Loveo the Roller Derby Pirate

© Melissa Gaggiano

Meet Loveo! This Loveo design has an unusual story. She started out as a fabric pattern test (hence the lack of skin tone colouring and only making one arm and one leg). Afterwards, one of my kids asked if I was going to keep the doll. I told her that I would very likely recycle the doll filler for future projects. My daughter then said I should keep the doll, and because of that the doll is still here.

The doll was developed into a pirate themed roller derby athlete. With a very simple, obvious twist. Inspired by the fact that the doll was already without an arm and leg, the doll became what she always was, an amputee. I made a detachable peg leg (pirate theme), and for the amputated arm I used fabric that looked like a floral tattoo. Check out that knee-high quad skate. Don't you wish you had skates like that?

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano

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.

Thanks to Evie for her Handmade Romance

Photography & doll by Evie Barrow

    A few years ago I commissioned a much hearted doll designer, Evie Barrow of Handmade Romance fame. She made my first daughter, Gwen, a pirate doll.
    More recently I approached Evie again with the same request, as I have since had another daughter, Keira. To my absolute delight the new pirate doll [pictured above] arrived in the mail today. Just in time for Keira's first birthday.
    I couldn't thank Evie enough for such a darlin' little doll.

I Wanna Be A Pirate

I very quickly doodled these pirate illustrations in Photoshop yesterday evening. And only just added some finishing touches. I really cannot escape the pirate theme that I like so much.

Yo Ho Ho

Herein is my latest Photoshop project... a pirates map, in tribute to all things piratey. Yo-Ho-Ho!

Ever since I was a little girl I have been fascinated by the romanticized fictional pirate. This interest can be dated back to when I first saw the movies The Goonies and The Princess Bride. Then in my early teens one of my favourite computer games happened to be Monkey Island, a very silly and hilarious pirate romp. Then of course there were the movies Cutthroat Island and Pirates of the Caribbean continually adding fuel to my lust for all things piratey (in a completely fantastical sense).

Romancing the Handmade Pirate

Recently I commissioned Evie of Handmade Romance to create for my baby girl a plush pirate princess. Originally I came across Evie's gorgeous pirate design when she provided a doll for Meet Me At Mikes 'Softies For Mirabel'. I was so enchanted by the doll, which resulted in my contacting Evie for the commissioned creation of the below pictured doll.

It was an exciting morning as the doll arrived in the post for little Gwen and the little pirate is too cute for words. Even M-Boo stopped to admire her and all the little details that were put in. She is a unique doll. She comes with all the accessories that a pirate needs - a swashbuckling sword, an eye patch, a parrot that sits on the shoulder, a 'skull and cross bones' shirt, and deep skirt pockets for all that pirate gold. I even noticed a sweet little tag on the skirt, with the letter G stitched in (I suspect to be a reference to Gwen's name). I also love the detail that was put into the doll face - the eyes are stunning. Evie certainly went all out on this project.

The pirate princess watches over sleeping Gwen

The pirate princess makes herself at home.

Thank you Evie! You did a marvelous job in creating Gwen's doll.

Show Stopper Studio

There is a fantastic website that I want to hype about - called SHOWstudio. I stumbled across SHOWstudio when I followed a link to a free John Galliano pirate jacket pattern (as pictured below). 

I love this jacket. There is something about it that reminds me of David Bowie from the movie Labyrinth.

At SHOWstudio you will find in-depth coverage of the fashion industry. This site has a unique quality as it is able to shed a lot of light on to an industry that is normally so cagey. The site has broken down a wall between audience and the artists who are able to share a piece of themselves and the work they do. Very insightful for those wanting to break into the fashion industry or even those just mildly curious.