The Pinky Family

© Melissa Gaggiano

    What do you do for fun? Me, I occasionally wake up the cat and herd my family in front of a wrinkly bed sheet for a ten second photo shoot.

    Click here to see more of my photographic work.

Una Momento

    A week of reflection is in order. A single goal achieved gives me the drive to want to do more. To make those other neat goals happen I need to take a moment and assess how I'm going to achieve those things. But I'm not stand still for too long, as there are lots of little-big projects that I want to draw up/learn/discover/start/finish.

    Things I am in the middle of/Things I want to do more of:

• For ages and ages I've wanted to sew a super hero blanket cover to match the Spiderman pillow cases I've previously made. I put this off for so long, but when I saw the superhero print fabric on clearance I knew it was now or never. So I spent a good whole Saturday sewing giants squares of of material, which will serve as the topside of my eventual blanket cover.
• I am considering designing and sewing a pair of shorts for my eldest. This is a maybe, maybe, maybe. We'll see.
• Writing: Lots of editing to do. Lots more writing to come.
• I am rereading passages from Pip Lincolne's Craft for the Soul. The book is what the title says. It is also 'food for thought'.
• Thinking about what I want from 'this blogging life'.

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.

DIY Peg Doll

    This week I successfully taught peg doll making to children. The children were in awe of the handmade examples that I had to show, but for me the best part was watching them sit down and have a go at sculpting and sewing different shapes of felt material onto their individual pegs.
    No two dolls were exactly alike, which was the intended result. I could easily have instructed the children to make the dolls in my vision, but that wasn't the outcome I was looking for. It was more important for the children to make the peg dolls in their own personal way.
    I present to you a tutorial, which was very loosely used as a basis for the above mentioned doll making class. It is for people who want to make a peg doll and don't know where to begin. I recommend reading the notes, and you have two options: make what your see or sculpt the doll as you imagine it. Remember, there is no right or wrong of making a peg doll. There is only... the fun way!

Materials & Tools 

Threading Needle 

(1) Push the threader through the needle eye, insert the thread into wire threader loop. Pull the threader back through the needle.

(2) Bring the ends of thread together and tie a knot.

Making Doll Hair

(3) Cut 5 pieces of yarn, each roughly 30cm in length.

(4) With the 5 pieces of yarn together, wrap around the middle of the peg and bring the ends of the yarn together up above the head of the peg.

(5) Cut another length of yarn and tie this around the yarn above the head, and knotting it off.

Additional Note: You can also make hair for the doll by colouring in the head with textas, or gluing/sewing felt to the top of the peg.



Doll Clothes
 

(6) Choose a piece of felt and wrap it around the body of the peg and cut off any excess that you don’t need. Play with different lengths of fabric – to make shirts, pants, skirts and coats.

(7) Feed the threaded needle

into both sides of the fabric to close the opening. Repeat the stitch pictured. This diagonal sewing will create a row of visible parallel stitches. Tie a knot in thread when done. Cut the thread close to knot.



Doll Arms
 

(8) Cut out 2 small, narrow pieces of felt fabric roughly 4cm by 1cm. These will be the doll arms.

(9) Ensure your thread is knotted at the end. Stitch the arm pieces to the sides of the fabric wrapped peg.

(10) Your peg person is finished and ready for play.

Additional Note: Experiment with your peg doll designs. With freestyle doll making there is no right or wrong way of creating. You can draw faces, use glue, sew accessories, use buttons, feathers, or anything that makes your peg doll uniquely yours. 



Bonus Material: Reference Card

Luna Lovegood Inspiration

Doll making by Melissa Gaggiano

    I am one of the masses who enjoys the Harry Potter universe and for this very reason I constructed a Luna Lovegood inspired textile sculpted art doll.

    I am so proud of the little-big details that went into making this doll. She has wire armature, is sculpted with felt. I've hand painted fabric, needle felted, blanket stitched and even curled yarn to bring this Luna to life.

    This Luna is currently available in my store. Check her out!

Craft Evolution

Melissa's Doll Making Progress

    When you love someone, or like something, there is not a single simple answer to explain why this is. This is true for me when it comes to creating. I like writing, taking photos, digital editing, drawing, painting, stitching, knitting, crochet, armature, problem solving and I get a real kick when I bring all these things together.

    Doll making has allowed me to mix together many different passions of mine. The other thing I like about doll making is the evolutionary journey it has taken me on. No two dolls that I've created are ever exactly alike. Even after I have perfected a doll pattern I seldom stick to it. There are constant adjustments – I see things that I could do differently the next time. There are new techniques to try.

    I feel that as my dolls change and evolve I too change and evolve with them. I am a different person at the end of each doll making process. Do you feel that too, with your work?

A Week of Total Kickass Creation

Photo, photo design and costumes by Melissa Gaggiano

    This has been a mad of week of making and creating. From developing a doll making lesson plan, staging a product photo shoot and making sample dolls for said lesson plan, writing edits, to costume making for a fairy ball. Yeah! So, I was very tired this week. But I got a lot done, so, happy me.

© Melissa Gaggiano

Snow White Concept

© Melissa Gaggiano

Meet Kobie 'doll' Roberts

Kobie Roberts doll based on a fictional character
created by Candice Ransom

    I am so excited to be sharing this with you. Just today I finished making this doll, which is based on a book character who I became friends with when I was about ten years old. Kobie Roberts is a student dealing with the all the things that makes being a teenage simply awesome [note the sarcasm] – bullies, trying to fit in, worrying about what others think of her, missing her best friend, face-offs with her mama.

    I loved Kobie [still do really and I look forward to introducing her stories to my own kids]. I thought she was amazing, and I wished Kobie could see how cool she really was when she wasn't trying. Come to think of it, I wish I knew that I was okay just being weirdo-me when I was a teenager too. So I guess this is a common worry for everyone when they are growing up – 'Am I enough? Am I too much?'

    It should come as no surprise then that Kobie Roberts is in part a work of fiction, and also a mirror of Candice Ransom, based on her own experiences and feelings growing up.

    I have based the Kobie doll on her description at the start of Fourteen and Holding. The doll comes with a hand bag [AKA pocket book], and a blue binder [with a 'right things' list]. The doll is made from woven cloth, felt, is sewn and painted. This was a back burner project for such a long while, so I am thrilled to have finally reached this point.

    For everything you need to know about beloved children's lit author Candice Ransom, go here.

Concept Futura

    This afternoon I created in Adobe Illustrator this idea that was bouncing around in my head. An outfit that could either be sportswear or office wear depending on the materials that are used to make it.