double ribbon heart wreath on door 1-l

Hi, this is Cristina from Remodelando la Casa, I’m so glad to be here once again, sharing with you a cute and easy project just in time for Valentine’s day.

While walking through Costco (it always happens there, you go for groceries but come back home with so many things that weren’t on your list!), I spotted some gigantic spools of ribbon that for only 8 bucks, so I grabbed one and my project began taking shape inspired by a wreath created by Jessica.

2 ribbon spool

Materials:

  • One wire hanger
  • 15 yd. wired edge ribbon (1.5″ wide)
  • 15 yd. wired edge ribbon (.62″ wide,  a contrasting color from the previous one)
  • Pliers
  • Awl
  • Small decoration to hang in the center of wreath
  • 2 yd. decorative ribbon to hang the wreath in place
  • Scotch tape or glue gun

Instructions:

Using pliers, unravel the coil on the hanger.  Make a heart shape out of the hanger. Read more

DIY Aged Chippy Paint Technique | Pretty Handy Girl

DIY Aged Chippy Paint Technique | Pretty Handy Girl

This is another one of those tutorials that I’ve been dying to share with you! Like sitting on my hands and anxiously waiting to type it out. But after taking 2 weeks off from blogging, I’m back and ready to give you this fabulous tutorial for achieving the aged chippy paint look on your next project.

DIY Aged Chippy Paint Technique | Pretty Handy Girl

Before I give you the chippy gritty, I want to give you the background story on those gorgeous corbels.

If you’ve been following along, I finally completed my 13 month kitchen renovation. The last task was installing two open shelves on the full tile wall. Finding the perfect corbels to use as shelf brackets was not an easy task. I scoured eBay, Craig’s List and salvage shops. I was really getting discouraged. That was when I met Garlan from Southern Accents Architectural Antiques at Haven. We talked for a few minutes and he showed me some of the corbels he had in his store. There were some wonderful old ones, but I felt a bit like Goldilocks. One was too tall. The other not big enough, but the biggest problem was that I needed four of them. Garlan showed me some new corbels that he had. He told me he has a guy that can duplicate any corbel design and can customize them to meet any size requirements. It was as if the heavens parted and angels sang! I was elated and couldn’t wait to find an image of a design I liked. But, again, the Goldilocks in me couldn’t find the “perfect” corbels. So, I opened up Adobe Illustrator and started to design my own unique corbels.

Chippy Paint Technique

PHG Corbel Design for Sa1969.com

 

I designed a scroll pattern based off of one corbel I saw, but also added some relief portions inside the corbel. I sent the image to Garlan and a week later he sent me a picture of one of the corbels. It was love at first sight! I quickly approved the initial one and waited anxiously for the corbels to arrive. When I opened the box, they were beautiful and exactly as I had pictured them in my head.

Southern Accents Architectural Antiques corbels

I set forth to give them an appropriate aged chippy paint look to fool people into thinking they were actually antique salvage. Here’s how I did it. Read more

how to decorate a candle with tissue paper

One of my favorite and most versatile DIY gifts to make are decorated candles: they are inexpensive and easy to personalize! Today I’m going to share a basic tutorial for how you can use tissue paper to decorate a candle for your home or as a DIY gift.

supplies custom candle decorating

Supplies:

  • Tissue Paper
  • Plain Candle
  • Scotch tape
  • Heat Gun
  • Wax Paper

Instructions:

decorating candle tissue paper

Cut three strips of gold tissue paper long enough to wrap around your candle with a slight overlap.  Vary the thickness of the three strips for added interest. For a 3″ pillar candle the strips were approximately 10″ long and widths were one quarter inch, three quarter inch, and 1 and 1/4 inches wide.

attaching tissue paper to candle

Wrap the strips of tissue paper tightly around your candle and secure with a small piece of tape.  It is very important that the tissue paper be in contact with the candle with no wrinkles or space between the wax and tissue paper.

how to decorate candle

Cut a piece of wax paper wide enough to wrap over the entire candle-approximately 8″ wide for a 3″ pillar candle.  Wrap the paper tightly and secure with tape or hold with your hands.

using heat gun on candle

Use the heat gun to slowly begin melting the wax on the wax paper into the tissue paper.  You will see the change as the wax paper melts and begins to soak into the tissue paper.  Don’t stay in one spot for too long, once you see the wax melt move on slowly and steadily.  Don’t forget to watch your fingers, heat guns are capable of causing burns if not handled properly!

