Coffee + Pizza + Spook Town Fun

So much life has been happening. Some things you might expect and plan for. Other things... not so much. The holidays have been and gone. And while I had a mental list of things to do during that period, it all fell away when one by one kids got sick.

One small bit at a time I am picking up the pieces, and finding balance between work, creativity and rest. For now, let me catch you up on the happenings of past weeks.

Halloween is upon us, and I've got some spooky Halloween love to share. I can't help it, I think Halloween is such fun. So... Shimmer your way over to My Poppet Makes to find out how I up-cycled a spooky, yet utterly darling Halloween wreath.

I spent one glorious Crafternoon 'making stuff' with likeminded crafters, eating delicious cake and drinking Nescafé. Head on over to My Poppet Living. and get the full story and pictures from the Nescafé Crafternoon. I seriously need to do Crafternoons more often. People + food + making stuff = healthy combination.

Happiness is a baked pizza served straight out of a hot BBQ. So it was a crafty love fest for me, designing and making a pizza cushion for Kidspot. Head over to Kidspot to access my DIY 'pizza cushion' craft video.

A while back I produced a project for My Poppet Makes, showing how to transform a shoebox into a vintage trunk. In round up to this project, I created another project detailing how to create sturdy, layered shelves within the shoebox. It's the perfect way for storing all those easy to lose little pieces. Head on over to My Poppet Makes to find out how to make:

1/ Make a Vintage Trunk Storage Box

2/ DIY Storage Box Solution Small Items

M-m-m-my Poppet

My Poppet
DIY tutorial

    Oh my Star-Lord! I have such exciting news for you. This week I am a guest blogger over at My Poppet. For all you crafty food lovers you will find a delicious DIY tutorial for a miniature felt pizza. It looks good enough to eat and will have you craving the real thing. Ch-ch-check it out!

A huge, amazing shout out to Cintia and her colourful, inspiring My Poppet site.

A Making Week

    Just a quick update, as I am about to go eat dinner [Jamie Oliver stir fry]. This week was something of a maker's week for me. I made a toy miniature pizza. Played play dough with the kids, and made an octopus. At the request of my youngest, I made a cheerleader doll named Keira [made in under 4 hours from completely new doll pattern].

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano

Pizza

© Melissa Gaggiano

Can't eat this pizza, though it does give one an appetite. Another piece for the upcoming Xmas market. This felt badge can double as a toy pizza for dolls.

Day 97

Melissa Gaggiano Photography

She Skates

    Happy Friday everyone! Now go do something fun. Like maybe, you could cook a homemade pizza on the BBQ, or perhaps join a local roller disco.

    What will you do?

Illustration by Melissa Gaggiano.

Homemade Yum Love

    The past few years I have learnt to appreciate the art of homemade in a whole new way. The first time I discovered a blog it was Loobylu which led me to Meet Me At Mikes and inevitably a wide world of online crafters and artists. I cannot express the joy I felt in seeing people just getting out their paint brushes and sewing machines, making things and quite literally making their own rules.
    When it is gift time I do still buy presents, but when I can, I will try to make something. And the things that I've made have made far greater impact on the people who have been on the receiving end.
    This week's craft project will be making felty pizza slices. I found a wonderfully simple tute by Semi-Crunchy Mama, which I shall follow. You can check it out at...
http://semicrunchymama.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/tutorial-felt-pizza-slice/



Image copyright Semi-Crunchy Mama.

This Is Where It Is At

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

   
 Today I feel a bit of momentum returning:

• After a few days of languid blahs I finally began designing a new doll.

• I gave up on a crochet pizza project, which was warping on me even though I was following the instructions. Oh well! So I have decided to sew felty pizza slices instead.

• I just finished reading My Life is a Toilet, written by Gretel Killeen. Funny as!

• I have Module 5 of my photography course to read and work through.
• And yeah!

Button Surprise

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.

    Today my eldest was surprised by a friend when she was shown a boxfull of old left over buttons from a shop. Gwen was handed a little paper bag and allowed to choose her favourite buttons. Such a wonderful treat. Kids love playing with buttons so I cannot imagine a better play thing.

    This week I am juggling. Well, no, not really, but I do have a couple of things on the boil.

