DIY Book with Storage Inside | Pretty Handy Girl

Book with Hidden Storage | Pretty Handy Girl

Do you remember when you were a kid and you wanted a super secret place to hide things from your sibling? Having a secret book with a hidden storage compartment would have been perfect! Even as an adult, it’s nice to have a spot where you can hide something personal, valuable or sweet (think dark chocolate!) 😉

This DIY Decorative Hidden Storage Book is a relatively easy project, but it takes a little patience and a very sharp X-acto knife (so have a few fresh blades to replace when your blade dulls.)

Materials:

Materials

 

 

  • Fat book (shop Goodwill or repurpose an old book you already own)
  • X-acto knife
  • 4-5 New X-acto blades
  • Ruler with a metal edge
  • Self-healing cutting board
  • Paint brush
  • Mod Podge
  • Gold craft paint (optional)
  • 3 Sheets of scrapbook paper (2 the same design and 1 coordinating design)
  • Scotch tape
  • Rubber cement
  • Wax paper (cereal box bags work great)
  • Cup to mix mod podge in
  • Weights or heavy objects
  • Ribbon

 

Instructions: Read more

swatches

Over a month ago I was contacted by La-Z-Boy and asked if I’d like to participate in their La-Z-Boy Design Dash. The idea was to visit my local showroom and design a sofa. Then I’d meet my sofa in High Point, NC and design a room around that sofa. The concept sounded like fun. And the idea of getting away for a few days for some R&R sounded great! Little did I know, that there would be very little rest or relaxation involved.

A week later I received instructions to go to the local La-Z-Boy showroom and design my sofa. As I approached the showroom I was hesitant. I remember the vision of my grandfather’s old slouchy recliner. I was suddenly filled with trepidation. How could I “design” a sofa with flabby rolls of corduroy? I grabbed the door and opened it, and what lay inside literally shattered any preconceived notions I had of La-Z-Boy!

I was stopped immediately by what I saw.

colorful-chair   medallion-chair cannonball-arm

I had a breathtaking reaction to this chair:

my-chair-colors-pillows

Everywhere I looked there was more beautiful upholstered furniture. Read more

Rustic Wood Cake Stand | Pretty Handy Girl

Rustic Wood Cake Stand | Pretty Handy Girl

Day two has arrived and I have ANOTHER fabulous Très Frugal DIY gift idea for you. Honestly, this is one of my favorites. And I owe it all to this little picture from my Instagram friend, Kennesha. She blogs over at Restoration House and has an amazing sense of style!

After seeing her rustic cake stand that she wanted to DIY, my creative wheels began to burn rubber.

I simply picked up a few wood discs and a furniture leg to create a unique cake stand. Here’s the tutorial:

Rustic Wood Cake Stand | Pretty Handy Girl

Materials:

  • 15″ Wood Disc from Lowe’s
  • 5″ and 7″ Wood plaques (from Michaels)
  • Turned furniture leg (from Lowe’s)
  • E-6000 glue (or wood glue)
  • 1 – 2.5″ wood screw
  • 3M Sandpaper block
  • Drill
  • Drill bit slightly smaller than the screw
  • Drill bit slightly smaller than the furniture leg bolt
  • Philips head screwdriver bit
  • Food safe sealer (Behandla cutting board sealer found at IKEA)

Optional: Paint & Glazes (all available at Lowe’s):

  • Valspar 6006-1A Woodrow Wilson Putty
  • Valspar 6007-2A Arid Plains
  • Valspar 6005-1A Asiago
  • Valspar clear mixing glaze
  • Dry brush paint brush
  • Paint brush

Not optional: Cake or Cupcakes!!!! (kidding of course) Read more

feathered_nest_christmas_tree

I know what you’re about to say…”What?! It’s not time for Christmas decorations!” Well, I received an email from Michaels asking if I’d like to participate in the Michaels Dream Tree Challenge. If you saw last year’s contestants and the resulting dream trees, you’ll completely understand why I was excited to be asked to join in this year. Plus, I’ve been working feverishly on the Très Frugal month of DIY Gift Ideas and having some Christmas décor set up has put me in the mood (and provides for a festive backdrop for photography!)

Once I received my pre-lit tree and the gift card to pay for my tree decorations, I hit up my local Michaels retail store. I really had no idea what theme I wanted to create, but I did know I wanted to be frugal and make my gift card stretch as far as possible.

As luck would have it, there were lots of Fall berries on clearance. Can you tell the difference between fall red berries and Christmas red berries?  Read more

Painted Lampshade & a Quick Guest Room Makeover | Pretty Handy Girl

Painted Lampshade & a Quick Guest Room Makeover | Pretty Handy Girl

My mom was coming to visit his month. Since she’s a repeat guest, I wanted to give the guest room a little mini makeover for her. With the addition of some new pillows, curtains and a painted lampshade I gave it a new look in an afternoon.

Here’s the before:

GuestBed

And the after: Read more