Giveaways: Reminders and Announcements

Hey, y'all (did you know I live in the south?) But, I also lived in Philadelphia for 9 years where I worked very hard to get rid of my southern accent. (If you live there, yoos know wood I'm tawkin' about.) Unfortunately my southern accent hasn't come back completely now that we are back "down hee-yar". Every once in a while I'll hear myself say Git, but never Fixin'. And I was shocked when my six year old started calling me Mama the other day.

Anyway, sorry for the diversion, on to a few giveaway announcements:

I wanted to remind you that the "Beach in a Bottle" from the Painted Cottage giveaway ends September 30th at midnight EST. That would be tomorrow night! So, be sure to enter if you want these adorable bottles in your home:

Right now I only have 36 entries, so your chances of winning are VERY good. Plus, you can have up to five chances to win!!!

Now onto some exciting news: 

 

500 FOLLOWERS!!!

You followers snuck up on me! When I added you up the other day, there were over 550 of you (both Google Friend and Feedburner combined!)

When I started this blog a few months ago, my goal was to empower a few people to take on their own DIY project; to be gently nudged out of their comfort zone; and to feel the sense of accomplishment from completing their own DIY project. I have received so many wonderful comments and emails from readers who have tried something new after reading one of my tutorials. If I haven't told you, your comments really made my day! And it made every hour I spend on blogging so worth it! Thank you so much.

Way back when (who am I kidding, only 2 months ago) when I reached my 100th follower, I surprised that lucky lady (Sharon from thisthriftyhouse.blogspot.com,) by sending her a decorative book with a secret hiding spot.

And, inside was an Amazon gift card! I hope she put it to good use.  At that time, I also promised to have another special gift for one of my followers when I reached 500 followers.

I've been working on a special gift for this special giveaway. So, as a thank you for being so sweet and checking back with my posts, I will be giving you this!
 

 Do I hear crickets chirping?

It is a CD/DVD wallet for your car visor! (If you want to make your own, read the tutorial here.) And if that wasn't enough, it will contain an Amazon gift card tucked inside! Cha-ching! I don't know about you, but I don't have much time to go shopping for the little necessities that I desire. And when I do go shopping, there is bound to be a scene (if the boys are with me, because when are they not!) Can you say, "Emmmbarrrasssing"? So, I prefer to do a lot of my online shopping on Amazon.com.

AND... because I appreciate y'all and value your time, I'm not making you jump through any hoops or making you break out your online bullhorn, or leave me any comments (but, you can if you want to), etc. etc. It is simple, if you already follow Pretty Handy Girl, via Google Friend Follower or Feedburner (both available in the side bar), you are in the running to win. If you aren't – well – I apologize, but I won't be able to track you down to notify you that you won.

One of my two lovely assistants (my 4 and 6 yr. old sons) will choose one of my followers at random to receive this special 500 follower gift.

Thank you for your precious few minutes that you spend on my blog. I have lots more DIY tips, tutorials and fun in store for you.

P.s. I will enter any and all followers who jump on board up to October 31st. Okay, so maybe I am making you jump through just one tiny hoop.

A Mailbox that Can Take a Beating and Still Looks Great

Several years ago I painted a mailbox for my stepmom (the wonderfully talented author, Diane Chamberlain). Her house was on a busy street and the mailboxes on this street were a prime target for mailbox baseball. I wanted to paint her mailbox as a surprise for her birthday, but the thought of spending hours painting the mailbox only to have it bashed did not appeal to me. Plus, this was supposed to be a surprise, and she might notice if her mailbox was gone for a few days (you think?!)

I came up with a solution that worked brilliantly! I painted the design onto automobile magnetic sign material (purchased from a sign shop for about $20). Wrapped it around her metal (won't work on plastic mailboxes) mailbox and drilled the mounting screws through the magnetic material and the mailbox.

Believe it or not, that mailbox never took a hit by a bat (to my knowledge). 

Here is how I did it:
First I wrapped the magnetic around her mailbox and cut it down to size. Then I traced the locations that needed to be cut out (bottom door hinges and flag bracket). The magnetic material cuts very easily with an x-acto knife or utility knife.

Then I sanded the surface to get rid of the smooth glossy surface. Next, I added a coat of primer. After gathering my picture reference, I painted a portrait of her Bernese Mountain Dog on both sides using acrylic paint. Finally, I sealed the painting with 5 coats of exterior varnish or polyurethane.

More recently my good friend's plastic mailbox had a hole blown in it by a firework. For her birthday, I decided to buy her a new metal mailbox and paint another custom mailbox magnetic painting.

This time I painted a daytime scene on one side and a nighttime on the other.
 

My boys helped me with the painting. I used their fingerprints to create bumblebees on the day side and fireflies on the night side.

A few weeks ago, my friend told me that the mailbox was hit by a baseball bat. I immediately asked how the painting was. Her husband proudly told me that the painting looked perfect. He was able to bang out the dent and put the mailbox back on the post. Although, he told me a secret. He said when installing the mailbox on the post, he used finish nails to attach it so that if someone tries to hit it again it will just pop right off.

The good news is that even if the mailbox is destroyed, you should be able to simply peel off the magnetic and attach it to a new mailbox. This would be helpful if you move one day and want to take your mailbox art with you.

Check out some other kids crafts at the CSI Project Kid's Crafts Link Party.