dug little fingers into the soft and fluffy fabric, and ran fingers over the scratchy burlap.

She pulled insistently at the bumpy corks…

…and otherwise just had a ball.

The reflective material definitely caught her attention.

I then put the “rug” down on the floor alongside another tactile blanket that we own, featuring tassels and a nubby fabric. My hope was that this expanded surface might encourage her to crawl across both (note: she’s thisclose to crawling), but she preferred to lie on her tummy and let her fingers get busy.

There was flicking, rubbing, and pure enjoyment of all the different elements.

In sum, this is a cute riff on board books that feature textured pages, and has a charming homemade quality that you and your baby will love.