2011 March

Knife Topped Birdhouse

Okay, so I know you all think I’ve gone off my rocker. I bought a bunch of silverware (err, excuse me flatware) from Goodwill recently. I made some Fork Photo Holders (which I absolutely adore!) And had been thinking of some cool projects to do with the knives.

Inspiration hit when my chickadee’s birdhouse roof caved in. I knew I had to act quickly and build a new birdhouse for my repeat nesters! Here is a look at the dynamics surrounding the chickadee’s annual nest location.

I had no idea that the little chickadees could continually defend their bird house from the larger birds, but they do. Every year!

I bought this $3 unpainted birdhouse at AC Moore and painted it a pretty blue; gave it a white wash; and put a few coats of protective polyurethane on it.

Then, because I can’t leave well enough alone, I decided that the birdhouse needed something extra. Knives!!! Of course, right?!

So, here is what I did:

Materials:

Painted and Polyurethaned Birdhouse
Knives (about 14)
Wire
Wire cutters
Staple Gun
1/4″ Staples
1 Spoon or Fork Handle
Dremel power tool (with metal cutting disc, drill bit, and engraving tool)

Instructions:

Begin by removing the standard perch (yes, I really can’t leave well enough alone!)

I used my Dremel 8000 that I got for Christmas. Love it!

Then clamp the spoon or fork to a work surface and use a metal cutting wheel attachment on the Dremel to cut off the handle (those sparks will fly, so be sure to use safety goggles and keep the work area clear.)

Mark the width of the handle on the birdhouse.

Use a drill bit attachment to drill a series of holes to fit the spoon handle (perch) into.

I got tired of drilling holes and eventually cleared out the leftover material with the engraving tip. (If anyone is a Dremel expert and has a recommendation for a better bit to use, I’m all ears!)

Dip your handle (perch) in the E-6000,

and insert it into the slot you made in the birdhouse.

Now, time to play with the knives! Oooo, that sounds so sadistic! Measure the height of your birdhouse roof and then line up your knives to double that length (to cover both sides of the roof.)

Wrap a wire around the first knife a few times, then wrap it around the second knife a few times to connect them.

Continue connecting the knives together until you reach the double height length of the roof.

Repeat tying the knives together on the opposite side.

Drape the knives over the birdhouse roof and adjust any that have fallen out or are not lined up.

If some of the knives want to fall out, add a drop of E-6000 to the underside to secure the wire to the knife.

Load your staple gun with 1/4″ staples and staple the wire to the roof. Tap any that didn’t sink into the wood with a hammer.

Finally, add a hook to the top of your birdhouse and hang it up outside! I hope the chickadees appreciate their new home.

Note: At first I wanted to use more knives so that you couldn’t see any space between the knives, but those suckers were so heavy that I had to modify my plans.

Don’t forget to enter Elizabeth’s Shaklee giveaway that ends Saturday night!

Sharing my birdhouse with these fabulous link parties:

Transformation Thursday – The Shabby Chic Cottage

Tutorials & Tips Tuesday – The Stories of A2Z

Spring Projects – Centsational Girl

Show and Share – Just a Girl

13 Comments
Filed Under: Birdhouse, Crafts, Dremel, drill

Shaklee Review and Giveaway

28 Mar posted by Brittany Bailey

Two weeks ago, Elizabeth contacted me to see if I wanted to offer a Shaklee giveaway to one of my lucky readers. I told her that I would appreciate if she sent me a sample first to try out the product before offering it to my readers. Before I received the sample, I did some internet research on Shaklee. I wanted to make sure that the company wasn’t a scam and basically check up on the products before offering them to my readers. What I found was that it is a Multi-level marketing company in which part of the profits come from signing on new distributors. What I also found is that the Shaklee products are supposed to be environmentally friendly and chemical-free. There are many people who use Shaklee products and love them. A few celebrities that endorse them are: Oprah and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Being the ultimate pessimist when it comes to product claims and celebrity endorsements, I still wasn’t satisfied. I proceeded to do some more research and found that Shaklee has been around for 50 years and puts a lot of research into each product. With that information under my belt I was willing to give their products a try.

Elizabeth’s package arrived a few days later and I opened it up to find a teeny tiny sample of Basic H2. At first, I thought, REALLY?! She couldn’t have sent me any more?

But then I read the directions:

"Inside this tiny capsule is enough power to make a whole bottle of all-purpose super cleaner and another whole bottle of glass cleaner..."

Come on. Seriously?! Again, I was skeptical, how could that tiny vial make two bottles of cleaner? But, I gave it a try. I mixed up the one bottle of glass cleaner (2 drops to 16 oz. water). Then eye-balled a little more than 1/4 tsp. into 26 oz. of water to make a bottle of all-purpose cleaner.

