Buddy Handy Dog | English Shepherd Portrait

Buddy Handy Dog | English Shepherd Portrait

Hey y’all. Did you miss me on Friday? I missed you! It’s been quite a week, so I hope you don’t mind if I step away from the DIY tutorials today to share a little news from my personal life.

Buddy Handy Dog | English Shepherd Portrait

About two months ago, I received a sweet gift from a good friend. Colleen from Just Paint It created this beautiful custom portrait of Buddy aka Handy Dog for me. At the time, I was ecstatic, but little did I know that in less than a month this would be the only image I had of a smiling Buddy. Keep reading, this story does have a happy ending…I promise.

Buddy Handy Dog | English Shepherd Portrait

Buddy had been dealing with GI issues since the spring and our vet wasn’t sure what was causing them. He had been on a few meds (for an intestinal worm and for swallowing creek water) that we suspected threw his stomach into a tail spin (no pun intended.) As time progressed, he went from bad to worse. I knew he didn’t feel well and I could tell he was in pain. In an effort to keep from giving you TMI “to much information…thank you very much.” He ended up pushing his insides out. My sweet happy boy had slowly deteriorated and he was less and less of the happy dog we used to know. He also began losing weight.

Read more

vintage coca-cola crate turned dog bowl

I met Katie & Jon at Haven recently and fell in love with their DIY Tutorial blog, Sew Woodsy, immediately. This fun couple really write great tutorials, like the DIY Corn Hole Game

…and a Sew Your Own Yoga Skirt tutorial.

So give it up for the FAB DIY duo! Sew Woodsy!!! Read more

Welcome back, I have a very special guest today. She’s another power tool junky, but she wears high heels (I myself struggle with that skill). Perhaps she will take me under her wing and show me some tips for wearing high heels comfortably.

If you haven’t guessed who my guest is today, it is Kristen from High Heels and a Hammer!

Well, if you have been deprived of Kristen’s blog and haven’t realized how amazing she is, let me just show you:

She built that headboard herself. Isn’t it beautiful! But, that’s nothing, wait ’til you see what she has for show-and-tell today! She is going to show you how to “Fall in Love with Your Home” via the most used room in her home, the mudroom. Grab your hammers and click your heels together as we welcome Kristen to Pretty Handy Girl! (Tee hee, get it, hammers and heels? I’m such a nerd.)

Hi everyone, I’m Kristen from High Heels and a Hammer and I’m thrilled to be here on Brittany’s blog today.  I have long admired her talent and creativity and was delighted to get the chance to hang out with her at Blissdom.  She is sincere, supportive, and has a genuine desire to help others.

I recently finished revamping my back entryway.  As my old house did not have a proper entryway, I was beyond excited to have a space for backpacks, boots, and snowy jackets.  There was only one problem with my new space, it lacked organization and function.  This is what our mudroom looked like when we moved in.

And here it is now.

After pricing out many options, I decided to build a bench and shelf system using modified plans from Ana White.  I chose to make my bench and shelf out of select pine.  Because I planned on painting them white, I knew I could afford to use a less expensive wood.

I varied the spacing of the cubbies for the bench because I wanted a few bigger baskets for soccer socks and shoes and a smaller one for the dog’s leashes and extra collars.

I made a cushion using foam and a bright, graphic fabric.  Now we can be sitting pretty while we’re taking of our boots and soccer cleats. 🙂

For the shelf, I chose to keep the spacing uniform because I liked both the look and the functionality better.  A set of hooks makes hanging up jackets an easy chore, and a few more baskets provide accessible storage for smaller items.

The finished result is a bench and shelf system that is both functional and beautiful.

Like most families, a tremendous amount of paper passes through our home.  Often this includes permission slips, notices, and other time sensitive items that could easily get lost in the clutter that tends to pile up on our counters.  Keeping these important papers in plain sight inspired another vital addition to an organized and efficient entryway system: a message center.  Because we are a fairly large family, I decided we needed a fairly large message center:

I built a message center (from Janell’s instructions) using a 30″ x 60″ project panel, 1 x 3’s, 1 x 2’s, cork, and a strip of magnetic steel.  I framed out the cork with the 1 x 3’s and added 2 1 x 2 strips at the top for interest.

And because I like things to look pretty I chose to cover the cork with a creamy linen fabric and trim it out with beautiful braided cording.  No more frantic searches for permission slips, or forgotten phone messages.

Our back entryway is one of the most used rooms of our home.  I want it to function in a way that is useful and practical.  The fact that it’s cheerful and pretty is icing on the cake.

I hope you all enjoyed seeing my back entryway/mudroom transformation.  Thank you so much for having me Brittany.

P.s. I am having a giveaway on my blog for a $50 VISA gift card. I hope you will stop by to ENTER!

So, what do you think? Are you loving her mudroom bench, coat rack, and message board organization? I am! I can’t tell you how important it is to have your mudroom organized and standing at the ready to help you on your way in and out of your home each day. Ask my friend Reneé how her mudroom organization has saved her sanity.

 

I know our mudroom bench and coat rack is the workhorse of our family.

 

It really is the one thing that makes me love coming into my home. Okay, so is this!
Don’t feel comfortable building your own? How about one of these affordable options? (Commission Links, click on image for more information.)

French Country "French Maple" & "Weathered Linen" Hall Tree with Storage BenchWhite Storage Bench with Seat and 11 in. Height x 10.5 in. Wide Cubbie StorageHall Bench with 3 Baskets by Winsome Wood


I know you all thought I was going to be posting about felt roses today. Well, I promise, I’ll get the tutorial up soon. In the meantime I’ve been a little distracted.

I debated whether or not to blog about some “personal” stuff on my blog, so please let me know if you want me to stick to the “handy” stuff and I promise to be a good listener.

Those of you that know me personally know that we had to say goodbye to our australian shepherd in May. She was our baby before we had children and lived with us 11 of her 15 years.

We missed her dearly but couldn’t think about getting another dog until our hearts healed a little. 

Buddy meet my readers. Everyone, meet Buddy.

Buddy is a rescue who was found wandering and a vet picked him up after he observed some kids being mean to him (I can’t even tell you more because it just breaks my heart.) He lived with the vet for a while and was very helpful to them. He was a blood donor for some very sick dogs. He also saved his kennel mate, Tumbles on more than one occasion.  When Tumbles mischieviously got into the goat pen and got cornered by the goats, Buddy put himself between Tumbles and the goat while the vet techs rescued Tumbles.

Buddy was brought home as a foster dog by a sweet woman named Carol. Carol has fostered him for over a year, but knew that he would be so much happier with a family that had children. She posted his profile on Craig’s List and I happened to find her post.

Buddy arrived yesterday and we are all loving on him and trying to help him not be so sad about being away from his foster mom, Carol.

Wish us luck this week as he acclimates to life in the Pretty Handy Household.

By the way, if you are looking for a new pet, please consider Petfinder.com. They have a fairly extensive list of rescue, foster, and shelter animals.

Until next time, I’m off to teach Pretty Handy Dog how to use a hammer.