I’m am thrilled to announce we have added another fabulous member to our Made for Mermaids Team! Megan T., Catherine and I (mostly me 😉 )have been struggling lately to keep up with our work load. We have recently been updating some of our older patterns and it has become a struggle to juggle everything at once. Melissa’s eye for pairing fabrics, photography and graphic design work has made her a perfect fit to our team. She has been helping the last few weeks and we couldn’t be more happy to bring another talented team member to Made for Mermaids!

Hello all of you amazing mermaid fans! I couldn’t be more thrilled to be joining #TeamMermaid. I’ve been a fan of Megan’s since I can remember and have tested many of her patterns. I’ve always viewed M4M as one of the best PDF brands out there, and it’s a dream to actually be a part of the team now! I’m Melissa (also known as Made by Melli) and here’s a little bit about me…

I am a sewing-obsessed fabric hoarder, pattern tester, graphic designer, mom-tographer, occasional crocheter; and, most importantly, a wife and mama of 3. Maci is 5, Madden is 4, and JJ is 1. My husband Jason and I have been married for almost 8 years! I was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and lived there until my family moved to Utah when I was 13. Growing up, I was obsessed with gymnastics and did it for 10 years and then did all-star and high school cheer for 4 years.

I took a sewing class in 9^th grade and enjoyed it, so my parents got me a basic sewing machine for Christmas that year. I was 14 and sewing wasn’t “cool”, so that machine didn’t get much use at first! I made simple projects here & there, and a quilt for my husband when we were dating! I inherited my love for creativity from my dad, who was a huge DIY-er and had a million hobbies! He passed away 5 years ago, and I am proud to continue in his creative footsteps. His mom sewed most of my dad’s and his siblings’ clothing growing up. She is definitely a sewing inspiration for me and has always encouraged me – and even handed down her serger to me when I started making clothes!

The hubby and I were married in November of 2008 and have lived all over the country thanks to our time in the alarm sales business. When we found out we were expecting a baby girl, I jumped back into sewing. My first projects were simple, usually self-“drafted”, and were far from perfect! But I was hooked, and fell in love with creating unique outfits for my baby. Since then, I have been blessed to be able to stay home with our 3 babies while my husband works hard to provide for our family. Sewing time for me is a creative outlet that gives me a satisfaction and gratification that I thrive on.

For the most part, I am a self-taught sewist  – with the help of sewing blogs and PDF patterns. I began pattern testing in 2013, and testing has really helped me stretch outside of my comfort zone and learn new skills.

When Maci started Pre-K last fall, I made a goal for her to wear mama-made to school every day. I documented her outfits on Instagram and started my blog! I focused in on photography and am constantly trying to improve in that area.

When I’m not sewing, photographing, editing photos, or blogging – you can find me hanging out with my family, driving kids around to dance/t-ball/school/etc, or fabric shopping 😉 I’m excited to start on this new sewing adventure and I’m thankful to Megan for giving me this opportunity!