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Silverware Wind Chime – DIY Talent Songbird

With a tweet and a whistle and a song in her heart, our next DIY Talent Parade participant is gliding….wait, no make that flying down the street! Whoa, well, I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that this talented gal is part avian. That’s right, I have the beautiful and exotic (because she’s from the Netherlands,) Marianne also known to her readers as Songbird.

Marianne, is truly a sweet and graceful creature. And she loves to surround herself with beauty wherever she nests. I secretly dream of flying across the ocean to be a guest in her home one day.

Her home is purely dreamy!

At Songbird Blog, you can learn all types of romantic decorating and decor tips. In addition to her top 7 tips for spraypainting.

Well, she’s swooping down with some beautiful silver strands flying behind her, so focus your attention skyward. Read more

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Making an Upholstered Bench from a Coffee Table – DIY Talent Madigan Made

Look up there! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no wait…it’s Madigan Made! That’s right, Shannon from Madigan Made is here and she leads a double life. She’s the Clark Kent of the blogging world. By day, Shannon is a pharmacist and by night she moonlights as a creative magician and blogger.  This creative genius casts magical spells on ordinary objects and turns them into extraordinary home furnishings and décor.

One thing I love about Shannon is that she never fails to amaze me with her transformations. They are always fresh ideas and the fact that she has the energy to complete DIY projects and hold a full-time job leaves me speechless. Check out just a sampling of her projects.

And now I see some sparks glowing in the distance. They are moving towards us at warp speed, which only means one thing…Madigan Made is in the house! Read more

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Anthropology Inspired Pendant Light – DIY Talent Shabby Creek Cottage

industrial style light DIY

TGIF, TGIF, TGIF!  Can you hear the crowd chanting? Yup, it’s Friday and today we have a real powerhouse of a DIYer in the Talent Parade. Here comes Gina with her baton in hand, she has the crowds on their feet and they are ready for a super transformation.

Before she gets to the grandstand, let me tell you about Gina and her blog: The Shabby Creek Cottage. Gina has single-handedly transformed her mobile into a beautiful cottage space for her family to live in. Seriously, you would never guess that this was a mobile home would you?

Gina’s home is one of my favorite online homes. She uses aquas and whites to create stunning magazine worthy rooms. She is ultra creative and always amazes me with her ability to design unique decor and furnishings.

But here comes that Queen of Transformations herself, so direct your attention to the parade route.

Hi! I’m Gina from The Shabby Creek Cottage – my blog where I share the adventures of transforming our shabby little cottage by the creek. I’m so excited to be hanging out with Brittany today – in real life (at SNAP) and here on Pretty Handy Girl – it’s truly an honor!

lighting before photoThis little light over our kitchen sink was a case of budget over beauty. I dreamt of one of those delicious Anthropologie lights, oozing with quirky style. However we had about $20 instead of $200, so we bought a Home Depot pendant and put a bucket on it – cute, but not quirky.

Anthropologie inspired light fixture I channeled my inner Pooh Bear, and did a little thinking. What did I have that would be me? Quirky, farmhouse, vintage inspired me? Then I remembered the roll of chicken wire I bought for $1 at my local Habitat Restore. Jackpot. The only tool I used was a pair of side cutters.

Chicken Wire Pendant Light Tutorial I cut a piece of the wire off the roll, about 10 inches by 12 inches. Cutting on the lines, I tried to keep the long twisty parts between the “combs” as long as I could to make the next step easier. I cut from the finished outer edge, so it could be the bottom of my shade.

how to make a chicken wire light I lined up the full first full roll of combs on each side to make a cylinder. I took the long twisty pieces where I cut, and wrapped them around the ones on the other side.

chicken wire light tutorial Once my cylinder was secure, I carefully started making a dome by pushing the unfinished edges towards the center. Kinda smush it with your hands to get the shape better.

industrial style light DIY You’ll need to make the hole in the middle work around the sleeve for the light bulb, which is kind of trial and error. Just take the coupler off that holds on the shade, then slide on the chicken wire and replace the coupler.

IMG_3304 You can make it look like a cloche, or smush it all wonky and make it more distorted – totally up to you.

chicken wire pendant light

A 10 minute DIY makes my Anthropologie lovin’ heart flutter…

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It might not be so cute anymore, but it sure is a bucket load of quirky.
Thanks, Brittany, for letting me share my tutorial today!

Seriously, that pendant light is adorable and Gina makes it so easy to replicate! I’m off to reclaim some wire from the chickens. Wait, I don’t have chickens, guess I’ll be heading over to Home Depot.

