Evolution

Doll making by Melissa Gaggiano

    I am sharing with you a photo wall that shows the overall progress of making an armature doll. This is me taking my doll making in a whole new direction. I'm talking smaller and finer detail. It's an exciting new phase. What will I do next?

Harry Complete

Doll making by Melissa Gaggiano

    I have just finished sewing the Harry Potter doll. Excellent effort, yes! Eyeballs tired, yes! Want to step out and eat hot chips, yes!

Doll making by Melissa Gaggiano

Harry Hurry Hurray

Doll making by Melissa Gaggiano

    These updates are coming in fast. As I'm on the home stretch it feels like I'm getting faster at making each piece that is attached to the doll. Suddenly I can see Harry in this doll.

    Next step is to design and make Harry's quidditch (note to spell-check: this is not 'quid' 'ditch') cloak. Then hopefully a broom and maybe a wand next.

The More He Becomes

Doll making by Melissa Gaggiano

    The Harry Potter doll: The more he becomes, the closer he is.

Boots n Things

Doll making by Melissa Gaggiano

    And so the progress journey of the Harry Potter doll continues. Today I have been working on making boots, and limb protectors for the Harry Potter doll. As can be seen here. Stay tuned for more updates...

Harry Pants On Potter

Doll making by Melissa Gaggiano

    Harry 'pants on' Potter now has his… pants and his glasses on. Fun isn't it? Watching a doll being built up bit by bit, sculpting, one section at a time.

The Glasses

Doll making by Melissa Gaggiano

    What is Harry Potter without those glasses. Using the armature wire I have shaped these glasses for the boy who lived. But I'm not finished there. Next I will be wrapping the wire in black thread.

Doll making by Melissa Gaggiano

Harry's Uniform

Drawing by Melissa Gaggiano

    I began my day with a uniform concept board for the Harry Potter doll. Even though there are many movie photos that I can go by, I still need to see the costume in my own hand to make the design process easier.

Constructing Harry

    Following on my progress for the Harry Potter doll, over the past few days I have built up his body bit by bit. The doll as quite thin limbs, but once the clothes are added he'll have quite a bit of bulk to him.

    Next step is to sew the head and neck together. Then… the clothes. And I while I'm thinking about it, I might do more with the hair - more fringe, and more on the sides… Stay tuned.

From this...

and this...

to this.

All Depends on the Mood You're in

© Melissa Gaggiano
Merry Christmas

© Melissa Gaggiano
Bah Humbug

♥ Harry Potter

    I have started another doll project and it is completely different from any other doll I have ever made. This new doll has armature. I can hardly believe I am actually making a doll with bendy limbs.

    The new doll will be a birthday present for a little boy. His new favourite theme is Harry Potter, so naturally the doll will be… Yep! You guess it - Harry Potter.

© Melissa Gaggiano

    At the moment the doll is at a very basic stage, so it looks like a stick thin Egyptian mummy. Tomorrow I will construct the head and sew on the fabric skin of the doll.

    I am thinking of designing a doll outfit based on Harry's quidditch team uniform. And if I have time (and the talent for it) I'll construct an accessory broom.

    I have already made an accessory Marauder's Map, which has been an easy starting point for this birthday present. I found a DIY Marauder's Map here, which I printed on a single A4 (Yep, this is to be a miniature). I printed the map B&W, and later I dipped it in coffee water to give the paper that aged look. It is an amazing effect.

Marauder's Map miniature

    Stay tuned for more details of my progress (or tales of woe, depending on my success).

Poc Pocs II

    Okay, well that happened. I didn't think I'd finish making that Poc Poc so soon. Sometimes it does happen that the pattern pieces work on the first draft with only minor adjustments needed.

    My youngest loves her Poc Poc toy and is busy making it a home in her bedroom.

    Looking at the finished doll, I can see the pattern doubling as a strangely shaped potato, a potential gourd, and a futuristic doll chair.

Poc Pocs

My youngest enjoys watching Abney & Teal, and I will be honest, so do I. In fact the whole family loooooves watching Abney & Teal. Sometimes the girls play with garlic, pretending they are Poc Pocs. Sometimes I have to tell the girls not to take the garlic because it's needed for dinner. And I have discovered garlic appearing in the washing machine after doing a load. So you get the idea.

