Jooleshare - Perhaps when you thought she was wide awake she was just awake but tired (like a second wind?). Sometimes you just need to do something to wind them back into sleep, which is what you did by doing a quiet activity and not overstimulating her again. This is kind of similar to having a bedtime routine - it helps get them from high to low so they can get to sleep easier (ie we do nappy change and pjs on, walk around the house and say goodnight to all the rooms and people, I tell him a bedtime story while he is in his cot, lullaby). During the day we do a wind down if he is really awake but obviously tired. I just walk around the house with him on my hip and quietly point things out. Then when I put him down 5 mins later he is more likely to go straight to sleep.
HTH