How are you enjoying the parade this week? Are you ready for more DIY Talent next week? Come back on Monday to see who’s marching down the street. And don’t forget to join the parade with your own talent on Friday with a special DIY Talent Link Party.

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Make Your Own Cloche – DIY Talent House of Hepworths

Oh my goodness, I can’t contain my excitement!!! Here she comes: Allison from House of Hepworths. If Aretha is the Queen of Soul, Allison is the Queen of DIY!

Allison has been making over her home one DIY project at a time. She is in her third year of blogging about the transformations.

Won’t you please welcome Allison to the DIY Talent Parade!

Read more

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Making a Faux Roman Shade

Learn how to make these designer-looking Faux Roman Shades to elevate your window appearance.

I’m honored to have Jenna from SAS Interiors on the blog today. She is an interior designer, blogger and Mom from upstate New York. This is one busy gal! Please put those hands together and give Jenna a warm welcome.

Thanks so much Brittany for having me guest blog today at Pretty Handy Girl! I’m Jenna and I am an Interior Designer & Home Decor Blogger of SAS Interiors.

 

My home has a lot of warmer tones and for the past year, I have slowly been transitioning to a more casual aesthetic with cooler hues. With updated fabrics on the pillows and windows, and some stylish new accessories and repurposed pieces, my interior is changing into my desired style.

One DIY project that I created to transition into this new look was to use drop cloth material to make faux roman shades for my dining room windows. I am a little crazy-in-love with drop cloth material. And not for it’s intended use of covering furniture while painting, but instead to create DIY projects with. Drop cloth is truly simple, affordable, & stylish, as well as durable, chic, and a great neutral palette for any accent color.

With that, check out how I made my faux roman shades…

These faux roman shades are not functional (I’m not that good, hehe), but are a great neutral backdrop to complement the long drapery side panel.

These are some of the suggested supplies to make the faux roman shades:

  • Fabric of choice (obviously I prefer drop cloth, but any heavy weight fabric will do)
  • Double Fold Bias Tape
  • Sewing Machine
  • Typical sewing supplies (pins, scissors, measuring tape, etc)
  • Velcro

Before I begin the tutorial, I wanted to mention there was an existing honeycomb-style shade where I wanted to install this new faux roman shade. I removed the fabric shade using a straight edge but left the bar in place. This is what I later used to attach the faux roman shade with the Velcro. **If you are starting from scratch, you could put the Velcro directly on the window OR get a tension rod and Velcro the shade to it.

Here is the step by step:

1. Decide how many ‘drops’ you want for your roman shade. I decided on 2 drops, and then I added a Header Flap on the top. Each drop is 5-1/2” and the top flap is 3-1/2”.

2. Measure the width of your window and cut your material. With regard to the length, I cut my material to be about 36” long. It’s important to leave a lot of extra material on the length, so you have enough to create the drops. (Read on and it’ll help you determine your length).

3. Take your Double Fold Bias Tape and edge the length of the roman shade.

4 and 5. Pin and Sew the bias tape onto your fabric. If your top edge is not finished, fold over and sew, so you have a finished edge.

6. Fold over your fabric to create a 3-1/2” Header Flap; Iron the edge and sew along the top with a ½” inseam.

7. It’s time to start your first drop: Measure 9” from the top (3-1/2” for the Header Flap + 5-1/2” for the drop) and then fold the fabric under to create the drop of the roman shade. Bring the fabric all the way to the top of the back.

8a and 8b. Flip over the Header Flap. Pin the drop and sew the fabric underneath the flap (along the pinned line as shown in the picture).

9. Onto the second drop: Measure another 5-1/2” for the next drop (which is now 14.5 from the top). Repeat step 8.

You can make as many drops as you’d like to create a longer roman shade. 2 drops worked perfectly for my size window.

10. When you are complete with your roman shade, flip it over and attach the Velcro to the top edge of the shade.

11. As I mentioned above, I used the existing bar that was already in place. If you are starting new, you can either attach the Velcro right to the window or use a tension rod and attach the Velcro to it.

The faux roman shade is complete!

And here is the overall space.

So much lighter and brighter than before, plus the linen-like look of the drop cloth material gives the space a finished, tailored look. If you want to see more DIY projects or decorating ideas & tips, visit me at SAS Interiors. Thanks again Brittany for having me here today – it was so enjoyable to share this project with your readers!

What talent! Thank you SAS Interiors for a great tutorial. I’m so excited to use this technique to sew my laundry room curtain. Anyone else rushing off to the fabric store right now? I’ll see you there.

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