Friday is my day: BHB Kidstyle

Today to sunny Portugal and meet Eva from BHBKidstyle.etsy.com who paints fun and cute kids T-shirts. Summer is closer than you think :)

Orange Childrens T-shirt with Green Sheep on Front and Back, Size S

by: BHBKidstyle

7.30– The alarmclock is off. I REALLY dislike alarmclocks. I drag myself out of bed and go to the kitchen. First thing first, coffee. I must say it is part of my everyday torture that I have to make the coffee before I can drink it. It is such a difficult task without the help of coffein .

While I´m waiting for the coffee too get ready I try to lay the table for the children´s breakfast.

I make my big mug of coffee. Half a mugful strong, 3 persons worth of coffee, the other half is milk. It is called meio de leite, where I live.

Once the coffee starts to have its effect on me, I go and wake up my kids. I won´t bore you with the every hassle of getting ready to school. We leave the house as 8.30 and set off on foot.

I like the 10 minutes walk home from school. It gives me a chance to think about the day ahead of me.

Once I'm home I sit down and do the usual Etsy rutine. Check views, sales, chat on the EST thread, check treasury clock, reply e-mails.

Today I have Portuguese lessons up at the university. I have it once a week which is nothing if you want to learn a language properly but at the moment I can´t have more. It still gives me the illusion though, that one day I might be able to speak Portuguese well. Before I go I quickly have another cup of coffee.

Usually I cicle but today it is too windy for my liking and I take the bus and walk. On the way there I walk pass one of my favourite turist attractions, the old Santa Clara Church

As I zig-zag up the hill between the narrow streets, I can see the top of Sé Velha -Old Basilica.

From there just another 10 minutes the University

I have lessons from 11.00 till12.30 and after that I usually grab a cup of coffee and a sandwich from the bar with some of my fellow students.

I usually get home at about 2.00, and force myself to do some kind of housework before I sit down to do some painting. Today I have to finish a custom order of a local returning customer.

That is how I left it last time ...

… and that is how I leave it now

By the time I finish, it is almost time to go and pick up the kids from school. On the way there I check out the Bissaya Barreto Foundation's garden which is full of maple trees. This is where I usually harvest my maple leaves for the prints and I want to see if there are any buds on the trees yet.

Once we get home from school I start making dinner. Today it is going to be carott cream soup with “kifli” stuffed with chesse and spicy sausages.

“Kifli” is the Hungarian word for croissant but it doesn´t have the same dough. It is basicly the same as bread dough but has the extra addition of a lump butter.

That´s what it looks like before it goes into the oven...

… and that is when it is ready

After dinner there is still a little bit of play time then bath and bedtime to the children. 3 children, 3 bedtime stories. The light goes off at 8.30-9.00 pm and after that it is Etsy time again!

Friday is my day: Masaoms

Now we will travel to Spain and meet Marta from masaoms.etsy.com She is a jeweler and gemologist who designs beautiful unique jewellery. Visit the shop!

Apatite

by: masaoms

7.45 – 8.00am

My alarm-clock sounds arround 7.30 but I can't wake up until 8.00. I need to preapre my body for the new day. I enjoy these minutes inside my bed, watching the light from the morning coming inside my room and keeping warm... I also like to play with my cats at bed, they enjoy jumping over me to make me wake up.

8.00 – 9.00am

I take a shower... hot water...mmmm.

Then I have breakfast with Oriol. I like breakfast at home but somedays we go out to take our morning coffee at our favourite bar.

9.00 – 9.45am

We live out from Barcelona, so we have to take a train to go to work. When it arrives to Barcelona I take the Underground to go to my workshop.

10.00am

I'm at my workshop. Ready to start my day of work...

10.00 – 14.00pm

I like to take a cup of tea while I'm reading my mails and check my Etsy Shop. I make some blog posts and Tweet some news. Then I work at my Bench Mess to chipping, welding, polishing and smoothing some jewels. I usually ship my Etsy orders twice a week, and Friday is one of these days. So I prepare the jewels with their bags and gift boxes, ready to ship.

14.00 – 15.30pm

Lunch time! I go to lunch with my boyfriend Oriol, near to “Plaça Catalunya”. I usually spend my lunch time alone at my workshop but I specially love fridays because I go out to eat with Oriol or some friends.

15.30 – 18.00pm

I go to Postal Office to send some Etsy Orders and I take the rest of the afternoon to visit some customers, go shopping or search for new ideas and gemstones for my jewels.

18.00 – 19.00pm

I'm at home. Playing with my cats, Xino and Sophie, they're happy because we arrived early at home.

19.00 – 23.00pm

Washing machine.

Drink a beer.

Watch TV.

Answer my afternoon e-mails.

Cook something easy to dinner. For example, Pizza for us and Jam for Xino and Sophie. Miau!

After dinner, we enjoy TV all together, if is nothing interesting on TV we usually watch a film.

23.00 – 23.30pm

I went to bed. I spend 15 or 30 minutes every night reading into bed. It's one of my favourite moments of the day. Shhhhhhh....Good night....

Friday is my day: Malam

Hop to Paris and meet Marie from malam.etsy.com She is an independent fashion designer with very unique style. Happy Friday and don't forget to visit the shop!

Goblin Hood Short Jacket - Handpainted Pink Blue and Purple Paisley
by: malam

Thursday, February 4th

8h30 - I wake up too late, I did not hear my alarm clock the first time. Or rather, I heard it, but I switched it off very quickly.. I get in the shower then have coffee
9h till 10h30 I check and answer emails, update listings and photos on my websites, check statistics, Facebook and Twitter... then I check the orders I have to work on for the day, and dispatch custom orders on the calendar.

10h30 I continue working on a custom dress, adjusting it on the mannequin, and placing the darts.

I go on working on the dress, mainly sewing until lunch time around 1.30 pm Sometimes I do pattern drafting, sometimes I dye or cut fabrics, it all depends on the current orders.

I am not a very good cook, and usually eat very simple things, or ready-made meals because I don't like to take long breaks. Then coffee again, Internet again, and back to work on another dress I would like to finish today.

During the afternoon I regularly answer phone calls of which few are really for me, lots are salespeople trying to sell me new windows, china plates, or healthcare... Kind of annoying.

7.30 pm, I am done with the dress, and mark where the button holes will go.This is the only thing I don't do myself, I don't like the way my machine does it, and prefer having them made nicely by a professional button-holer. It's already dark outside , this is the view from my main window (I am on the 5th floor)

8 pm, I wait for the city train to the center of Paris. I always have a book to read while I wait for the train, here I am finishing "White is for witching" by Helen Oyeyemi, which I highly recommend, it is a very compelling read.

Fifteen minutes later, I get out of the tube station in Chatelet, and meet Yann and Guillaume - both photographers - for dinner in a small restaurant where I get a huge salad with fried cheese. I am pretty bad at choosing what I want, I can change my mind ten times before placing the order... but I changed my mind only 3 times today :)

11.30 pm, I get back home in the tube. There are still many people in the transports all as eager to come back home Midnight, I'm home and I do a last bit of handsewing, check my emails again, and.. to bed around 1am, once everything is completed :)