• My writing [won't say much about this, keeping tight lipped, except to say that I am writing something].
• I have begun crocheting again. I am crocheting pizza as a Xmas gift. It had been a while since I last crocheted and I had never made a triangle so it took me many tried before I got the hang of the instructions. Did I say instructions? Indeed I did. I am following a pattern from a crochet food book called Tasty Crochet [written by Rose Langlitz].
• I have been procastinating on doing the grey card test for my photography course, but it must be done. Soooooooo... fingers crossed if the weather is good this weekend I'll be giving that a go. 

Where I Am At

    I am having a quiet moment so thought I'd share where things are at. Things have been on the quiet side and yet I am just a little bit busy. Though it doesn't feel like it for some strange reason. Maybe it is because I am taking small bites here and there from my individual projects. So this is where it is at...

1. Reading Out of Africa, by Karen Blixen.
2. Listening to audio recording of Twilight on those late warm nights when I cannot sleep.
3. Discovered this wonderful website filled with creative kids activities - www.learning4kids.net.
4. Mixed rice and food dye as a sensory play item for my eldest. She loves it, and is playing with the rice as I type.
5. I am about to embark on a crochet project - making pizza slices.
6. Writing a story, just small bits at a time.
7. Drawing doll concepts.
8. Helping my eldest make paper badges.
9. Doing a photography course [but taking a few days break from the annoying gray card stuff].

Layout by Melissa Gaggiano.

Sensory play using rice and food dye. I cam across this at www.learning4kids.net.

Doll concept sketching by Melissa Gaggiano.

Friday Appreciation

    It's Friday! It's Friday! Happy dance for everyone!
    So what is today all about? Enjoying the warmer weather. Dreaming about pizza. Loving the awesome sunsets that come with the warmer weather. Eating lunch outdoors. Gardening. Letting the kids play in the garden. Going for walks.



Illustration by Melissa Gaggiano.

Photography by Melissa Gaggiano.



It's Back

    My camera is back and not a moment too soon. I mean don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed reacquainting myself with the old Ricoh but I did miss how the Canon EOS 1100D felt in my tiny hands.
    To celebrate I took photos of tonight's dinner - BBQ pizza. It Last week I wondered what it would be like to cook a pizza on the BBQ, and Michael thought it sounded like a nice idea. We still have a few kinks to iron out with the cooking time and temperature, but I tell you what... Once you have eaten BBQ pizza, there is no going back. It was truly awwwwwesome.



Image by Melissa Gaggiano

Evening Doodlings

A page from my sketch book.

My mind is positively fried and I should have a nap. But I have never easily adjusted to sleeping in the day. If it is light, then I just won't shut down, no matter how exhausted I feel. So here I am at the computer thinking about some potential projects for the future and going over some recent doodlings.


Would love a pizza right about now? How about you?

Sunday Cooking Storm

Yesterday my family was meant to step out for lunch at Dad's place (beef curry and chicken curry was on the menu). But once the car was packed and everyone had their seatbelt on, the car coughed and wheezed, declaring that it had a head cold and under no circumstances were we going to make it anywhere in time for lunch.

With such an anti-climatic outcome at only 11 in the morning we were at a loss at what to do. We went for a walk, to get some fresh air, and by the time we were home it was agreed we would bake comfort food and eat said comfort food. Michael prepared a homemade chicken soup (he even used a real chicken), he also baked two pizzas, whereas I baked pecan pie for the first time ever.

The soup, pizzas and pecan pie came out perfect, see below evidence of our baking half a second before it got demolished.

Mondo Notion

… as Michelangelo (the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle)would say. Last week we had homemade pizza for dinner and it was good the first night, and simply awesome come the second time we made the pizza.

The goal my husband and I have over the coming months is to perfect the pizza process. A good pizza has lots of topping, without being sloppy. Has a light base that isn't dry and won't give you IBS*.

Check out last week's pizza in the above photo. It didn't take long to demolish the pizza. And just look at the lovely plate. This is my favourite plate and it is the only one of it's kind that we have in our collection. My husband knows to always let me use this plate.

*Irritable bowel syndrome.

Look what I have on my mind...