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Picket Fence Planter Basket {Lowe’s Creator Idea}

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Happy Friday! I hope you had a great week, but better yet I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

I have a fun little multi-purpose project for you today. I’m going to show you how to make this adorable little picket fence planter basket. You can use it as a planter. You can use it as a fun home décor item or you can fill it with glass beads or rocks and use it as a pencil caddy! Don’t you love versatility?

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Best of all, the materials are inexpensive. The fence border section was under $5! And you can use leftover paint if you want. Or you can try out Valspar’s new emerald color. I’ve been seeing that color pop up all over the design world. (Lowe’s provided me with a gift card to give that new Valspar paint color a whirl.) Read more

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Kids Bookend Kit: Build your own bookend

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Do your kids want to build and paint just like you?  This project a great beginner build for young ones who want to get in there and make something to call their own. And once they’re done building they can paint it too!

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Or give the build as a unique personalized gift for that artsy friend who loves to paint:

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Attach a cute gift tag (download my tag free from here) and include some fun acrylic paint colors and brushes:

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This project is super kid friendly, I tested it at my 6 year old daughter’s birthday party and all the girls absolutely loved building their own project .  We used kid sized drills (like these kid sized drills) and they truly enjoyed painting their bookends: Read more

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How to Build a Decorative Shelf With Crown Molding

How to Build a Shelf With Crown Molding

How to Build a Shelf With Crown Molding

Jacque, my wife, and the other half of The DIY Village has been kindly reminding me that I promised to make her a decorative shelf for our downstairs half bathroom.  She only had a few requests. She asked that I incorporate crown molding into the shelf, along with some hardware to hang hand towels.  As luck would have it, she found some scrap wood and crown molding that I had left over from a recent project!  Since I already had the materials, I couldn’t find a good excuse to put the project off any longer!  So I set out to make a decorative shelf with crown molding!

Materials:

  • Safety Glasses
  • Hearing Protection
  • Miter Saw
  • Kreg Crown Pro
  • Drill
  • Kreg Jig
  • Kreg 1-1/4″ Coarse Thread Screws
  • Compressor
  • Finish Nailer
  • 1-1/4″ Finish Nails
  • Construction Adhesive
  • Caulk Gun
  • Latex Caulk
  • Clamps
  • Pencil
  • Tape Measure
  • 2- 1x6x4 Pine Boards
  • 1- 5′ Piece of Crown Molding
  • 3- Wheel Handles
  • 1″ Wood Screws
  • Primer and Paint

The easy part of this project was constructing the actual shelving unit. Read more

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How to Install Window Trim

How to Install Window Trim

Hi everyone, I’m Cristina from Remodelando la Casa, and I’m beyond excited to join the team of Pretty Handy gals and guys!  I’m still pinching myself at such a wonderful opportunity.

Today I’m going to show you a fairly easy way to transform your builder grade windows from plain and boring to beautiful with loads of character and with a more finished appearance.

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Right now I’m working on updating my bedroom, where I have a couple of these windows.

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 They look  like they are wearing skirts, but forgot to put on the tops! 🙂  Yeap, naked!

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Let’s change that by dressing up those windows! Read more

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When and Why You Should Get a Permit

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When and Why You Should Get a Permit

Have you heard the horror stories about filing for a permit and the subsequent inspections? Did you hear the tale about the inspector that made the electrician pull everything out and start over? Have you been warned not to file a permit because you might “open a can of worms”? What exactly is a rough-in? And why do people say “pull a permit” instead of file for a permit? Don’t let misinformation put you and your family at risk. I have the answers to these questions and why you would want to file for a permit before starting your next home improvement project.

Last week I drove downtown to file for a building and electrical permit with Wake County, NC, but found out we are in the Raleigh City Jurisdiction for building permits (but that’s another story for another day.) Before I went to the permit office, I asked Barry Mooneyham, Chief Code Official of Wake County if I could have a little of his time to ask him some questions. It was a very informative 3o minutes, which completely changed my perspective on permits. I left his office with a new found appreciation and understanding of permits and inspectors.

Before I get to Mr. Mooneyham’s answers, I want to answer a recent question that some of my readers posted on Facebook:

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Laura, Alyssa & Holly, thanks for asking. I was unsure of the origin on the term “pulling a permit” myself, so I did a little research.

Why do people call it “pulling a permit” instead of filing for a permit?

  • The joke answer: Ever try getting a building permit? It is like trying to pull a tooth!
  • The possible real answer:  It’s called “pulling” a permit because the people in the office have to “pull” the paper work out of a filing cabinet.

Having “pulled a permit” last week I can tell you that it really wasn’t hard. I did print out the paperwork online before heading downtown. This was invaluable because I was able to answer all the questions ahead of time. Some of the information that was required for the permit is: Read more

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