Pretty Handy Girl's Best of 2017

Pretty Handy Girl's Best of 2017

Best of 2017

2017 was another busy year that flew by. For those of you that may have missed some of the best tutorials and DIY posts of 2017, I’ve collected them all together for you in one place. Without further delay, here is the Best of 2017!

Hidden Wine Storage at Back of Countertop | Pretty Handy Girl

It only took me four years, but I finally finished my built-in pantry with a coffee bar, hidden wine storage, and soft closing pull out shelves. Here are all the pictures and details for my finished kitchen pantry.

Children's Closet Library with Secret Pass Through | Pretty Handy Girl

My growing boys have found a real love in reading. This closet that used to be a jumbled toy storage, is now a comfy and cozy library reading nook. You’ll want to check out the secret passage inside this Children’s Library Closet.

DIY Folding Guitar Stand | Pretty Handy Girl

My husband has been playing guitar for the past few years. In an effort to keep his guitar close at hand (and store away the guitar case), I built him this DIY Folding Guitar Stand. You’ll never believe what trash item I used to build it.

The Perfect Rustic Paint Technique {with Video Tutorial}

One of my most popular posts this year was actually a video tutorial sharing the Perfect Rustic Paint Technique I use on most of my wood projects. You too can learn how to make anything look old and aged by following this tutorial.

How to Sew Reversible Recipe Card Placemats | Pretty Handy Girl

For Mother’s Day I made these reversible recipe placemats for my mother-in-law. I scanned recipe cards her recently departed mother created for our wedding present. The placemats turned out to be a great way to commemorate a wonderful woman.

One of my favorite projects this year was building this Striped Porch Swing using Scrap Wood. It was a good way to use up scraps from the shop and build a fun swing for next to nothing.

plans-to-build-a-lost-and-found-center

Speaking of building something with scraps, this tutorial is another build using leftover wood in the shop. The best part of this project is it’s a wonderful way to give back to a school! Learn how to Build this Lost & Found Center in a few hours.

How to Paint an Abstract Water Lilies Painting | Pretty Handy Girl

For the aspiring artists, this tutorial for Painting Abstract Water Lilies was very popular. Plus, I showed how to cover up those ugly eyesores in your home.

The Real Truth about using Pallet Wood

Pallet projects reached a height in popularity this year. I finally decided to come clean on the Real Facts about Using Pallet Wood so you can decide for yourself whether that free wood is really worth it.

Saving Etta - Follow the Adventure to Flip a Historic House

I saved the best for last. This year I purchased a house built in 1900 and I’m trying to save her. The Saving Etta Chapters are my way of chronicling the process. The Saving Etta chapters have been extremely popular and well received by my readers. Thank you for allowing me to deviate from tutorials and journal about my adventures saving this historic property. Read all twelve short chapters here.

Want to see more of my Best of the Year posts? Here are the Best of: 2010 | 2011 | 2014 | 2015

DIY Barnwood FrameDIY Barn Wood Picture Frame

Hey all, it’s Shara here again from Woodshop Diaries!  Today, I’m excited to show you how to make a simple barn wood picture frame!

A friend of mine tore down his family’s tobacco barn recently and he asked me to make a few things out of the wood for him.  I recently finished a dining table and bench. I also made a few barn wood frames and they turned out beautifully!

In fact, they came out so great, I knew I wanted to show you how to make your own!

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.)

Cut List for 16×20 frame:

  • (2) ¾” x 4″ x 27 3/8″ (both ends mitered 45 degrees NOT parallel)
  • (2) ¾” x 4″ x 23 3/8″ (both ends mitered 45 degrees NOT parallel)
  • ¼” x 18″ x 22″ backing

Instructions:

Step 1: Cut frame boards to size per cut list above.

For this project, I used barn wood.  It was old, dirty, and rough.  None of it was cut to the same size, so the first thing I did was rip all my boards the same width.  If you are using old barn wood, or pallets, you’ll want to rip all your lumber to the same width.  If you are using new boards from the lumber store, you can skip this step.

To achieve the same width as my barn wood frame, rip all boards to 4 inches wide.  (Remember, if you buy new boards, 1x4s are only 3 ½” wide and 1x6s are 5 ½” wide, so your measurements will be slightly different than mine since I used 4″ wide boards.)

Miter the ends of each board 45 degrees.