My assistant, just think of him as a mini Vanna White. Wait, he kind of looks like Billy Mays (the Oxi-clean guy) doesn't he?!.

Now, you should know that while I was downstairs mixing my Shaklee potions, my boys were being suspiciously quiet upstairs. So, I headed up to see what those {umm-yeah}…sweet little angels were up to. I should have known better!

Toothpaste smeared on the vanity top

Water splashed all over the mirror.

This was the perfect opportunity to try out my newly mixed Basic H2 concoctions. “Let’s see if you can handle this mess, Shaklee!”

First I sprayed the glass and let it sit for a minute while I sprayed down the sink and vanity top.

Then I went back to the mirror and was thoroughly amazed that the glass cleaner (remember only 2 drops and 16 oz. of water) worked on the smeared toothpaste and who knows what else. And the most perfect sound was emitted from my rag as it swiped the mirror. A very loud squeaky sound. It truly was squeaky clean!

Next I wiped off the vanity top and sink. Truth be told, I had to spray and wipe the goopey toothpaste trails twice, but they came clean.

And it cleaned everything else in the bathroom, spic and span.

Later that week Elizabeth emailed me to ask if I received the Basic H2 and how I liked it. I told her I thought they worked great, but I was missing my old cleaner’s lemony scent. Here was her reply:

“I am glad the cleaners worked well. If you are missing the “clean” scent, why not try adding a drop or two of essential oils to the cleaning mix like I do? If you really think about it.. CLEAN doesn’t have any smell.. right? haha There are Basic H products with regular scent. The one I sent you is fragrance free.”

Well, she has a point there doesn’t she? But, I couldn’t go fragrance-free (after all I do have two stinky boys and a dog ;-D), so I added a few drops of essential Lavendar oil to the all-purpose cleaner and have been happily spraying calming lavender all week!

Next I put the glass cleaner to another test. I wear glasses, mostly just for driving and watching movies. But, I’m finding as I am heading (at super-sonic speed) towards my 4oth birthday, I’ve needed to wear my glasses more often especially while staring at the computer screen. Therefore, my specs have been getting dirty faster. I have an anti-reflective coating on them, and anyone that knows about anti-reflective coatings know that you can’t just wipe your glasses on your shirt. You have to use a special cleaner and/or cleaning cloth to get them really clean and so as not to scratch them. Well, I decided to try the Shaklee Basic H2 glass cleaner on them (I was a little nervous, but seeing as I had already scratched my glasses slightly a few years ago, I really didn’t care.) Okay, I need to be truthful here, I was thinking “If I scratch this pair up beyond repair, then I can get a new pair that much sooner.” Shhhhh, don’t tell Pretty Handsome Guy!

So, I took my smudged glasses and sprayed the Basic H2 glass cleaner on both lenses on both sides. Then I used a ~~brillo pad~~ (Just Kidding!)

Seriously, I used a soft cloth to wipe them clean.

Sparkly clean! (Except the tiny scratches that have been there for years.)

So, here is my overall take on the Shaklee Basic H2 Cleaner:

Do I think the product works? Yup!
Does it work better than my regular cleaners? No, but they do work as well as my cleaners.
Are they healthier and more environmentally friendly than the products I’ve been using? I believe so, and I think they are healthier to use in our home and especially around the kitchen where I have a fruit bowl and unfinished water glasses sitting around all the time.
Is the Shaklee Basic H2 Cleaner expensive? NO! At first look, you might think at $12 for a 16 oz. bottle of the Basic H2 Cleaner, that is expensive. However, if I tell you how much of that little .07 fl. oz sample vial I used you will see that $12 for a 16 oz. bottle is a deal compared to the cost of buying average cleaners:

I used roughly .05 oz. (really I used less than that, but just for easy math work with m.) of the .07 oz. vial to make 1- 16 oz. bottle of glass cleaner and 1- 26 oz. bottle of all purpose cleaner! Are you ready for this…

…based on my math (and you may want to double check) I’d be able to make 320 bottles of glass cleaner, plus 320 bottles of all purpose cleaner with ONE bottle of the Super Basic H2 Concentrated cleaner. GTFO!!! That is 640 bottles of cleaner in that little 16 oz. bottle of Basic H2 concentrate! To purchase that much of my regular cleaners, I would pay $2,336 for 320 bottles of glass and 230 bottles of all purpose cleaners. And, I don’t even want to think about all that plastic that goes into the landfill!

Thanks for sticking with me, because I have some great news. I have a Get Clean Mini Household Starter Kit to offer to one of my lucky readers!

