Perfectly Tiny

© Melissa Gaggiano

    I made this little owl jewellery piece and it is so tiny. How tiny? Well let me put it this way - I'd need a macro lens to get the owl to fill the camera and have it in focus. To get this shot I flipped my 50mm.
    So… how cute is that owl? It will be an end of year 'thank you' gift for an owl lover that I know.

Of Owls and Pirates

    March would appear a time of change. A new month clicks over and the weather suddenly realises that it is not meant to be hitting us with 35° plus days. Thank the goddess for the cool change. 

    The other day, wanting an opportunity to do something crafty with my eldest I found a wonderfully easy paper owl activity. Together we made a team - I cut, my eldest glued. We now have four paper owls decorating her bed and she has plans to add more owls to her collective. We'll probably be doing that next week.

    Click here for the paper owl tutorial.

    I have also been designing and sewing a pirate costume for my eldest's pirate dress up day coming up at kinder. I made a pair of elasticated pants, a sleeveless jacket and a felted heart eye patch. I am pleased to say that not an extra cent was spent, as I used the materials already in my possession.

Original pirate concept.

Finished pirate garment.

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.

Fottie Costa is Born

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

    Follow up to my previous entry here is my completed owl from the Owl Know How pattern. My eldest has named her owl Fottie Costa.

What Am I Up To?

No time to talk. Just so many things I want to do before I go to bed. But I did want to show you what I am working on this week. I am making an owl, following a pattern that comes with the Owl Know How picture book. The picture book was a project put together by Cat Rabbit and Isobel Knowles. I love this book. It is so sweet and my eldest loves hearing me read it to her.

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

Busy Days - Exhausted Nights

With a toddler and newborn on my hands, there has been little time for things like blogging. But here I am with a spare few moments to share.
This morning my eldest daughter invited me to sit at her little table and do a drawing for her, using crayons. It was actually a relaxing activity. I think the illustration is a keeper.

Emjie's First Ever Giveaway

I am pleased to announce that I am hosting my first ever giveaway. I felt that after being the lucky winner of so many other wonderful giveaways, it is now time for me to give something back.

Earlier this year I designed a plush toy aptly named Hoo Owl. Hoo Owl is made of felt, and lovely contrasting printed fabrics. I can easily say the Hoo Owl design is one of my proudest achievements for 2009.

So the giveaway is this... I have two Hoo Owl toys that are looking for a new home to nest in. To go into the draw you can do one or all of the following (if you do all of the below steps you triple your chances of winning the draw):

1. Leave a comment, describing Hoo Owl's dream nest.
2. Become a Follower of my blog (anyone already following my blog will automatically go into the draw as well).
3. Do a write up about this giveaway in your own blog, linking back to this entry (and let me know that you have done so).

Anyone can enter this giveaway, even if you are living outside of Australia. I will announce the two winners of this giveaway this coming Saturday (25th July 2009).

So to quote Gwen Stefani, "What you waiting for?"

Achievements

The Anzac weekend passed all to quickly, and a new week is upon us. The goals I had set for myself over the last couple of days have been achieved and now it is time to make plans for the next few days.

Last night I finalised my shop on Etsy by placing details of my first product. There are two Hoo Owls available for sale, which can brighten any space and is a fantastic gift for children and adults alike. 

So check out my Hoo Owl plush dolls over at this link.

Hoo Owl's Night

Hoo Owl Takes Flight

This is a proud moment, for herein are photos of my first completed plush Hoo Owl doll. I am now considering making a few more.

My Creative Space...

My creative space for today, displays the new plush doll I am to create. It is a design of my own named "Hoo Owl". In the photo you can see the fabric I intend to use, the pattern pieces and an illustration of how I imagined the "Hoo Owl". If it goes well I should be able to make a handful of these little owls. I am so looking forward to getting started on this project.

Hoo Owl

This is a concept illustration of a "Hoo Owl". I have had owls on my mind lately, and I just might take this design into development and turn him into a little plush doll.