Step 2: Glue frame together

Dry fit the frame pieces together and make sure they fit and everything is square.

Use wood glue to join all the corners and press together.

Use either bar clamps, or a corner clamp to hold the frame together while the glue dries.  Reinforce the joints by stapling the back side of the corners. Alternatively, you can use metal L brackets, just make sure the screws don’t go all the way through your frame.

Step 3: Route out back side for glass panel

Using a router and a 3/8″ rabbet bit, route out the inside opening of the back of the frame like shown.  Set your cutting depth the same or slightly more than the thickness of the 16×20 glass panel for the frame.

Clean up and square off the corners using a chisel.

Set your glass panel in place to make sure it fits.  If it doesn’t, chisel out any material keeping it from fitting in place.

Step 4: Glue glass in place

Using Clear Gorilla Glue (which, by the way, is awesome stuff), run a bead of glue in the groove you cut in step 3 and place glass panel in place.

Set something heavy (but not too heavy) on the glass to hold in place until the glue dries.

Step 5:  Add backing

Once the glue is dry, place your picture in the frame, then attach the backing and hanging hardware.  Use 5/8″ wood screws to attach the ¼” plywood backing like shown.  Attach the hanging hardware in your frame.

And that’s it!  Your DIY Barn Wood Frame is ready to hang!

The detail on this old wood is so pretty!

This would also be a great project for pallet wood or any old reclaimed wood if you don’t have actual barn wood available!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and give it a try for yourself!  Happy building!

Shara's Signature

~See more of Shara’s tutorials~

9 holiday storage hacks social media image

9 Holiday Storage Hacks

Now that Christmas is over, you’re probably in one of these two camps.

  • Camp #1: Christmas is over, time to pack everything away pronto.
  • Camp #2: Christmas is over, but I want to enjoy the decorations for a while longer. I’ll put them away in the new year.

Regardless of which camp you belong to, I have several Holiday Storage Hacks to help you store the holiday items for next year!

Plastic and Foam Cups:

There will always be ornaments to pack away after the holidays. Protect them from getting crushed or breaking by storing them inside individual disposable cups. For fragile ornaments, insert a foam cup inside the larger plastic cup before placing the breakable ornament inside. This gives a nice cushion around the ornament and creates a nice even layer in the bottom of your storage bin, which is helpful for the next hack.

Storage Hacks for Holiday Decorations | Pretty Handy Girl

Lasagna Method:

Don’t just throw your ornaments in the bin. Start at the bottom of your bin and place a layer of ornaments stored in cups. (Easy to do if you use the first hack above!) Place a piece of foam over the cups and continue with a second layer of ornaments. Again, add another piece of foam, then place ornaments that lay flat or are very thin on top of that last layer of foam. They will be protected and ready to go for decorating next year.

Storage Hacks for Holiday Decorations | Pretty Handy Girl

Saran Wrap the Tree:

Artificial trees can be cumbersome and messy when store them away. To neatly pack your artificial trees use a roll of plastic wrap to secure the branches together, making it easier to carry and store. Bonus, you might actually be able to get that tree back in the box you bought it in!

Storage Hacks for Holiday Decorations | Pretty Handy Girl

Linen Zipper Pouches:

If you have a collection of small tea lights and candles, use an old linen zippered pouch from your last blanket purchase. These are perfect for storing your tea lights, batteries, and other similar items until next year. The clear bag also lets you see exactly what’s inside.

Storage Hacks for Holiday Decorations | Pretty Handy Girl

Cardboard Light Holder:

Do your lights get tangled up by the following year? This year put an end to the frustration by cutting out a large rectangular section of cardboard (shipping boxes or cereal boxes work great.) Make a small slit on one end to hold the end plug of your light strand. Wrap the lights around the cardboard to keep them secure and organized and ready to put up next year. This hack also allows you to store the strands upright to save on space. It may take a bit of extra time now, but will save you time (and curse words) next year!

Storage Hacks for Holiday Decorations | Pretty Handy Girl

Store Like Items Together:

I don’t know about you, but in the past my bins were filled with random holiday items. I struggled to find a particular item. To solve this issue, put similar items into one bin. Next year you’ll know exactly where all of the lights are in an instant. Label the outside of each bin to help speed through the decorating process.

Storage Hacks for Holiday Decorations | Pretty Handy Girl

Hang Wreaths:

Wreaths are large and take up a lot of bin space. To store your wreaths, put them on hangers in an extra closet. If you don’t have closet space, nail a horizontal board to the rafters in your attic or garage and hang them there.

