Little Playhouse | Pretty Handy Girl

Little Playhouse | Pretty Handy Girl

I love giving my boys creative freedom on projects. Frequently I let them have access to my scrap pile. Inevitably they build little houses for their stuffed animals. This little house was designed and painted by my 8 year old for Ollie (his little stuffed octopus.) I helped him build it. If you want to build a little playhouse for your child to paint, follow along.

Before we begin, I need to back up and tell you that this project is part of The Mystery Thrift Off.

#TheMysteryThriftOff is the brainchild of Lindsey from Better After. She chose a handful of people to take part in this challenge. After scouring her local thrift shops for ugly and hopeless items, she shipped off the chosen items to those of us in the challenge. I signed up—because frankly—I love a challenge. And, I love saving ugly items from the landfill. Be sure to see some of the other Mystery Thrift Off transformations at Better After and vote for your favorite.

But, when the box arrived from Lindsey, I was terrified to open it up! I mean what if she had sent me a ceramic scabies bear!  Yikes. You can imagine my relief when I opened the box to reveal this dated Christmas village.

Chalkboard Arrow Sign (Mystery Thrift Off) | Pretty Handy Girl

Not too bad looking is it.? Truth be told, it was falling apart and the colors were hunter green, colonial blue, mauve and fleshy tan.

Chalkboard Arrow Sign (Mystery Thrift Off) | Pretty Handy Girl

I quickly pulled the three houses apart and began to transform them into A Chalkboard Arrow Sign, a Housewarming Gift Caddy and the Little Playhouse I’m going to show you today.

I began by removing some of the embellishments.

Little Playhouse | Pretty Handy Girl

I saved them for a future project.

Chalkboard Arrow Sign (Mystery Thrift Off) | Pretty Handy Girl

Next I sanded off the glue.

Little Playhouse | Pretty Handy Girl

Here’s where you can pick up the tutorial. Start by cutting a house shape into a piece of plywood or scrap wood. Cut out a doorway (the Dremel Multi-Max worked perfect for this task.)

Little Playhouse | Pretty Handy Girl

Flip the house shape over and attach hinges to one side of the door and the house.

Little Playhouse | Pretty Handy Girl

Cut two pieces for the sides of the house (1″ x 4″ lumber) and a back piece the same height as the house front.

Little Playhouse | Pretty Handy Girl

Clamp the back of the house to a solid surface and attach the sides of the house with glue and finish nails. Read more

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

Do you have a new neighbor or know someone who just moved? It’s time to celebrate with them by giving them a housewarming gift caddy! This is an easy gift tote that you can customize to any size you like. Plus, the recipient can use the caddy for storage or display after the gift has been enjoyed.

Before we begin, I need to back up and tell you that this project is part of The Mystery Thrift Off.

#TheMysteryThriftOff is the brainchild of Lindsey from Better After. She chose a handful of people to take part in this challenge. After scouring her local thrift shops for ugly and hopeless items, she shipped off the chosen items to those of us in the challenge. I signed up—because frankly—I love a challenge. And, I love saving ugly items from the landfill. Be sure to see some of the other Mystery Thrift Off transformations at Better After and vote for your favorite.

But, when the box arrived from Lindsey, I was terrified to open it up! I mean what if she had sent me a ceramic scabies bear!  Yikes. You can imagine my relief when I opened the box to reveal this dated Christmas village.

Chalkboard Arrow Sign (Mystery Thrift Off) | Pretty Handy Girl

Not too bad looking is it.? Truth be told, it was falling apart and the colors were hunter green, colonial blue, mauve and fleshy tan.

Chalkboard Arrow Sign (Mystery Thrift Off) | Pretty Handy Girl

I quickly pulled the three houses apart and began to transform them into A Chalkboard Arrow Sign, a Little Playhouse and the Housewarming Gift Caddy I’m going to show you today.

Before I got started, I removed some nails from the house on the right. And then I was ready to get building.

