painting

How to Cut Bar Stools Down to Counter Height Stools

counter stools

Yes you can make those wood bar stools fit your counter. Here’s an easy DIY fix to make bar stools into counter stools (and a quick makeover too!).

Bar stools typically sit at 30″ high, this is fine and dandy if you have a proper bar where the countertop is elevated higher than the working countertop space. Kitchen designs are trending now away from the proper bar towards one even countertop surface. No worries, you can still use those bar stools for your counter by easily cutting off the bottom 4″ to reduce the stools to a counter height of 26″:

(The white stools above are counter height and in the picture for comparison purposes.)

In addition to fixing the height of your stools give them a fresh look with a quick paint job and a new design: [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Before and After, chair glides, circular saw, Contributor, Fix It, painting, painting chair, thrifting, Tutorial

Creative Block {a Mother’s Day Gift Idea using ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape}

10 May posted by Brittany Bailey

Mother’s Day is this weekend! Have you decided how to show her your appreciation and love?! I did! My mother is a professional artist. She creates amazing paintings that inspire others and brighten their homes. For Mother’s Day I wanted to brighten her studio with these art utensil holders. I call them “Creative Blocks.” (Or maybe they should be Creative Unblocks. LOL.)

They were easy and fun to make and certainly a project that you can customize to meet your needs. And best of all, the kiddies can help with the painting step! [Read more...]

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Filed Under: accessories, art, arts and craft, Build It, Crafts, Mother's Day, Paintbrushes, painting, storage, Trash to Treasure, Tutorial, Uncategorized, Upcycling, wood putty

How to Make Thumbprint Design Envelope Pillows {Great Gift Idea}

1 May posted by Cristina Garay

Hello, Pretty Handy Girl readers! It’s Cristina from Remodelando la Casa once again happy to share an easy and fun project where kids are more than welcome to give a helping “thumb”

Thumbprint starfish pillow2 with tag

Envelope pillows are the easiest pillow covers I’ve sewn and let me tell you, my sewing skills are not that good. A fabric rectangle is folded to create an “envelope”, four simple straight lines to sew and your cover is done! No zippers, no Velcro, the envelope holds the pillow really well. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Crafts, decor, gifts, Home Decor, kids art, painting, Pillows, Sewing

Kids Bookend Kit: Build your own bookend

17 Apr posted by Jaime Costiglio

Do your kids want to build and paint just like you? This project a great beginner build for young ones who want to get in there and make something to call their own. And once they’re done building they can paint it too!

Or give the build as a unique personalized gift for that artsy friend who loves to paint:

Attach a cute gift tag (download my tag free from here) and include some fun acrylic paint colors and brushes:

This project is super kid friendly, I tested it at my 6 year old daughter’s birthday party and all the girls absolutely loved building their own project . We used kid sized drills (like these kid sized drills) and they truly enjoyed painting their bookends: [Read more...]

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Filed Under: arts and craft, book, Books as decor, Build It, Crafts, gifts, painting

How to Make a SMOOTH Chalkboard Wall {For Imperfect Walls}

8 Apr posted by Brittany Bailey

Have you ever wished you had a chalkboard wall in your home? But, you didn’t think you could create one because you have textured walls or damaged drywall?

I feel your pain! We have a little wall between the kitchen and the dining room that was the perfect spot for a chalkboard wall. But the drywall was ripped from the removal of the beadboard. Sure, I could have ripped out the drywall and added new, but honestly I’m beyond drywall in our kitchen renovation process and I don’t like going backwards.

Instead of replacing the drywall, I came up with a new solution to making the wall smooth enough for a chalkboard! You could also use this technique if you wanted to remove the chalkboard in the future if you change your mind, or if you live in a rental and aren’t allowed to paint walls.

Ready? Alright, let’s get this chalkboard painting party started now! [Read more...]