How thrilled was I to pull a pizza peel out of the wrapping paper during the sibling gift exchange?! I've been wanting one for so long, I don't know how Clay's brother picked something so perfect to make. Until now I'd been doing this awkward juggling act, using multiple cutting boards and spatulas, trying to shift the raw pizza to the spitting hot stone in the oven. More often than not we ended up with a pizza that "at least tasted good..."
Clay oiled up the peel as soon as we got home and we tried it out the very next night. It works like a dream! I'm a good arm's length away from the 500 degree oven and with a generous dusting of cornmeal the pizza slides right off, fully intact and beautiful. Isn't the construction neat? Can you see those little wooden pegs?
My little brother was with us for Christmas and made me this fantastic photo album of undiscovered family pictures. While digging through boxes of stuff at home he came across boxes of slides, a treasure trove from my dad's amateur photographer days. Most of them I hadn't seen before and all of them brought back wonderful memories. Dan also made Clay a pair of plaid pajama pants to match Sam's. It was his first attempt ever at sewing and they turned out great!
Clay's brother Christopher also made an album, this one was for his parents. He commissioned each sibling to write a summary of their past year; the highlights, the changes, the surprises etc. and to include a picture. It's such a treasure; we all enjoyed paging through it and reading each other's stories.
Henry, Clay's youngest brother, worked his mad knitting skills and made a pair of woolen mittens for his brother Joey. There were some first time knitters too; our sister-in-law Carlie made some rad knit slippers for Clay's oldest brother Tyler and littlest sister Abby knit this beautiful, purple scarf for Carlie! One of the neatest things about the handmade challenge is that it causes all of us to stretch a little, to try something new, to get creative and to really think about the person we're creating something for, considering their needs and likes and what would be absolutely perfect for them.
For Henry, Clay's youngest brother, I made two pillow shams to match his quilt. As luck would have it, I stumbled across the very fabric his mom used to make the quilt while at the fabric store, so was able to match the color quite nicely. On the left is a silhouette of his face, a little spot to lay his head at night. And on the right is a place for his dreams.
Missing are pictures of the knit slippers for Tyler to cozy up in while he reads mystery novels, a quilt I made for my brother (more details on that later) and some PJs for Sam, Clay's present to sister-in-law Kina (can't tell what it is since they were in AZ for Christmas and haven't gotten their siblings gifts yet!), and the hands-down coolest belt ever made by Christopher for vegetarian sister Molly; it has her name on it with vegetables and fruits carved into it!! If I can round up a picture of that I'll put it up here.
I love the creativity the sibling gift exchange inspires even from those who claim not to be the "crafty type." We open our gifts one by one and everyone oohs and ahhs, applauding the gift and the maker. We pass them around, admiring the craftmanship and thoughtfulness. It is, by far, one of my favorite Christmas traditions.
*UPDATE: Little brother Henry just sent over some shots of Molly's belt, taken with his fancy new camera. Isn't this belt the coolest?!
