Friday is my day: Ollies Woollies

Ah I am so ready for autumn when I visit Catherine's OlliesWoollies.etsy.com shop. She creates felted and crocheted jewellery and the colors are soooo lovely and earthy! Me like a lot :)
Happy Friday folks!

Felted Bobble Branch Necklace - Grey and mustard wool

OlliesWoollies

Hi everyone, my name is Catherine and I make crocheted and felted jewelry that I sell in my Etsy-shop Ollies Woollies. Since my days are spent at a museum – where I’m an archaeologist who over the years turned webmaster/-designer – my crocheting is mainly done in the evenings and weekends. Still, I hope you enjoy having a peek at my friday.

I wake up at around 6, and if I don’t get up right away, Tussi the cat make sure I don’t snooze for long. Every morning she follows me into the bathroom where she demands a drink from the tap.

After a quick shower it’s time for breakfast: a bowl of vanilla yoghurt with raspberries and homemade muesli. I got the recipe on a trip to Germany this summer. We stayed for bed and breakfast at an amazing farm, where all the food was homemade. Delicious!

Around 7 the rest of the family (husband Michael and daughter Elna) is up and about. A quick hi and it’s time for me to hit the road. It’s a one hour drive to Kristianstad, the town where I work. I used to commute by train, but after 13 years of getting up before 5 o’clock, I got fed up. If it’s a beautiful morning – like today – it’s a joy to drive and I love to play music really loud and sing along. I’m no singer, but who cares, there’s no one around to tell me to shut up!

Once I’ve parked the car it’s only a few minutes walk before I reach the museum. On the way I pass the Holy Trinity Church, built in the 17^th century and such a beauty.

The museum’s entrance is altogether different – and 400 years younger – but not so bad either.

Finally I’m at my desk and it’s time for an update of the web. But first, a quick check on my Etsy-shop. Yay, someone including me in their treasury – always makes me happy!

At 10 o’clock it’s off to the printer to pick up a report I finished designing last week. I think it turned out fine :)

At 12 it’s time for lunch. The museum’s got a great restaurant, Café Miró, where the cook Anita serves the most amazing home made buffet! Today one dish is Coffee Roasted Chicken with Chocolate flavored gravy! It tastes absolutely divine!

Still on our lunch break, my friend and workmate Evelyn and I go for our daily walk through town. Today it’s time for a visit to my local yarn shop, “helylle”, to stock up on some yarn for the weekend.

Couldn’t help but taking a close-up of the gorgeous shawls hanging from the ceiling. Knitted, not crocheted, but still beautiful.

Back at my desk, I continue working with designing the new web for the museum’s collections, until about 5, when it’s time to head back home. My favorite part of the road is when passing all the wind turbines. Their merry twirling makes me feel happy!

I’m back home at around 6, and it’s time for supper. Since it’s Friday, Elna is hanging out with friends and it’s just me and M. We make it simple, just a cup of tea and a sandwich in front of the telly. And a quick look through the new Ikea-catalogue that arrived today.

After supper I get to relax in my favorite chair and finally do some crocheting!

Since I had no sales today, I continue to crochet on the table cloth I started a while back. I saw the pattern at a small local museum and thought it would fit perfectly on the bright red garden table at our summer cottage. Hopefully, I’ll have it finished by next summer :)

11 o’clock and it’s time for bed. Tomorrow we’re off to our summer cottage and a crayfish party with my brother. And since it’s Saturday, there will be more time for Ollies Woollies – with a bit of luck!

Friday is my day: The House of Mouse

Iiiiik! Are you afraid of mice? Don't panic, these mice are cute and friendly ones and there is a lot of them! Today we will meet Anna, the other half of TheHouseofMouse.etsy.com
And the country is Netherlands, small country full of mice. Oh boy :)
Happy Friday!

www.etsy.com/shop/TheHouseOfMouse

Hello! My name is Anna and I am half of the team at The House of Mouse. I founded the business 2.5 years ago, and my sister Naomi joined to help me with the workload 2 months ago. As well as running my Etsy store, I am a full time housewife and Mom to baby Declan, who is 6 months old. I hope you will enjoy spending the day with me.