And, Elizabeth will be offering 5 additional readers their own sample of the Basic H2 Cleaning Concentrate (so you can be Wow’ed too!)

The Get Clean Household Mini Kit contains (More Info):

Basic H2® Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate, 16 oz.
(1)Basic H2® Wipes (35 count)
Germ Off Wipes (35 count)
Scour Off
MeasuringSpoon
Dropper Pipette
Spray Bottles (3-pack)

Okay, now that all my alarm bells have been silenced, I’m off to order a bottle of the Basic H2 cleaner, some Scour Off (which Sarah, aka Thrifty Decor Chick, really likes) and some of those cute spray bottles.

Rules to Enter the Giveaway:

What about you? Can you find a Shaklee product that you’d use from Elizabeth’s Shaklee site? Or do you already use a Shaklee product that you love? Please leave me a comment and tell me more about it to enter to win.
Then for an additional chances to win, tweet about this giveaway (and leave a comment that you did.)
And mention the giveaway on Facebook (and leave a comment again.)

A winner will be picked with the always eager assistance of Random.org at midnight on Saturday, April 2nd.

Disclosure: This post was an unpaid product review, however in full disclosure, I wanted to tell you that Elizabeth purchased advertising for three months and paid to have a product giveaway on my blog. BUT, I can honestly say (and sleep well at night) that the review was my honest opinion about the Shaklee Basic H2 product and I was not swayed by her payment for advertising, etc. You should know that If I don’t like a product, I will not write a review. Plus, I will offer to return any money that has been paid towards advertising,etc. Fair enough? I hope you also realize, that I value my readers’ time and intelligence, and I would never intentionally steer you wrong. If you would like ~~to be bored by~~ more information about product reviews and advertising, you can read more HERE.

Okay, so feel free to go slam me in the comment section (and then you will be entered to win the giveaway, HA!)

Coming up this week…I’ve gone Forkin’ crazy and am using flatware in all my projects!

112 Comments
Filed Under: cleaning paintbrushes, Giveaway

Help! Dropped a Pin Down the Drain (You CAN Get It Back!)

25 Mar posted by Brittany Bailey

While I was working on my Goodwill sweater, I accidentally dropped one of the pins down the drain. Now, I could have just left it there, but my “Ms. Fix-It” brain knew that I couldn’t do that. If I left it, I would be dealing with a clogged drain in a month since it would trap all kinds of hair and unmentionable gunk. So, I did the “right” thing and set about retrieving it myself. (And, blogging about it so you know what to do as well.)

IMPORTANT! If you do happen to drop anything down the drain, turn off the water IMMEDIATELY! You don’t want the water to wash the item beyond the drain, because then it is gone forever (unless you want to explore your city sewer lines.)

Tools:

Channel Lock Style Wrench/Pliers
Basin
Rubber Gloves

1. Put on your rubber gloves (who knows what’s hiding in your drain!)

2. Set the basin under your sink’s P-trap.

3. Then grab some channel lock type pliers. Irwin recently sent me this quick release hex shaped groove-lock pliers that are a snap to open and close the jaws. Just push the button, slide the handle up or down and release. Super quick and easy!

4. Loosen the lower slip nut ring.

Then slide it up to release one end of the P-trap.

5. Loosen the upper /upper slip nut ring (pay no attention to the slip nut I’m loosening, I actually had to loosen the one above it to free my P-trap.)

6. Then pull down on the P-trap to remove it (you will see in this picture that I had loosened the slip nut higher up to release the drain assembly.) Ewww, gross, don’t look at that string of hair hanging from the drain.

7. (Here comes the next disgusting part.) Turn your P-trap upside down to empty the contents into the basin. Oh and be sure you are wearing your rubber gloves (do as I say, not as I do!)

8. Remove your object. Luckily my pin fell out immediately. If your drain is really gunked up, you may need to run some water or use an old bottle brush to clean out the P-trap and release your object from the yuckiness. In fact, it’s probably a good idea to clean it out anyway while you have it off (if you can stomach it.)

9. Reverse the steps to re-assemble the P-trap. With plumbing I usually hand tighten the nuts and then use the pliers to give it an extra 1/4 turn (but I’m a weakling. If you battle me in arm wrestling YOU WILL WIN!)

10. When your spouse comes home, brag about how you retrieved something from the drain all by yourself!

Coming up next week, another giveaway! What, so soon? Well, Elizabeth contacted me and wants to reward one of my lucky readers. Thanks Elizabeth!

Sharing this tutorial at:

18 Comments
Filed Under: Fix It, pop up drain, repair

A New Venture – Parentables

23 Mar posted by Brittany Bailey

It is time to make a big announcement, do you have your horns and confetti ready?

