My Sketchbook

    Here are some items from my sketch book. My eldest has a pirate costume day next week at kinder, so I was thinking of making something like this.

Sketch by Melissa Gaggiano.

    I do try to steer away from owls in my work, but let's face it, inspiration wise I am surrounded by owls. Whether it be the owls in Harry Potter, Owl from Winnie the Pooh, the owl on my kids' learn farm, the owl statues in neighboring yards, the crafters whose blogs I follow. And so it would seem I am drawn to owls.

Sketch by Melissa Gaggiano.

Bend & Snap

    On Sunday I went on an excursion into the city with my friend, Belinda. We had a lovely day of it visiting the Bend & Snap market. Eating penne and meatballs for lunch in an alley restaurant at Melbourne Central [I still think of the place as Daimaru even after all this time]. Checking out Outre Gallery. Making return trips to Bend & Snap as I struggled to make a decision. Eventually I took the plunge and bought this cute 'tourist' fox made by Caylie of The Creature Workshop. Belinda bought the bunny.
    We then finished off the excursion by splitting a lusciously warm and moist, chocolately chocolate brownie at the Max Brenner Chocolate Bar. We sat and talked for ages about crafting and drawing.
    Awesome, awesome day!

Check out Caylie's work:
Etsy shop - www.etsy.com/shop/TheCreatureWorkshop
Her blog - thecreatureworkshopblog.blogspot.com.au

Nesting Moon

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

    Check out this beautiful photo that I took of the moon tonight. It looks like a lovely egg in a nest of clouds.

Coraline Complete

    I didn't see it coming to an end so soon, but I completed making the Coraline doll early this evening. My eldest is simply rapt. She hasn't parted with the doll since I handed it to her. I am glad she likes it so much.
    What will I do now?

As the Sun Rises

This morning the sun was a flaming ball of red fire as it rose up from behind some trees and houses. This view was from my front door step.

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

Knitted Top Done

    I made a knit pattern for Coraline's top. I was going to make sleeves, but decided against it. I will be making a raincoat jacket for this doll and I was concerned that with knitted sleeves underneath it would be too bulky for the doll.
    Oh yeah! And for those following the progress of this doll you will have noticed she has had a haircut.

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

    Next stop, making Coraline's raincoat.

Sketch Book Peek

Sketches by Melissa Gaggiano.

Coraline's Clothes

    I was tossing up whether to paint a top onto the Coraline doll or knit one. The knitting idea won out and I began planning and knitting the top.

 

    Oh yeah! And I just had to share a photo of this delicous dinner from last night. It was an Indian dish of butter chicken, with a side of rice, brocoli and cauliflower. We sat outside and ate dinner with a glass of Penfold's wine. I think having dinner outdoors is simply the best way to eat? Do you agree?

One Finished Cat

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

    Today I finished sewing this plush cat. As mentioned in the previous post this design came from Pip Lincolne's Meet Me At Mike's: 26 crafty projects and things to make. The lady who designed the pattern for this cat is Jhoanna Monte Aranez.
    This lovely cat will go to a little girl for her fourth birthday.

Blue Hair & Mike's Cat

    Here is a peek at my current craft projects...
    This morning I glued down the hair for the Coraline doll. It all looks straggly and like she needs a haircut. Which is precisely what I'll give the doll once the hair is firmly glued.
    Additionally my eldest has been invited to a birthday party for another little girl. So I am making a cat doll for the birthday present. I found this lovely cat doll pattern in Pip Lincolne's Meet Me At Mike's: 26 crafty projects and things to make.


Sew Turn Stuff

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

    Hey, look at that will ya! The Coraline doll has been sewn, turned, stuffed and closed. My next step will be attaching the blue yarn for hair.

Post Script: And I just noticed that I forgot to sew on the bloody ears.

Pink Clouds

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

    I love the extraordinary effects sunset can play on a clouded sky. There's something unearthly about a pink sky. It makes me feel like we've landed in a Flash Gordon story.

Further Progress

    Well this is certainly surprising. I made a lot of headway with the Coraline doll. This morning I visited a fabric store and bought some yellow fabric. The fabric is for the shoes and the eventual raincoat that will be made.
    In a continued effort to use material that I already have, I pulled my fabric box out from under the house. This is quite funny because I only quite recently put this box away to make space in the house. Anyway, I pulled out the stuffing [doll filler] and left over blue yarn from last years granny square project. I'll be able to use the yarn for Coraline's hair.

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

Coraline WIP

    And now the latest for my Coraline doll project. I have been taking quite some time to get this one done. Mainly because I wanted to avoid having buy a lot of new materials to make this doll. My aim is to cannibalise materials already lying around the house. Yeah, we're talking upcycling.

    I was able to use a pair of baby jeans that no longer fit my baby. I even found a piece of linen in the girl's bedroom, which judging by the size could not have been used for anything that was actually useful. So I found a use for it.

    Today I began working on the face of the doll, embroidering the features.

 

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

Sharin' Some Doodles

I am sharing with you a little peek into my art book and some of my more recent doodlings. Enjoy, and peace...

Painting by Melissa Gaggiano.

Illustration by Melissa Gaggiano.

Sketch by Melissa Gaggiano.

Illustration by Melissa Gaggiano.

Sketches by Melissa Gaggiano.

On another note, sharin' some cajun love. You love a little cajun? Or even the violin? You'll like this:

Twinkle Twinkle

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano

Night time photography in suburbia.
ISO 3200
TV 30 sec
AV 16



Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

More night time photography in suburbia.
ISO 3200
TV 30 sec
AV 8

    The above photos were taken last night just outside my home. I wouldn't mind trying this again. Though next time I'd like to increase exposure time and decrease the aperture eye, see what difference that would make.

Quietly Creative

    Things have been quiet on the blog front. But my mind has been busy, busy, busy with lots of ideas, old and new, bubbling away.

 

    I had wanted to do a mosaic for some time now. So the other weekend I picked some a starter kit and made the below piece. It was labour intensive work and took a good deal of concentration. It was just so satisfying spreading the grout across the little tiles and filling the gaps.

 

Mosaic by Melissa Gaggiano.

 

 


Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

 


Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.