**I know many will ask if a hair dryer will work for this project and in my experience it does not get hot enough.**

After you have melted the wax into all of the tissue paper, gently peel the wax paper off of candle and discard.

how to decorate candles with tissue paper

This easy DIY can be changed to create any number of decorated candles.  Try stamping designs on tissue paper the same color as your candle for another easy way to decorate.  I even had my boys draw pictures on tissue paper to attach to a candle for their Dad when he was deployed-the possibilities are endless!

MelissaSignature~Learn more about Melissa~

Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

The holidays are fast approaching and the last thing I want to do is wander through the stores aimlessly looking for gifts for my friends or for the service providers in my life. Instead, I came up with the perfect gift idea: DIY Chalkboard Painted Mugs!

Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

DIY Chalkboard Painted Mugs

Have you seen those cute chalkboard mugs at Starbucks? They are so fun and I think it would be funny to write crazy messages on them daily. I decided to try my hand at a DIY painted version. Let me say upfront that I did a little test using Rustoleum Chalkboard paint on one mug and Porcelaine Chalkboard paint (made for glass and ceramics) on a second one. I expected the regular chalkboard paint to flake off, especially after seeing this happen after just one coat:

Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

However, after a second coat and baking it in the oven, it appeared to hold up after an initial dishwasher run. I can chip off some of the regular paint with my fingernail on the edges. But, overall the paint seems to be hanging onto the mug. That being said, based on the way the Porcelaine paint immediately took to the mug and appears to be harder to chip, I expect the Porcelaine painted mug to hold up much longer. So, if you want a chalkboard mug that will last longer, use Porcelaine paint.

Chalkboard Painted Mugs Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

Chalkboard Painted Mugs Instructions:

Lightly sand the sides of the mug where you intend to paint. Wipe off any dirt and oils with a cotton pad soaked in rubbing alcohol.

Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

Creating Decorative Borders:

Lay a strip of painter’s tape onto freezer paper.

Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

Cut along one edge (or both) with craft scissors. Cut in the middle with regular scissors to give you two pieces of decorative edged tape.

Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

Using a Decorative Border Hole Punch:

  1. Cut along the top edge of the tape to create a straight edge.
  2. Align the cut edge in the border punch and punch along the top of the tape.
  3. Peel tape off of the freezer paper.

Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

Tape off the top of your mug to protect it from paint. (This should be safer because you really don’t want people drinking liquid against the paint.) Be sure to press the edges down firmly. You can also tape along the bottom if you want a centered band of chalkboard on the mugs.

Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

Pour a small amount of the Porcelaine paint into the disposable cup. Use the foam brush to evenly coat paint onto the mug. Check for drips before the paint dries. After the first coat dries, paint a second coat for complete coverage. (Occasionally three coats may be necessary.)

Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

After the paint has thoroughly dried (allow 24 hours to dry), remove the painter’s tape. Clean up any seepage or drips by scratching off the paint with the x-acto knife.

Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

Place mugs in a cool oven. Heat oven to 300F and bake for 30 minutes. Let oven cool with mugs inside.

Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

The mugs are ready for decorating now! Add some hot cocoa and marshmallows for an instant chocolatey gift.Better yet, you could make these yummy hot cocoa on a stick gifts!

Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

These are so incredibly fun! I can’t wait to use one and write something witty on it. At $1 each for the mugs and $10 for the Porcelaine chalkboard paint (enough to paint about 8-10 mugs) this is truly a thrifty gift idea!

Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

So, please tell me, what should I write on DIY Chalkboard Painted Mugs?