My day starts whenever Declan wakes up for the day, normally this is somewhere between 5:00 and 6:00, today it's almost 6am. Which - believe it or not - is actually a bit of a treat for me. Once he is dressed and changed we go downstairs to give him is breakfast.

Declan waits patiently in his high chair while I make his breakfast: apple, peach and kiwi all mashed up together. He loves it and gobbles up the whole lot. After breakfast we sit and play together on the sofa, then say goodbye to Hubby as he goes off to work.

At 8:30, Declan has just gone down for a nap and I realise I have not had any breakfast yet. So I have a quick bowl of cereal and some tea, mustn't forget my vitamins either. While I munch I check Etsy, my emails and blog. I also look to see if Naomi has left me any messages on msn. Once I'm done with that I head for the shower.

9:30 and Declan is still sleeping. I love days when he has long naps, I can get so much more done! A load of mice arrived from Naomi yesterday so I need to finish editing the photos I took of them last night.

10:00 Declan has just woken up, this is the fun sight I see when I go into his room. He has to check that his feet are still there when he wakes up!

10:30 Declan and I go to the shops. We need food for dinner tonight and I have a couple of mice to ship off to new homes.

11:30 On the way back from the shops we go to the park to feed the birds. Declan is too young to feed them himself, but he likes to watch. Especially when a big bird like a heron swoops over.

12:00 All that shopping and bird feeding has tired him out; he fell asleep on the way back home. He sleeps in his pushchair while I do some housework, eat a quick lunch and sort out the washing.

13:00 and he's awake again. We spend the early afternoon playing more games, and reading some books together. I really enjoy story time.

At 16:15 Hubby gets home from work. I make him some tea and he plays with Declan while I check some emails, pay the bills and make a couple of phone calls.

17:30 is the start of Declan's bedtime routine, he has his dinner, a nice bath with daddy and a last feed with me. No fuss or tears at bedtime tonight, so he is asleep by 18:15.

I make dinner and at 19:00 Hubby and I sit down together to eat and chat about our day. I am very grateful for this time we have in the evening, just the two of us.

Once dinner is cleared up at 19:30 I finally have some time to sew, but first I need to pack some shipping boxes because we had some sales today.

Now the boxes are ready for the morning, I can sit and sew while Naomi and I chat and webcam on MSN. We sew together for ages until I realise I am so tired I can't keep my eyes open. At 22:00 I'm off to bed. Declan will probably wake up a couple of times in the night, but I am used to that now.

Friday is my day: Littleclouds

Long flight ahead. Today we will fly to Hong Kong and meet Alison from Littleclouds.etsy.com
She designs the most cute and funny things made of fabric and paper.
Have a fun Friday!

Wrist pin cushion with watch face screen print

littleclouds

Hello from Hong Kong and welcome to a typical Friday Littleclouds style.
I wake up around 9am and the first thing I do is cuddle Kira (a Chihuahua I’m temporary looking after for a month).
After changing out of my sleep clothes and brushing my teeth etc I turn my Mac on and put the kettle on for a cup of tea, the first cup of tea is always the best!
Typically for breakfast, I’ll either have Cheerios or raisin toast (2 slices!)

This mug is from my 1st job at Costa Coffee when I was 16 and I took it with me in my suitcase when I came to Hong Kong just over a year ago.
Because we are only here temporarily, we try to buy as little as possible and we only have 3 mugs in the house so this mug is ultra-ultra precious!

Whilst tucking in, I’ll check my emails, Facebook, craftcult and read some of my favourite blogs and make my ‘to-do’ list for the day, usually consisting of things I need to make for orders and stockists, test samples as well as things I need to buy later (food shopping, supplies, errands etc).
I take Kira out for walkies. She loves grass and I love her face when she is panting, so happy looking ! (cute video: http://www.flickr.com/photos/littleclouds/4928230817 )