My youngest asked me to make a Poc Poc, and I kept saying 'tomorrow' while I worked out in my head how I was going to craft it.

Finally 'tomorrow' became 'today'. It is too-darn-hot-to-go-outside weather and I had an idea of how to sculpt a fabric Poc Poc. So here is where I am at…

Under Wraps

    Last year I made a Link (Legend of Zelda) art doll, which came accessorised with shield and sword. At the time I had wanted to include other accessories, such as a Deku mask (as seen in the Majora's Mask computer game). For a number of different reasons the mask wasn't made, but it was always there in the back of my mind. It was something that I still wanted to make. Almost on the anniversary of making this Link doll I finally made the Deku mask.

See here the visual diary of the Link art doll being made:
Entry 1: Legend of
Entry 2: Hard to see
Entry 3: Look at that
Entry 4: Hat and ears
Entry 5: Shield
Entry 6: Check, check, check
Entry 7: On his way

Fab Finds 17

    I have reasons to be excited. The year winding up. Christmas around the corner. Thinking about next year. Reading books that make me feel better. Movies coming out at the cinema such as Star Wars and…

1. Jem and the Holograms: I grew up idolising the cartoon show JatH, and in recent years I've had the pleasure introducing it to my entranced kids. Now the moment is almost upon us, it is a feature film, soon to be playing at Australian cinemas. I am so looking forward to this. I just may dye my hair for this.



2. My Poppet is a blog I have been following for quite a while. There are a variety of cute, homemade projects that make you feel like every day in the My Poppet household is a lovely spring day. A project that caught my eye is a DIY tee pee. It comes in two parts, so check them out - Part 1 + Part 2.

© My Poppet

3. Via the sharing power of Pinterest I became an instant fan of illustrator - Margaux Motin. Her work has a quirky sense of humour and her characters are very cute. But you don't need me to tell you, when you can see it for yourself, at Margaux's blog.

© Margaux Motin

4. I am halfway through reading Amy Poehler's Yes Please. It is an excellent read, for many reasons. I couldn't possibly put my finger on just one, but I will say it is written in an open and honest way. You can tell a self aware person, and Amy is one of those. Oh, and it really funny. So read this book, damn it! 
P.S. I got a kick out of pointing to the book cover and telling my daughters 'look, it's Joy from Inside Out'.

Yes Please

Sunday Market

I've got stuff,

made with love,

filled with fluff,

time they flew,

to someone new.

Day of the Market

    I am buggered, but before I hit the deck I just wanted to share some photos from today's Christmas market. It was a nice day, I was prepared, friends visited and showed their support, a few sales were made, and I got experience points.

I borrowed the kid's camera for the day to document the event...

Photo of me taken by my littlest.

Thank you to everyone who visited on the day.

A big thank you to Dad, for building the stand.

One

    Just one more day till the Christmas market. There is mucho excitement inside my head.

Surprise Smile

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    Just two days to go before the Christmas market. In the meantime I have new artwork, Surprise Smile, available in my Red Bubble store. Come take a look.

Pinspirations

    How the time has flown! It's about time that I share some good Pinterest pins...

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Rock the Stand

© Melissa Gaggiano

    A big thing in the making: As part of my Christmas market preparations my dad very kindly built me this amazing stand. It has collapsible walls, it is portable, it is perfect. I've included for your viewing pleasure a rehearsal presentation with my new stand. Next saturday is going to be AWESOME.

    It is an exciting moment when you can see your work coming together like this.

© Melissa Gaggiano

Face Painting Template

My daughter's face painting ideas.

    Today my eldest decided that she was going to be a face painter when she grows up. What an epic idea!

    As a fun weekend project I suggested she create a folio of face painting ideas. Being that we were out of printer ink I created a face stencil that can be used many times over. 

    For those who like this idea, and have plenty of printer ink I have created for you a printable template (see below) for coming up with face painting ideas. I look forward to seeing the designs you come up with - include a link in comments below.

Printing spec: Scale to fit on A4

    Alternatively if you want to create a reusable face stencil simply create a copy of the below stencil. Ensure you use relatively strong card and cut out using a sharp art knife.

© Melissa Gaggiano