Monday, December 26, 2011

A Crafty Christmas

Having so much time on my hands prior to Christmas allowed me to put some time and thought into a few handmade gifts for my family. Now that the presents have all been opened, it's time to share my work!

For Daddy Goodlaff (who is notoriously hard to to craft for), I first thought of a hat or a scarf.  Mama Goodlaff suggested that I make him a shirt, but I didn't feel like my sewing skills were quite up to clothing just yet.  Eventually I decided on a manly version of my "Purse-Aid Kit," which is basically just a wallet full of band aids, or, a portable first aid kit. It's perfect for those of us who are a bit of a disaster and need to have supplies readily at hand in case of emergency.

Daddy Goodlaff has a bit of a wild side, so for his quad-riding supplies, I created this vibrant band aid holder:





After I showed off my Ponytail hat, Mama Goodlaff expressed an interest in having one of her own.  I just so happened to have all the supplies on hand, right down to some fun purple buttons (her favorite color), and after a few pattern adjustments, had a knitted hat made just for her:




Sister Goodlaff's homemade gift took me the longest of anything I made this year. She has recently developed a passion for cooking, and last Christmas, when she was hanging out at our house doing some last minute Christmas sewing, we fed her something I was sure she wouldn't like: pork scalloppini in a mustard creme sauce.  Turns out I was wrong--she thought it was awesome.  I decided to make her a cookbook, using the Goodlaffs' favorite recipes.  I combed through hundreds of pages, and eventually decided on about 60 of the best, printed them up, and made it into a book.

I called the book "Sister Says" because on the bottom of every recipe I wrote a comment, story, or tip on how we made the recipe or why the recipe was in there. I was so thrilled with the final product that I almost didn't want to give it away!







I used fancy wrapping paper that I saved from my bridal shower to bind the covers, and pulled the color scheme for my title and divider pages from that.  I bound the book with standard binder rings--that way, you can pull out the recipe that you're working on if you need it close at hand in the kitchen.  I love the way it turned out, and I'm hoping that Sister Goodlaff will also love the recipes that have become our favorites!

I have one more project to show you, but it needs its own post. Much more to come!

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