What I Did On My Summer Vacation Part 6 :: That's Happy!

At the beginning of this year I started dreaming of a new etsy shop.   One that would have a collection of bright cheerful home decor.  Some handmade.  Some vintage.  Some repurposed or upcycled.  And I knew just what I wanted to call it, too.  See, my best friend has this phrase for whenever things are pleasing.  She says, "That's happy!"  It's not in a cheesy, overexcited tone.  It's more like she's settling back and deeply appreciating the goodness of how a situation has worked out, or how beautiful the silver lining of something really hard actually is.  It's a statement of truth.  She chooses to see the good.  The joy.  The happy.

Thankfully, she was more than willing to let me use her phrase for my new shop name.   But as I started to prepare That's Happy, I realized that I didn't want to start from scratch on a new etsy shop.  And I didn't want to run two different shops.  But I wasn't ready to let go of Ruby Willow either.  My thoughts went around and around and around on all this until finally, this summer, I just simply changed the name of my shop.  There is no going back now!

I don't even have new business cards!  Or a real finished logo.  This is what I'm working with now.

I like it.  It's happy.  But it's subject to change.  Actually, everything in my shop is subject to change.  And that's one of the things I'm really excited about.   I suddenly feel this new freedom to simply try new things!  I want to keep changing it up.  Keep trying out new projects and keep my inventory fresh and new.  

So I'm pleased to announce that I have some new products.  Like these happy birdhouses!

Geary and I made them together.  They were frustrating and time consuming and costly but we worked through the obstacles together.  We figured them out.  We strengthened our marriage in the process.  And now we have a finished product that we love.  That's happy!

And these clutches!  I really enjoy sewing.  I've been saying forever that I wanted to add zippered pouches to my shop.  Now, I feel like I finally can.  That's happy!

Of course, I'll still make jewelry.  I think I was feeling a little stuck and uninspired before.  But the creative juices are flowing again and I have new, simple, fresh, fun jewelry.  Like these blue feather earrings.

Or these Happy Day earrings in lots of different colors!

They are so fun and cheerful.

These beads are amazing. They almost glow!

Oh, and simple wire wrapped rings!  They are just fun and oh so easy to wear.

This one was made with an earring that had lost its mate.

So many color options.

And shapes!  I love this emerald swarovski oval.   These rings aren't anything new, but they are simple, sweet, and I enjoy making them.  Doing what you love?  That's happy!

And you all know how much I like treasure hunting at thrift stores.  I am always finding vintage treasures that I love but then end up passing by because I know I won't use it in my house.  But...what if I could share what I find?  Like these 1978 Hallmark Pear Sun Catchers?

Or this adorable Houndstooth Chicken Tea Cozy?

Or these happy vintage sheets?

And this sweet little cross stitch owl?  Can't you see it on a rustic Christmas tree?

Now I can spread the Vintage Love around!  That's happy!

I know that all transitions come with obstacles.  Not everyone will love the changes I make.  It will be a lot of work to re-establish my brand.  But...I'm excited about it.  I needed this change.  I needed to take a risk.  I'm trying a new thing and...that's happy!

My new etsy shop address is: www.thatshappyshop.etsy.com

My new business email is thatshappyshop@gmail.com

And you can "like" me on facebook, too: www.facebook.com/thatshappyshop

What I Did On My Summer Vacation Part 5 :: The Family Business

Long time readers will remember The Family Business.  Basically, we used to hunt garage sales for cheap, ugly furniture, give the pieces makeovers and then resell them on Craigslist for a profit.  This summer we decided that all our proceeds from the Family Business would go toward paying for our vacations.   

The whole family is part of this business.  The kids are the lookouts.  While we're driving around looking for garage sales they call out if they see any furniture.  They also help out with cleaning the pieces and are gophers for Geary and me.  Noah is especially helpful with entertaining his brothers so that Geary and I can work without distraction for a while.  Next summer I think we'll teach them to sand and fill holes with wood putty.

Somehow we were able to make all the cash we needed with just two pieces.

We bought this dresser for $10 from a garage sale.  

It had great lines, was solid wood, and was nice and sturdy.

The biggest obstacle was replacing those handles.  At first I tried to find matching replacements but they weren't a standard size and although I could find lots of similar styles I wasn't able to find an exact match.

Finally, I found these brass pulls.  But, sadly, I miscounted and only ordered 8 of them when I really needed 12.  The shipping took forever so after I realized my mistake, we had to wait forever again to get the last four.  And we had to pay for shipping twice.  That was a bummer.

But I am so pleased with how this dresser turned out! It's kind of like a Captain's Chest, eh?

We used furniture wax for the first time to finish these.  I love it.  I am now a big fan of furniture wax.  No brush marks, it's easy peasy to use, and it gives the piece such a nice lustre.

We sold it for $130 and used the money to go camping.

This next piece was given to us by some friends who knew we would fix it up and resell it.

I knew it needed to be a soft color and it seemed to be begging to be green.

But first we sanded it down and then gave it a base coat of white.  Then we bought a small sample pot of green paint at Home Depot.  I dry brushed the green over the white and then distressed the edges.

The green paint was color matched to this wrapping paper that I used to line the drawers and back of the secretary.

I love how beachy and shabby chic it turned out.  It was really tempting to keep this cutie.

But I'm happy to say it has a new home at my friend's house so I can visit it.

It was sold for $60 and we used that money for a quick trip to Seattle to see my Grandma.

We also bought a $5 armoire and were given a dining room table and some other smaller tables but we didn't get a chance to work on those this summer.  I do have plans for both pieces, though, and I'm pretty sure they are both going to stay in our home.  Stay tuned!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation Part 4 :: 4th of July

Over the past few years we've established a tradition of going to Nila's house the celebrate Independence Day.  We have a cookout, lawn games, and best of all, a water fight!  It. is.  EPIC.  But this year the 4th fell on a day when I was up to my eyeballs in things that needed to get done.  So I seized the opportunity to have a child free house and sent Geary and the boys off to farm without me.  I was sad to miss out on the all the fun but it was worth it to regain some sanity in our house.  While they were gone I cleaned the entire house, caught up on laundry, cooked all our dinners for the month, and took care of some Ruby Willow business.  It was such a gift to able to have a whole day to myself and to get so much work done!

Geary was awesome and took a ton of pictures at the farm.  He said they all had a blast and when the kids got home they basically crashed and then slept in until 10am the next morning!  I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.  Enjoy!

I am so excited for next year so I can rejoin the party!  Thanks, Nila, for hosting such a fun event!