I’ve been writing for Parentables which was just launched by the TLC television network. Parent-a-who? Parentables, it is a really cool new site that is full of posts from some truly awesome contributing writings (other bloggers that rock). And they are all geared towards you, the CHO (Chief Household Officer)! Whether you have kids or not, Parentables is a great location to learn and share information. There are articles on cooking, organizing your home, great vacations, home décor, craft, celebrity gossip and of course DIY projects! Want to learn more? Head on over to Parentables, “Like” them on Facebook, or “Follow” them on Twitter.

So, what does this means for you, the Pretty Handy Girl reader? Not much, you will still get approximately 3-4 posts a week from me. However, if that isn’t enough for you, I will also be sharing a couple of extra posts a month over there! I’m also hoping it empowers a few more people to try their own DIY projects. So, we may see a few more followers over here (I hope you will welcome them with open arms.)

In the meantime, I’ve posted some oldies and some goodies on Parentables, so check ‘em out:

On a side note, did anyone catch a peek at the Supermoon the other night? I brought the kids with me to the highest hill in Raleigh and we got to see it. Then I took a bunch of photos with my camera on the tripod sticking out the moonroof of my car. I’m sure I got some laughs from puzzled drivers. But, hey, what can I say, I’m crazy like that. Here is the best picture I got, it is kind of fuzzy because of the cloud cover:

26 Comments
Filed Under: accomplishment, DIY, DIY tools, Furniture, glass bead magnets, Mulch path, Pretty Handy Girl, re-upholster seat cushion, repair, Tutorial

And in this corner we have an Irwin 15″ Universal Handsaw…

21 Mar posted by Brittany Bailey

While sanding down my garden bench, I decided to make a design change. I chose to saw off the ball finial posts that are at the end of the armrests. I felt they were too tall and since I’m moving my bench onto our screen porch I didn’t want them obstructing the view if I was sitting with friends and chatting. So, I decided “Off with their heads!”

It was also the perfect opportunity to try out a new handsaw that Irwin sent me to test. They claimed that it is up to 3x faster than a traditional handsaw. Honestly I didn’t believe the claim. I mean – come on – a handsaw is a handsaw.

So, I decided to put their claim to the test with a good old fashioned match up.

The competition:
In this corner we have the challenger: the 15″ Irwin Universal Handsaw.

And the reining champion in this corner is my trusty handsaw.

Let me back up and tell you that I have a like/hate relationship with that traditional handsaw. I bought it a long time ago before I could afford a compound miter saw (power tool). So, I bought an el cheapo plastic miter box to use with it when I wanted to cut perfect angles. It took me about a dozen times before I learned how to properly use the hand saw. The key is to let the saw do the sawing (well, duh, right?!) Trust me, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. It is so tempting to press into the wood. But, if you put any force or pressure on the saw, it will skip and bind. Instead you have to gently push and pull the saw back and forth a gazillion times until the saw works its way through the wood. It can be a brutally slow process.

So, back to the match up. I started with my traditional handsaw and started the timer.

About halfway through I had to take a break (and a picture). I gulped down some more coffee and continued sawing. (I stopped the clock at 1:15:20 when I took a break and restarted it when I began sawing again.)

Finally at 2 minutes and 32 seconds the ball finial met it’s demise and toppled to the ground. I wanted to topple down with it, exhausted.

I resisted the urge to go grab one of my power tools for the other side, but instead picked up the Irwin Universal Handsaw.

The angled handle felt a little strange in my hand (not bad, just different from the traditional one I was used to.)

I set the blade against the base of the post and began to saw. It cut through the wood easily and within 32 seconds it had lopped of the head of the other post. I was amazed. I double checked my timer, but it was working. Only 32 seconds and I was barely breathing heavy!

AND THE WINNER IS:

The Irwin 15″ Universal Handsaw by a longshot!

Here are a few details about the saw: It has a triple-ground tooth design, I’m guessing this has something to do with its speed. And the unique angled handle combined with the tooth design is supposed to eliminate binding. I had no binding, so it appears to work.

There are 45º and 90º angle markers built into the blade. I’m not sure that I would use them instead of my carpenter’s square, but I suppose they are convenient to have in a pinch. With a retail price of $18.99, the 15″ Irwin Universal Handsaw is a great and economic addition to your toolbox. (Especially if you can’t afford a power miter saw).

I’ve decided to send my traditional handsaw packing to make room for the Irwin Universal handsaw in my toolbox. Anyone want a gently used traditional handsaw for cheap?

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review. I was sent the Irwin Handsaw at no charge, but the opinions and testing were my own and were not influenced by Irwin or anyone else. For more information you can view my disclosure statement HERE.

14 Comments
Filed Under: power tools, Toolbox