Around 10am I’ll head to my studio to start a-making. Today I’ve got a few custom orders to make so I screen print a bunch of stuff, including this shiny gold PVC I’ve been itching to test out…finally! Even though it is OTT and tacky I kind of love how bling it is!
After cleaning up my silk screens (and the bathtub!) I wait for the pieces of fabric to dry so I go to cuddle and play with Kira (she is quite a baby and loves hugs!)
11am
Whilst I’m waiting I might as well grab an early lunch! I’m not usually this healthy, I go through phrases but today this is literally all I had in my fridge, cheese, turkey slices and reduced salad pack. Time for another tea.
12pm
I sew and sew and sew until my back hurts and my eyes feel fuzzy, I finish my custom orders and make some samples for new ideas from the prints…bling bling!
3pm
I need some more supplies so go to catch a bus to go to Shum Shui Po, a district where it is completely chock-a-block full of supplies, anything you want you can probably get here in some hidden dusty corner, it is really a crafters paradise!
5pm
I go to meet my significant other and we watch ‘Inception’ at the cinema and have dinner somewhere local afterwards.
Afterwards we get some frozen yogurt to share, this stuff is so SO GOOD! I could eat it all day! And I think it healthy, healthier than ice cream anyway!

We get the bus home and get off early so we can go take a long walk on the beach as the sun sets, where I live is so beautiful, I’m so lucky to see these sights so frequently that I have to pinch myself. I’m not a sun worshiper or anything but I do love to see the sights of sea, mountains and low hanging clouds and everyone is always so happy at the seaside and that sort of happiness is infectious, these dogs were play fighting on the beach, so lovely to watch.
10pm
We take Kira out for a walk, she is so tiny compared to other dogs!
I package some orders whilst watching TV and do some sofa-sewing, I potter around and do some chores before bedtime around 1.30am YAWN!
Thanks for reading !

Friday is my day: Lazy Giraffe

Hi again! I hope you are now relaxed and full of sunshine and ready to travel again!
This Friday we will head to UK and meet Deepa from lazygiraffe.etsy.com
She creates jewellery from vintage beads, pearls and modern glass and she just recently discovered metalsmithing too.
Enjoy your day!

Dusk Earrings - mixed metals and swarovski pearls

lazygiraffe

"Hello! My name is Deepa, I live in Cambridge, UK with my husband, a big fluffy cat, a teeny kitten and two squeaky guinea pigs. I work in an office during the day and I make jewellery with every bit of spare time I can squeeze. I also love cooking!

This is my Friday:

7.45am
Waking up, I am not a morning person, normally I dash around to leave for work at 8.30. Hair straighteners and make up help me look human!

8.20am
Ready to go. I take my jewellery parcels with me and drop them off for posting. Today I am wearing glittery black shoes, maybe it will help brighten up the day!

8.30am
In the office. My first cup of tea of the day helps me wake up and get going. Lots of paperwork to sift through today.

1.00pm
Lunchtime, I have been prepared today and made myself a nice lunch. A brown rice spicy salad with little soya beans, homemade coleslaw and a baby avocado on the side. Yum!

1.30pm
Lunchtime walk, sometimes I pop outside for a bit of fresh air. I am very lucky to work in the countryside and there are plenty of places to walk.

3.00pm
Afternoon tea time! Tea for everyone in the office, and someone bought in some chocolate biscuits - hurray!

5.30pm
Back at home. Catching up with my shop orders, tweets, emails and listing new jewellery. I made some blueberry cake in the week which is perfect with a cup of tea at the end of the day. Having said that, my day is only just beginning - gardening and jewellery making to do next!

6.00pm
The garden. I like this time of year because I get to spend a bit of time in the garden after work, we grow some vegetables (lots of courgettes this year) and we have fruit trees in the garden. Jess the cat keeps me company.

6.30pm
Kitten!
We just got a kitten and she is so lively! She loves playing in her little cat tunnel, we play mouse for a little while.

6.45pm
Packing up jewellery orders. First I get to any orders than need sending out, I make and pack them up. I have been making some earring cards for my boxes and I love the bright summery ribbon to tie them up.

7.15pm
New things! Today I am making lots of little loops out of silver, gold and copper. They are little egg shape teadrops which I will turn into earrings, they have been soldered and shaped and are now ready to be cleaned up and ready to photograph.

8pm
Dinner. I picked up these really cute little squashes at the local market, they made a scrumptious pasta dish with some parma ham. Quick and easy too!

9.30pm
Annnnnddd relax. End of the day, relaxing with a bit of knitting in front of the television before bedtime.