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:
And the after: Read more
Well, it’s been a while since I installed the Lutron Maestro Occupancy Sensor in our Art & Craft Studio (+ toy room, train room, general overload of stuff room.) And I can honestly say that I LOVE IT! I changed the timer to keep the lights on for 30 minutes after sensing motion (because we have a long room and I wasn’t sure that the sensor would see me across the room.) So far,  it hasn’t shut off on me yet. But, it has turned itself off many times after the kids have been playing and vacated the room.
I’ve also tried to sneak in the room several times to see if Maestro will miss me. And he doesn’t, he catches me from about 10 feet away! See:
But, here’s the best part. No more lights left on and energy wasted.
Disclosure: This post is a sponsored post for Lutron. I was compensated for my time and project materials. All opinions and words are my own. Lutron is a company that I was happy to partner with because they make quality products that I have used for years. Rest assured that I will not partner with brands that I don’t value or respect.Â
One of the souvenirs I brought back from our London trip was this adorable little carved bird key box.
The colors, the wood and the artistic way it was carved spoke to me and told me that I had to have it in my kitchen! Despite the lack of space in our suitcases, I was able to cram socks and underwear inside to make room for it.
When we got home I found the perfect spot to hang my little key box. Although the box had hangers attached, I knew the daily pulling and key snatching would eventually prove too much for the dinky hooks. So, I simply removed the hangers with a screwdriver.
Materials to hang a keybox: Read more
What’s going on with that Handy Girl? She didn’t post anything on Friday or Monday? Has she succumbed to jet lag after her trip abroad? (nope) Did she cut her thumb off on a saw and can’t type? (nope) Was she abducted by aliens?
(maybe)
Want to know why I’ve been slacking on posting?
This is why:
I’ve been feverishly working on tiling the backsplash in our kitchen. It’s been a lot of sweat equity (and some child labor) but the results are stunning.
I chose these beautiful carrara mable subway tiles from TheBuilderDepot.com.
They arrived on a huge pallet and have been sitting in the garage for months. Once we got back from our trip I was having major DIY withdrawal. What better way to get back into the DIY game than tiling 80 sq. feet of backsplash! Heeheehee.
I’ve rarely had a free moment, in fact when I actually did take a minute to sit down, Handy Dog took advantage of an open lap. (Ummm, someone needs to tell him he’s too big to be a lap dog.)
What’s the rush Handy Girl?
The rush is self imposed, but I did want to finish before I left for Haven. I’m happy to say that I have a few more lines of caulk to run and the backsplash will be…stick a fork in it…DONE!
And then tomorrow morning I can hop in this swanky new 2014 GMC Acadia Denali and head to Haven!
(Totally love the hologram on the dashboard that displays speed, temperature, current song playing and more!)
Whoa, what’s with the new wheels?
Well, GMC is loaning the vehicle to me for the week. I’ll be working with GMC at Haven and theeennnnnn….
…on Sunday I’ll be working with some other bloggers to furnish and makeover another Habitat House in the Atlanta area. (Do you remember the big reveal last year?) It’s sure to be a lot of fun and a totally rewarding experience when the homeowner opens the door to her new home and is surprised to find it furnished for her!
I’ll be bringing a whole box of tissues this time.
Want to keep up with the action? Here’s how!
Follow these bloggers as they shop the World’s Longest Yard Sale this week:
You can follow the hashtag #GMCHTA (GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure) on Twitter and Instagram for live photos from the sale. And I’ll try to keep you in the loop through social media (mostly Instagram and Facebook) from the#HavenConf conference hashtag and beyond.
Want to read more about my adventures along the World’s Longest Yardsale last year?
One more thing before I rush out. If you are going to Haven, you MUST…I repeat…you MUST hop in on one of the two classes Sandra, Traci and I are teaching. It’s called, “Let’s Case This Joint” and it’s going to be a total interactive hands on experience in molding, casing and trim installation. And there will be power tools! You might just have to put up with me and my “Dirty Handy” impersonation though. Â “Go Ahead… Make My Day.”
 Put a Ryobi cordless finish nailer in my hand and I start acting like a tough guy.
I’ll be back later with some more DIY tutorials. I promise. I haven’t been abducted by aliens, I’ve just been a little up to my elbows in grout.
Disclosure: GMC is sponsoring my trip to Haven this year. I was provided with a loaner GMC Acadia Denali to drive to the conference and back. I was not told what to write or say. All words, ideas and photos are my own.
My name is Pretty Handy Girl and I am addicted to my Christmas mantel. Yes, I have used it since December 2012. I needed to enroll myself in a program that would help me get unhooked from holiday mantel décor. Truth be told, I needed a little help from my friends to change my habitual ways. So let’s turn this Christmas mantel into A Lazy Girl’s Patriotic Summer Mantel.
Thanks to my good friends on Facebook and Instagram, they intervened and guided me in the right direction. With some suggestions they helped me turn around and get my life back in the correct season.
Using my kitchen upheaval as an excuse is really only acceptable for one or two months. I used that lame explanation as a crutch for seven months! But, the issue became glaringly apparent when our good friend and house sitter remarked that she thought that was our Christmas mantel still up in June. {busted} Before she settled into our home (while we left for an extended vacation), I knew I had to change it up.
Everyone had some great ideas, but the easiest and quickest were to add buntings and some blue. Within 45 minutes (because I always have to play around with things for at least half an hour.) I had a fresh seasonally-appropriate Patriotic mantel.
Inexpensive buntings from Michael’s were the undeniable champion in this makeover.
A few American flags in a cobalt blue bottle brought some more patriotism onto the scene. Red, white and blue books were an easy way to add the right colors.
The stars remained unchanged, except I ripped off the crispy dead sprigs of rosemary.
Antique tins and a cigar box bring out the Americana feel.
Yup, give me 45 minutes and I can change a Christmas mantel…
…into a Fourth of July mantel!
Thank you to my social media friends for your help and for not turning me in to the decorating police. xxxooo