Storage Hacks for Holiday Decorations | Pretty Handy Girl

Gift Wrap Storage:

Gift wrap rolls are long and can be difficult to store. Use a bin or basket in the corner and store your gift wrap upright. This prevents the rolls from getting crushed and they are easy to grab next time you need to wrap a present. Feel free to store birthday and other holiday wraps as well.

Storage Hacks for Holiday Decorations | Pretty Handy Girl

Or, create this under the bed gift wrap station like Her Toolbelt made:

Bins for Gift Bags, Ribbons, & Tissue Paper:

Fold your gift bags neatly and place them inside clear storage bins. Organize by size or celebration and you’ll have a great place to go whenever you need to quickly wrap a gift. Use another bin for ribbon spools and yet another for scrap ribbons (never let those scraps go to waste.) The clear bins make it easy to grab the correct bin, no matter how last minute you’re putting the gift together.

Storage Hacks for Holiday Decorations | Pretty Handy Girl

There you have it! Holiday clean up doesn’t have to be stressful, just keep it organized and use these hacks to make your holiday decor last for years to come. Do you have any storage hacks for holiday decorations that you would add to this list? Please share them in the comments!

Merry Christmas - Christmas Tree with Lights

As the wrapping paper is ripped and the ribbons are tugged off the gifts today, I want to stop and take one minute to wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy New Year. I hope you find yourself surrounded by friends, family and loved ones this season.

I want to thank you for being readers, followers, or browsers of Pretty Handy Girl. You have made my year fabulous, and I hope 2018 is even better with more tutorials and inspiration for all.

How to tile a fireplaceHow to Tile a Fireplace

Hello Pretty Handy Girl Readers! Sarah here from The Created Home. Today I’m sharing how you can update and customize your fireplace by doing your own tile work. Don’t be intimidated, tiling is actually quite accessible for DIYers, and once you get the hang of it you’ll be unstoppable. You may even find that you really enjoy it!

As with any DIY, especially one you are new to, you will need to read all the way through to make sure you are familiar with the process and always take proper safety precautions. Use ear and eye protection when you are using a tile saw. Read the manual for your tile saw and make some test cuts to get the feel for using it.

Note: This tutorial will not cover the grouting step. The tile I chose for this project was close together and did not require grout. I’ll cover that in more detail in just a bit. To learn how to grout, read Brittany’s tutorial on grouting and sealing tile.

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.)

tiling supplies

How to Tile a Fireplace: Make a plan

Entire tutorials can be written about how to choose and plan out your tile. There are a LOT of options out there. Bear in mind that a patterned tile will require more work when laying out, as the pattern needs to be visible and centered in the space. Example: In this fireplace I would have loved to use a cement tile look, but the tiles I found were 8″ and the sides of the firebox only allowed for 6 ½” (which would have looked awkward with the designs I liked.)

Ugly Before Shot:

tile fireplace before

A second thing to keep in mind is that knowing the square feet to be covered is only half the battle. Chances are you’ll have a number of small pieces to cut which will render some part of each tile unusable. It’s a good rule of thumb to always get 10 – 15% more tile than you need.

Once you have the tile you will need to plan your layout. Where will a row have to be ripped to fit? Where will the pattern repeat? What order will the tile need to be applied? For this project my husband and I spent just as much time making the plan as actually installing the tile.

Get to work:

For this project we chose to tile over existing tile, which was far simpler than removing what was there (even with the poor shape it was in.) If your tile doesn’t have adhesion issues this may be a great route for you. We tested the waters [tile] here and found that the damage to the existing tile was superficial, albeit highly unattractive.

damaged tile fireplace

Once you have a game plan it’s time to make your first cut. A tile saw (or wet saw) cuts much like a table saw, but it needs a constant source of water to keep the blade cool and the dust down. Keep a pail of water on hand to refill the saw as needed. Some tile saws can be hooked up to a water source via a hose.

tile saw wet saw

You will be covering the edges where the tile runs into the wood mantle surround with some sort of trim, so it’s not important that you are dead on with every cut fitting perfectly against that edge. This is also useful if you run into issues with things being out of square (which happens frequently). You can see in the photo below the tile does not fit snuggly, or uniformly along the far sides.