  • Fill ‘er up
  • Don’t Let Me Run on Empty
  • High Octane Please
  • Do Not Disturb until I’ve Finished this Cup
  • ___________________

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DIY Chalkboard Painted Mugs | Pretty Handy Girl

DIY Rosemary Wreath & Juniper Garland | Pretty Handy Girl

DIY Rosemary Wreath & Juniper Garland | Pretty Handy Girl Winter is upon us and with the temperatures dropping we have our windows closed and doors shut. Thus sealing in the stale air and odors. Not to mention cold and flu viruses. Ugh. But, I have a few easy and inexpensive tips to give your home beautiful natural scents and cleaner air. DIY Juniper Garland Tutorial: As I was driving through our local shopping center last week, I spotted several juniper bushes that were ripped out of the ground by the landscapers. It was obvious they were getting rid of them. I did what any resourceful crazy DIYer would do and filled my trunk full of the bushes. juniper-filled-trunk I was just about to drive away as one of the landscapers hailed me down. I totally thought I was about to be reprimanded. Gulp. But, he asked me if I knew they were dead. I laughed and said it didn’t matter because I was going to make garlands out of them. He then showed me the location of the three dumpsters full of more juniper I could have for more garlands! Score one for the crazy DIY lady! If you don’t have free landscaping waste at your disposal, you can use any trimmings from pine and evergreen type bushes.   Materials: DIY Rosemary Wreath & Juniper Garland | Pretty Handy Girl

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Instructions: Put on your gloves. Cut your trimmings into manageable sections. Layer clumps together. DIY Rosemary Wreath & Juniper Garland | Pretty Handy Girl Wrap a small piece of floral wire around the clump to secure them. (I should have worn gloves, I totally regretted my actions after having many tiny cuts on my hands.) Continue adding to create a garland rope. DIY Rosemary Wreath & Juniper Garland | Pretty Handy Girl Secure the garland rope to your bannister, mailbox, mantle or wherever you want to decorate with holiday greenery. I used more floral wire to attach the garland to our banister. DIY Rosemary Wreath & Juniper Garland | Pretty Handy Girl Then I added some pretty bows. I wish my blog had smell-o-vision because these juniper garlands have a fresh evergreen scent. DIY Rosemary Wreath & Juniper Garland | Pretty Handy Girl Not bad for free greenery!!!

page_break_2 Rosemary Star Wreath Tutorial: Making a rosemary wreath is almost as easy as making a garland, but on a smaller scale. If you have a fresh rosemary bush, you can use trimmings from it for this project. If not, now’s the time of year to purchase little rosemary trees at your grocery store. Materials:

  • Fresh rosemary
  • Scissors
  • Floral wire
  • Wire cutters
  • Copper pipe (or a coat hanger will work)
  • Fishing line

Optional: Plumbing strap for hanging Instructions: Form your copper wire into a star shape. Wrap (or solder) the ends together. DIY Rosemary Wreath & Juniper Garland | Pretty Handy Girl Use small pieces of floral wire to attach rosemary springs to the star shape. Add a plumbing strap on top and feed fishing line through the hole in the strap. DIY Rosemary Wreath & Juniper Garland | Pretty Handy Girl Hang your rosemary star wreath and enjoy the heavenly scent of rosemary in your kitchen throughout the season. DIY Rosemary Wreath & Juniper Garland | Pretty Handy Girl It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here! DIY Rosemary Wreath & Juniper Garland | Pretty Handy Girl

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Cleaning the Air in Your Home: Having the doors and windows closed in the winter helps keep your home warm. But, it also traps odors and makes the air in your home stale. You know who else is trapped indoors? Viruses and germs are also trapped inside! Besides frequent hand washing, you can improve your odds of staying healthy this winter by changing your air filters.Use a good quality Filtrete brand filter to trap viruses and to clean your home’s air. Be sure to check your filters and change them every 1-3 months to keep your home healthy and your HVAC system running smoothly. page_break_2

PHGFancySign filtrete_brand_ambassador Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Filtrete. I have the honor of being an ambassador for them and have been sharing information from 3M Filtrete. I was given key messages to share, but all the words and thoughts are my own.  I have been compensated for my time and for this post. I continue to work with certain companies like Filtrete that I believe in, because of their quality and because I feel they have helpful messages for my readers. I will always disclose to you if you are reading a sponsored post.