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

Ready to create your own caddy? Let’s get to it.

Materials:

  • 1″ x 6″ board
  • Wood glue
  • Finish nails
  • 1″ x 1″ square dowel
  • 1/2″ lattice trim (or other decorative trim)
  • 2″ screws
  • Spray primer
  • Paint (used Botanical Home Decor Paint)
  • Craft paint
  • Paintbrushes
  • Patch-plus-primer
  • Putty knife
  • Sandpaper

Instructions:

Cut the 1″ x 6″ into 5 pieces:

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

  • 2 – 6″ x 15″sides
  • 1 – 6″ x 15″ base
  • 2 – 6″ x 11″ front & back pieces with a 45 degree corners cut into the tops

Add a line of glue along the bottom of the front and back of the caddy.  Attach them to the base with finish nails.

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

Add a line of glue to cut ends of the sides and add a line of glue to the bottom of the sides.  Attach the front to the sides with finish nails. Repeat for the back piece.

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

Attach the sides by nailing through the bottom and into the sides.

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

Pre-drill a hole into each end of the 1″ x 1″ square dowel. Attach the square dowel to the top of the front and back pieces with the 2″ screws.

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

The completely assembled crate should look like this:

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

Spray the caddy with spray primer inside and out.

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

Paint caddy with a solid color first. (I used a new paint and love the texture and coverage. Botanicals Home Decor Paint in Peony went on smoothly like chalky paints.)

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

Use the craft paints to paint details like windows, shutters and a door onto the front of the caddy. If you’re feeling truly artistic, you can paint the back too.

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

Nail the lattice trim pieces to the sides of the caddy for a little decoration.

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

Putty all nail holes.

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

Sand the putty smooth after it has dried. Touch up paint the putty holes.

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

Fill your caddy with wine, flowers, food or other goodies to celebrate the new homeowners.

Housewarming Gift Crate | Pretty Handy Girl

The recipient will be tickled pink. Haha, get it, a little pink house?

PHGFancySign

 

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Aging and Antiquing Furniture | Pretty Handy Girl

Reclaimed Lumber Farmhouse Table | Pretty Handy Girl

Aging and antiquing furniture legs is an easy task if you want to fake age on a table or chairs. With some stain, paint and glaze you can fool most people into believing that your new furniture is an antique.

There are many ways to age and antique furniture. This tutorial will show you my favorite technique for table and chair legs.

If you’re just stumbling upon this post, I shared the tutorial for building a table last week. The table legs I used are the rope twist legs from Osborne Wood Products. I worked with Osborne Wood Products and custom designed the legs, so you won’t find them anywhere else. I do think they should have named them the “Brittany” legs or “Pretty Handy Legs.” LOL. I’m just excited that they provided me with a set for my table at no charge. 😉

This tutorial works best with unfinished wood, but you can skip the staining step if you have pre-finished furniture.

Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Instructions: 

Stain your furniture leg with the dark stain. Follow up with a second coat if you desire. Allow the stain to dry.

Reclaimed Lumber Farmhouse Table | Pretty Handy Girl

Paint the legs with white chalky paint. Add a second coat if you need more coverage.

Reclaimed Lumber Farmhouse Table | Pretty Handy Girl

Mix up the Miss Mustard Seed Milk Linen colored paint and brush on a layer of milk paint on top of the white paint. (For more variety, you could use a contrasting color instead of linen.) Read more

File Cabinet Makeover Using Chalk Paint

Hey there everyone!  I’m working in my craft room to give it a major overhaul and make it a much more functional and creative space.  It also doubles as an office that I share with my husband.  It’s not always the easiest thing to do, partly because of a lack of organization. One of the biggest projects we’re taking on is completely making over the closet.  I’ve already replaced the closet doors with curtains and I love how much easier it has made it to get to things in the closet.