How to Tile a Fireplace

Using a Wet Saw: a few tips

I recommend using a tile saw rather than a snap cutter (which just doesn’t work very well). It can be intimidating at first, but go slow, use caution, and follow some basic rules to ensure a professional looking, safe job.

The first rule, is to keep those fingers away from the blade. Make your cuts slow and steady. Water should be flowing around the blade constantly as you gently push the piece through. You can avoid chipped ends by pushing the piece through very, very slowly as you reach the end, being careful not to force the blade. Too fast and the corner of your tile will likely chip off.

wet saw tile saw fireplace

Use your fence to make sure your cuts are straight. You may have to trim off ends if you tile is staggered, as ours was. Place the trimmed end to the outside, where it will be covered with molding.

How to Tile a Fireplace

How to Tile a Fireplace: adhering the tile

Tile adhesive comes either pre-mixed or in powder form. Pre-mixed is great for small jobs like a fireplace, but either route is fine. Use the notched trowel to spread the adhesive on the back of the tile piece, covering the entire back.

how to tile

The notches will leave tracks, like so:

how to tile

Position the tile where you want it and push firmly, wiggling it around a bit so those tile tracks fill and the tile is firmly adhered along every point to the fireplace.

how to tile a fireplace

If you are grouting between your tiles you will use spacers around each piece. The pieces we used required being set close together to mimic the look of the “preset” tiles. We used the adhesive to fill any small gaps that did show. Again, be sure to check out Brittany’s grouting tutorial if you plan to use grout.

how to tile a fireplace

Continue adding the tiles to the desired pattern. Be sure to account for how your final row will fit, as it will in all likelihood require cutting the tile crossway to fit correctly. The good news is you will be able to hide the seam at the top with some molding.

tiling over existing tile - How to Tile a Fireplace

This fireplace required tile down on the hearth as well, which meant notching around the mantle. To make those cuts be sure you are cutting the tile face up and draw lines to help guide your cuts. The blade will undercut a bit farther than your top cut, but it will be hidden underneath. You’ll quickly discover that most lines are not square, and probably have a gap something like this. Use some caulking to seam it all together and it will look just fine.

tiled hearth

Finishing the Fireplace: adding trim

Molding completes the finished product and hides those seams. Quarter round is a great option for the fireplace. Paint the molding to match the mantle. Attach by driving brad nails through the quarter round at an angle so it goes into the hearth. Caulk around the molding for a seamless look.

fireplace molding

Bonus Content: wrapping the hearth

The front of the hearth here had tile, and I decided the better look would be to wrap it in wood instead to tie it into the white of the mantle and break up the tile a bit. It’s the same look I created when we redesigned our own fireplace.

how to tile a fireplace

To create this look you will need a piece that is the same width as the height of the hearth front inclusive of the tile you just added. If you are lucky you won’t have to rip a piece down to fit.

The sides of that front can be square cut or mitered. To miter the front, cut one end at a 45 degree angle. I prefer to use the saw’s bevel function to get this cut nice and straight.

bevel cut

Place the piece against the front of the hearth and line up where it will sit.

miter cut hearth front

Mark the other end where the short end of the 45 will sit. This is easier and more accurate than simply measuring.

marking cut

It also helps to sketch the angle of your cut while the wood is in place to ensure you don’t cut the wrong way (it’s easy to do).

How to Tile a Fireplace

Cut 45Ëš for the side pieces, then measure and make the 90 degree cuts. You can easily cut those back to fit, so cut a little at a time. Paint the molding. Attach by finish nailing the angles together, and then either nail or glue it to the face of the hearth. We used construction adhesive and clamps, letting them sit overnight.

Stand back and enjoy your hard work!

how to refinish a fireplace with tile

As you can see, not only are there a lot of options for refinishing a fireplace, there are a ton of options for tile itself. Tiling is a great way to go that doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Our cost for this fireplace was just over $100.

When we started, this fireplace was far from the focal point of the home, as you can see . . .

fireplace before

. . .and here’s the dramatic finished look.

How to Tile a Fireplace

Now it’s your turn! Put those tiling skills to work and tile it up! In no time at all you’ll be chatting with company and casually mention, “Oh yes, the fireplace. I did that. No big thing.” And don’t forget to share your before and after photos so we can all admire the transformation with you.

Happy tiling!

~See More of Sarah’s Projects~

Check out these other posts to up your tiling game!