August 28, 2008 by shellsgem
Sometimes i get the feeling that the only time i spend in my studio is not making stuff but using the computer. Checking mail and orders and updating blogs. So in the interest of refining things and making more creative moments – i am retiring this blog and I will only post to the blog i share with my sister – www.lovelysweetwilliam.blogspot.com
Thanks for stopping by and do come and visit me there!
Shells
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August 23, 2008 by shellsgem
Ooh – its always fun to do interviews. It makes one feel special I tell you. Thank you Jo from thedesignalphabet – she has a gorgeous blog that i will add to my blog roll “tout suit” as not only are Sweet William featured in it – but she is from just down the drag – and I love to support local. She is a guest writer for Decor8 soon – and i think there might be a giveaway of note! Well done Jo.
Posted in art, craft, giveaway | Tagged decor8, desinalphabet, giveaway, interview | Leave a Comment »
August 4, 2008 by shellsgem
Helen and I are on a quest insired by this section on Label free’s How to sew in Japanese series.
The book has been purchased and now we are on the hunt for the right fabric and then we will tackle the decoding of pattern. Im full of hope that Helen’s scientific and algerbraic mind can cope with it. A little bit scary for me so I think i will just look at the lovely pictures for a bit longer cos
the book is a feast and full of gorgeous patterns. I will scan a few images and load it on to my flickr.
I received a lovely swatch from jesse in the print swap – great work!

I also got some cute bunnies from
http://fourwallsdesign.blogspot.com/ – a cool design!
Posted in craft, japanese craft, sewing, Uncategorized | Tagged ISBN978-4-579-11149-7, japanese, sewing | 2 Comments »
July 20, 2008 by shellsgem
Craft 2.0 was rocking! The crowds were huge and ammped and was a great day to showcase a few of the Sweet William items I have been working on.
I think the biggest buzz comes from fellow crafters though. The best part of the day for me is the little walk around I do before the crowds get large. I found some lovely things, a few of my fav’s:
Agnes Coy’s atlas envelopes and cards ( I had made some of my own for the paper packs, but hers were a lovely set)
There were so many others but I did not take photo’s….. ( would probably not be the coolest thing to do to take photo’s of other’s craft)
Great event coming up in Wellington soon – The Big Shwop aims to bring together girls and their wardrobes for an afternoon of shopping that doesn’t make a dent on your bank account. Check it out
here.
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July 10, 2008 by shellsgem
To Celebrate our first Etsy sale – link to my other blog – and leave a comment to win a lovely print from my sisters illustrations!

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July 7, 2008 by shellsgem
Yep – We are the proud owners of a little ‘1 sold’ – on Etsy – yipeee! Orange Blossom madonna flew of the shelf and we are stoked!
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July 5, 2008 by shellsgem

Orange Blossom madonna and babe
Originally uploaded by shellsbells2007
Just to proove that I have been busy.
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June 29, 2008 by shellsgem
I have a number of books I am going to set free. I have been sorting and dusting off the bookshelf and filled a box with books. The next step was to take them somewhere ( so the box is in the back of my car – it has been since friday!). However, I discovered the bookcrossing site and fell in love with the idea of releasing books into the wild and seeing who discovers it! So, if you happen to be in the public loo at the Coastlands mall and you find a book – check inside for a tracking code – it’s bound to be a book I set free!
Posted in free stuff, ramble | Tagged book, book crossing, sorting | 1 Comment »
June 25, 2008 by shellsgem
So – when the little voices in the head start to get louder i know im getting a bit stressed! (Does anyone else get little voices reminding you of all you have to do or am i the only psyco?)
I have decided to get a to dolist going! I’m not really a list person – but for some reason when i have a million things to juggle – the list gets going big time. This one is in Excel! its by date and order of priority – impressed?
I have just been accepted on to a “Return to teaching” course through Massey University- it will run for the next couple of months – so I will be back in the classroom soon. Not sure how i feel about that yet. Glad to have got onto the course anyway cos its free! I have to go away for a week of training and come back to Craft 2.0 the very next day – so feel the need to be prepared. I have also commited to rewritting some kids church curriculum on an ongoing basis, with total folly i signed up for some swaps – (very excited about the block print fabric swap with jezze )and my sister and I are trying to get our little craft thing off the ground (juggle, juggle). Just not enough hours in the day at the moment – especially since school holidays start next week……
Can you see my TO DO list is justified?

I have been making some more M and C little hanging softies. These are scented with rose essential oil – it makes them delicious.
Don’t you just love this colouring in page? Download it and complete it – its such fun and gets the juices flowing. After all, when there is a million things to do – i say procrastinate and colour in!

Posted in craft, fabric, Have you seen these?, life and loves, sewing | Tagged bed, bounce, busy, color, colour in, craft, fabric, handmade, life, list, madonna, softie, swap | Leave a Comment »
June 17, 2008 by shellsgem

Madonna
Originally uploaded by shellsbells2007
Based on a lovely illustration my sister did, I have created this mini cushion of the Madonna and Child. My sister is an avid collector of this iconography and we decided our new collaboration needed a lovely piece that represented motherhood. I had such fun making her, there are more on the way for sure.
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