File Cabinet Makeover Using Chalk Paint

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This file cabinet is one of the things that goes in that closet.  When we finish making over the closet, it will be moved to a more prominent location that will be more visible, especially if the curtains are left open.  Because of that, I decided that the boring beige color had to go and I gave it a quick and SUPER cheap makeover!

Here’s what you’ll need to do this project yourself!

File Cabinet Makeover Using Chalk Paint Materials:

File Cabinet Makeover Using Chalk Paint Instructions:

Unless you plan on painting it, you want to remove all of the hardware off of your file cabinet.  I wasn’t quite sure how this would go, but it was extremely easy to remove everything.  Just a couple of bolts and I was pretty much done!

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To protect the inside of the cabinet from overspray or paint dripping through, cover all of the holes from the inside using masking or painter’s tape.

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Time to mix your chalk paint.  What I love so much about BB Frösch Chalk Paint Powder is that there’s virtually no waste.  You mix as you go.  I like using the sample-sized paint containers because they’re cheap and if it’s a project where I’m not sure how much paint I’ll need, at least I know I won’t go way over by buying a quart.  The other amazing thing is that there’s virtually no prep work.

Wipe down the file cabinet with a wet cloth and that is it!

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If you choose to paint your cabinet using a roller or paint brush, you can get started from this point.  If you plan to use a paint sprayer, you’ll need to prep the paint.  First and foremost, strain your paint!  Lowe’s sells little cone paint strainers (they look like coffee filters) for $.98 a four pack.  Once your paint is strained, you need to thin it with water.  The HomeRight paint sprayer that I use comes with everything you need to do this, plus great instructions. Read more

How to Refinish Rusted & Scratched Appliances | Pretty Handy Girl

How to Refinish Rusted & Scratched Appliances | Pretty Handy Girl

Do you have an appliance that has scratches and/or rust spots? Unfortunately over time the rust will get worse if you don’t deal with it.

How to Refinish Rusted & Scratched Appliances | Pretty Handy Girl

Today I want to show you how to refinish scratched and rusted appliances so you can extend the life of your appliances and make them look almost like new again.

How to Refinish Rusted & Scratched Appliances | Pretty Handy Girl

Before you get ready to tackle this project, you’ll need to order spray paint specifically for your appliance. If your brand doesn’t carry a touch up spray paint you can try the universal spray paint by Rustoleum. Or buy the liquid touch up paint and only paint the rust spots.

Be aware that all white paint is not the same color. However,  typically the colors are usually the same within a specific brand. (i.e. All Whirlpool white appliances are painted with the same white.)

How to Refinish Rusted & Scratched Appliances | Pretty Handy Girl

Materials:

Instructions:

Begin by sanding any rust spots down to the metal. Sand the entire surface lightly to minimize scratches.

How to Refinish Rusted & Scratched Appliances | Pretty Handy Girl

Fold the sandpaper in half to get into grooves and tight spots.

How to Refinish Rusted & Scratched Appliances | Pretty Handy Girl

Vacuum up any sanding dust and dirt.

How to Refinish Rusted & Scratched Appliances | Pretty Handy Girl

Use a clean damp cloth to wipe any additional dust off your appliance.

How to Refinish Rusted & Scratched Appliances | Pretty Handy Girl

If you can drag your appliance outside, that’s the best way to spray paint it. But, if you can’t, you can mask off an area around your appliance with cardboard and newspaper. You can also use saran wrap to mask off tricky areas.

How to Refinish Rusted & Scratched Appliances | Pretty Handy Girl

If you are working inside, crack a window and open a door. Use a fan to pull air away from your work area. Send the kids and pets outside if you are painting indoors.

How to Refinish Rusted & Scratched Appliances | Pretty Handy Girl

Put the respirator mask on. Spray the appliance with the spray paint. Use back and forth strokes that extend off the appliance and onto the masked area. If you stop at the edge you’ll have puddles of paint. A light coat is all you need for your first coat. Read more