Reinvention in First Grade + Giveaway
Earlier this year my daughter’s first grade teacher invited me to come in and do a craft with her class. Right about the time I was casting about for just the right project, we were busy editing away on Maya Donenfeld’s just-released Reinvention: Sewing with Rescued Materials.
While an adult-level sewing book would not have been my first place to look for a project for 16 first graders, I just kept coming back to one project – the Nature Notebooks. I knew the kids would love the idea of recycling and the involvement of paint and stamping would allow a nice level of personalization. They all love journaling and the light level of sewing gave them all a big sense of accomplishment when they were done.
Take a look at the gallery to see how they came together and how wonderfully they turned out!
I should also note that all of the kids now want a sewing machine, most especially the boys.
Huge thanks to all of the kids for their hard work and creativity, to my daughter’s teacher for the invitation, and to Park Tudor School for allowing me to spend a morning with her class.
Maya- your project was a winner! There truly is something for everyone in your finished book and I, for one, am looking forward to making the rest of them.
And, now for the giveaway. We’re so excited about this book that we’re dying to share a copy with one lucky reader. Leave me a comment and on Monday I’ll pick a winner to receive a copy of Reinvention.
60 Responses to “Reinvention in First Grade + Giveaway”
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thanks for the book tour and giveaway. The book looks great!
Beautiful book…I’d love to win. And that sounds like such a great project to do with first graders!
Mia
I have been coveting this book since I first heard about it!
The nature notebooks turned out great! Thanks for the giveaway – I love having a chance to win this book.
Thanks for the opportunity to win the book! I’ve been dying to get my hands on it!
It looks like you had so much fun. I’ve loved following the tour which I usually don’t do. Thanks
I love it when kiddos get excited about sewing! What a fantastic idea to get these young-uns involved, and so inspiring for them to go out and enjoy nature and journal in their handmade recycled books. Just wonderful. This book looks so very very inspiring. Very nice of you do do a giveaway!
Would love to win – borrowed it from the library last night and the first read through looks extremely promising
This looks like a book full of really clever and fun projects! Thanks for sharing the pics from you child’s class…isn’t it fun to work with little ones?
I love upcycling projects that kids can do! If we can train them early on to reuse things, we have a chance of getting consumption under control.
This little sweetie looked like she really enjoyed this project!
Thanks for sharing your results!
~ joey ~
What a fun thing to do with the class!
Woo Hoo! Not only do I get a chance to win this great book, but I also got this great idea for a project! I will be doing this with my homeschool group very soon.
Such a lovely, inspiring book!
i love the idea of bringing the nature notebooks into the classroom. they turned out great and can be a fun project for so many grade levels! thanks for all the pictures.. i would love to do this in my classroom as well.
Your journals look great! I’d love a chance to win this book; thank you!
Maya’s blog has been a source of inspiration for a good while, and I’ve been thrilled to see the responses to her book. It’s great to see that the kids were able to enjoy the project too! Thank you for the giveaway.
I would absolutely love a copy of this book — thank you for the chance to win one!
So great that you shared this with a group of students! The book looks amazing!
I would so love to try the projects in this book. Glad that you had such success with your daughter’s class!
When they were young, I used to love going to school and doing crafts with my kids and their class. Congratulations on the book!
It would never occur to me to paint Tyvek or that it would look really cool as a book cover. What a great idea and use for something I usually throw away!
What a terrific project and book! Thanks for sharing the pictures. Very fun.
I’ve been stalking this lovely book for weeks now! I might just have to buy myself a copy (unless I win yours!) fingers crossed
I would love to have a copy of that book. Thanks for the chance!
So glad you helped this book along! Looks fabulously inspirational! Thanks!
Maybe with the boys interest in the sewing machine we will have a larger number of male sewers and quilters in the next generation.
Such a great idea to do this with kids! We have reused wool and fabric with my daughter. Having just received a tyvek envelope, I think I know what we will reuse it for
What a great idea to make Maya’s nature notebooks with your students! And thank you for the opportunity to win a copy of her new book… it looks amazing!
I love Maya’s blog and famous buckets (made many versions of it!). I just discovered your blog, and it looks great! I will keep on reading!
I would love to win this. I have used burlap rice bags and plastic rice bags, dog food, cat food and kitty litter bags to make tote bags. I love to upcycle.
This looks great! My daughter’s school year just ended today, and I am sure she would love to try something like this at home. Thanks for the chance! I love Maya’s ideas!
I love doing projects at school!
I really enjoyed this post. I checked out the gallery. The kids really did a great job. Now the kids want sewing machines, the boys in especially. Great job!
melodyj(at)gmail(dot)com
Maya’s book looks awesome! Thanks for the giveaway!
So exciting!!! I love reusing materials to make new ones. I love Maya and her blog. : )
Look at how happy that little crafter looks! I love it! I didn’t know you could paint Tyvek, so that is awesome.
I’m thinking maybe I should start ordering more things on Etsy, etc., so I can have plenty of shipping envelopes to make journals like these!
Oh how I would love to get my hands on a copy of that beautiful book! Thanks for the opportunity
Such fun! Looks like a great book!
I love Maya, and I love repurposing and upcycling and crafting and all.
This book would be such a good resource!
Those notebooks came out awesome! I love Maya’s ideas and would love a copy of her book. Thank you so much for the chance!
such great projects! thanks for the giveaway!
What a great idea to use that project for a group of kids. I will have to keep it in mind!
What a fantastic book. Being creativ and not having a lot of money, I o a lot of upcycling and are always happy to find new inspiration.
I am sure the kids had lots of fun with the project!
I would love to have that book. Looks fantastic!
The project notebooks look fantastic, and the book looks very fun.
I love Maya and have been following her blog for sometime. This book is amazing! I would love to win and try some of her great projects.
The journals look absolutely fantastic and the book seems very interesting! I especially like that the kids now want sewing machines.
This was a great blog tour – thanks for the chance to win!
wonderful, i was following the tour and the school-room project seems such a great one to end this tour.
Oh for the days when my kids’ classes did neat projects — middle schoolers don’t want Mama around in class so much. Love this project and how it turned out!
Would love to win your book, Sabrina!!
Great giveaway!
Fantastic book and oh what a great chance to win!!!! Thank you, thank you =)
What a great idea to introduce sewing to our younger generation! This makes sewing fun all over again! And it’s a great way to bond with our kids and pass down a mutual hobby!
Oooh, please pick me!!! I’d love a copy!!
I love the notebooks, especially the soft colors and the pattern made by the Tyvek. They look like something one would find in a fancy-pants boutique!
The book looks awesome and great idea for the first graders!
I’d LOVE a copy! Maya’s projects are all so great! I can’t wait to try out working with Tyvek. Such a great idea. Thanks for the chance!