three in one patio table centerpiece vase and planter

 

Wanted: A better name for this invention I created!

What is it? I consider it a multi-purpose centerpiece for your umbrella-shaded patio table. But, it can also be a serving station for utensils and napkins. Add some water and it becomes a vase for the table. When the flowers wilt, plant some shade loving flowers into it and you have a living centerpiece! So, my working title was: Plant-a-ma-bo-a-ma-holdey-flowers-n-stuffin-vase. But, I don’t think that anyone would be able to pronounce that. (Nor would that be very SEO friendly.)

Whatever the name, I’d love to share how easy it is to make this outdoor living table centerpiece. Read more

 

Today I have a special guest. Well, make that two special guests: Monica and Jess, the fabulous gals of East Coast Creative! But, before I let them take the reins I want to let you know that I’m secretly jealous that these two DIY gals live close to each other and team up to tackle some amazing DIY projects! Unfortunately, my ultimate dynamic duo partner lives on the other side of the US! Drat.

Hey, maybe I can convince Monica and Jess to move down to Raleigh, NC?! They could keep the same blog name (since they recently had to change it. I’ll let them explain the sticky torrid name-changing details.) I think we’d make the perfect trio because we have similar tastes in painted door colors: Read more

Last week I shared with you some of the changes I made when Woman’s Day announced they were sending a photographer to shoot my garage. The back wall of my workbench was rough plywood, which results in sawdust particles attaching to it like velcro. I needed a sleeker and more industrial solution. But, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money (because this is the garage after all!) Read more

I’m just curious if I’m the only person who loses sight of her desk every week? I spend Monday mornings clearing the clutter and figuring out my plan of attack for the week. I could really save that 30 minutes each week by corralling my clutter in one place! On a recent excursion to Walmart, I found the perfect storage solution!


I also found lots of other goodies at Walmart. My friend Su and I had a blast shopping together. Su is the stay-at-home mom of five. She has a wonderful vivacious personality and is loads of fun to be around. If you haven’t met Su yet, head over to her blog The Intentional Home.

Being crafty gals, we set out to find some inspiration for a new craft project using the Plaid products that were sent to us.

(The Plaid paint selection is just like the candy aisle for me. Drooool!) In the past I have ordered aprons and canvas tote bags for teacher gifts, but now I know that I can pick them up at Walmart!

Sorry if I digressed a little, but that happens to me in those big super stores. Back to my storage solution. I found the perfect sized file bin at Walmart, but the design wasn’t cute enough for me. While browsing the aisles, I also picked up some cute pillow cases, and soon a plan was hatched to give my storage bin some personality. Here’s how I did it: Read more

Happy Wednesday! Something kind of exciting happened to me yesterday. Woman’s Day sent a photographer, an assistant and a stylist to photograph me and my garage. They worked together like a well-oiled machine and made my garage more beautiful than I could ever imagine! If you follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram (@PrettyHandyGirl), I snapped a few photos with my cell phone. I am still in the “I’ll believe it when I see it mindset.” But, this was for a small feature on organization for the September issue. Honestly, I’m a little concerned that the editor will take one look at the photos and drop them in the garbage. After all, it is the LEAST attractive room in my house! But, the editor assured me that they really want to show an organized garage space. So, I’ll be sitting on pins and needles until the issue comes out.

Two weeks ago I got an email from someone at Woman’s Day expressing interest in my garage. She politely asked if I could make a few changes to complete my workbench. They were all changes that I had wanted to do eventually. But, that date suddenly became last week. So, I put my tail in high gear and added those finishing touches to my workshop.

This was the workbench area of our garage before: Read more