In my quest to buy masses of inexpensive blank books for writing projects today,
I stumbled upon a suggestion to sew them at home. Why didn't I think of that?!
Not wanting to waste any time (or money), I grabbed my sewing machine,
some blank paper, and plain card stock and got straight to work!
First we layered the writing paper, folding just the middle page as a seam guide.
The card stock piece stayed on the bottom to represent our front and back cover.
The card stock piece stayed on the bottom to represent our front and back cover.
Next, we sewed the binding.
After trimming the extra threads, we folded the whole book evenly.
Lastly, I added faint pencil lines for those who prefer a template.
And, voila!
In a matter of minutes, we made ourselves blank books in bulk, (for free!) ready for the creating!
For their first book, I gave Nova, Olia, and Elka a prompt to write about Christmas, telling any tale they'd like to tell.
The memories rushed back as I scripted Nova's dictation, though for me, I remember standing
by my kindergarten teacher's desk at school. Nova will remember storytelling to Mommy in the kitchen.
Olia chose to write about Jesus' birthday.
She worked so diligently and carefully, emphasizing the "true meaning of Christmas" in her book.
Elka's book was titled, The Nativity.
Her heart and understanding for the meaning behind the birth of Christ shone through.
This was such a fun, quick, and easy project...I'm sure our bookshelves will be bursting with special new stories!
And, our new beautiful Christmas books will come down with our other decorations every year.
If you ask me, homemade anything is always of greater value than something bought in a store.
I love to see what kids create from scratch and the sky's the limit when you begin with blank books!
"He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work."
Exodus 35:35