Condo Blues: September 2016

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Friday Favorites Linky Party - Week 340

I have an exciting project I want to tell you about. I opened a funny t shirt and gift Zazzle store LNW Creative Gifts!

Even better, you can customize my products to suit your fancy!

Pin my store for easy shopping!

Want a purple Queen of Everything Crown No Slip Headband instead of the pink shown here? Done!

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Renaissance Noble Dress Part 1: The Design

I need to replace my current Elizabethan noble costume with a new one.

Unfortunately I am my own worst client because the only thing I know that I want in my new princess type dress is this list of vague demands:
  1. Make it different than what other women will most likely we wearing.
  2. Use massive amounts of embroidery to help with Number 1 and give me a Sofa Time With Lacey project.
  3. Use as much of my beading, trim, and costuming stash as possible. It should also help with number 1 but really I just want to put some of the weird amounts of stuff in my studio to good use.
  4. Bling that sucker out to be a pretty, pretty princess of more is more epic proportions – as one does as an Elizabethan noblewoman. I realize this is not in line with being a simplistic budget minded green DIY blogger. But it is totally in line with being a person who spends most of her workdays covered in paint and sawdust while wearing yoga pants and a ratty t-shirt.

Pin this post for reference later!



I let the fabric I found decide my costume’s color scheme since many of the accessories I have will work with almost any color. The color specific items I have  need to be replaced anyway.  I was hoped I could find a green brocade or damask because I look smashing in green.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Friday Favorites Linky Party - Week 339


Last weekend, I did a Last Blast of Summer Tour by skipping up the road a bit to attend Bloggy Conference 2016 at Cedar Point. 

Tiff knocked it out of the park organizing and planning the conference this year! I learned quite a bit and paid it forward by being the Squad Leader for DIY bloggers during our community breakout sessions.  What's also nice about BloggyCon is being able to spend the evening in Cedar Point after our sessions finished for the day.


Sponsor Lake Eries Shores and Islands gave me the excuse to wiggle my toes in the sand of Cedar Point Beach (how I miss it!)

 I hugged a big cow named Big Cow and tagged it #Big #Cow for a very meta experience courtesy of Ohio made sponsor Udderly Smooth (if you follow me @condoblues on Instagram you would have seen it in real time!)

Not to mention, I named my new Rexy friend Snuggles and asked Husband if I could bring him home with me because we have the same smile. Husband and Lacey vetoed adding Snuggles to our family. Sad face.

Let's party!

 photo Friday Favorites Banner 2.jpg

Sunday, September 18, 2016

How to Make a Quick and Easy Wine Cork and Mason Jar Centerpiece

After I decorated my outdoor patio for Fall, I took a step back and realized something was missing from my DIY chalkboard patio table and DIY bottle cap mosaic chairs.

I need an Autumn table centerpiece!




My Fall centerpiece idea was heavily influenced by the growing number of empty mason jars drying in the dish rack (not to mention Husband’s do something with these will ya? look when he empties the dishwasher) and the wine corks in our kitchen wine cork basket waiting for a craft project (and more Husband’s do something with these will ya? look when he sees them taking up counter space.)

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Friday Favorites Linky Party - Week 338

  Happy Almost Weekend everyone!

I am loving the unseasonably warm weather! I decorated my patio for fall and plan to eat as many dinners outside until the snow flies. 

I love, love, love when thrifting and shopping the house comes together in a new to me design!

Ready to party? Show me what you got!

 photo Friday Favorites Banner 2.jpg

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

How to Decorate a Small Patio for Fall

This post is sponsored by Enbrighten Café Lights by Jasco. All thoughts and opinions are my own #EnbrightenLights


I want to make our small patio more inviting for evening entertaining this fall.

Pin these Fall outdoor decorating ideas for later!

The planter box I built for Husband’s container kitchen garden adds a little privacy since our condo homeowners association will not allow us to install a fence.

And we get fresh herbs and peppers, yay!

Sunday, September 11, 2016

How to Make a DIY Fall Flower Wreath

I used to design a door wreath by buying all of the cute flower picks I like and then figuring out what to do with them after I got home.  That almost always lead to me making something I wasn't happy with because it often looked like a Hodge Podge of unsymmetrical stuff that didn’t always coordinate in color, size or texture.

Because I bought a Hodge Podge of unsymmetrical stuff that didn’t always coordinate in color, size or texture for the project and didn't think about them beyond, "How pretty! I'm buying it!"

I knew I had to change my ways after reorganized my craft room and finding more wreath making supplies than my small house can hold.

 

How to Make a Wreath

 

Pin this post for later!

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Friday Favorites Linky Party - Week 337

I am taking an online Bead Embroidery (w/Myra Wood) craft class from Craftsy  (I am including affiliate links for your convenience) to learn how to add a little bling with beaded flowers and designs to my hand embroidery projects.  This is something I've wanted to to for awhile.

Funny thing buying the class lead to another craft organizing hack I've been wanting to do for awhile. After spilling beads out of my plastic bead organizer box similar to this one on Amazon while removing it from the storage drawer - again - I told myself I couldn't start the beading class until I  reorganized the  my bead stash.

A big chunk of my beads came from my Grandmother. I've done big beading costume projects with them ever since.

I spent a rip roaring party time evening streaming  movies on Amazon Prime Instant Video and  organizing my craft beads into empty prescription pill bottles I've randomly tossing into my bead drawer along with baby food jars, and film canisters. Remember those?

Under Lacey's watchful gaze of course. Or maybe she just likes to binge watch The Sarah Jane Chronicles too.

I have more loose beads than I realize. Is is rude to ask your family to get sick enough to require prescription medicine so you can repurpose the bottle? I'm asking for a friend.

 


Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Christine at Light and Savvy - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Dawn at LeroyLime - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL
Maisy at Becoming Alice - FB | G+ | Pin
Sheree at Stage Presents - Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst
Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Penny at Penny's Passion - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Kelly at Under a Texas Sky - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

You can show your love for this week's favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week's favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week's linky party!

Sunday, September 4, 2016

How to Make a Renaissance Festival Costume


I need a new 16th century English noble costume when Husband and perform at renaissance festivals. Thank goodness I know how to sew. It’s not like I can hop in the car and pick up a new dress at Nobles R Us!

Besides, it allows me to get my inner history geek, costumer, and creative seamstress on.

 

 Pin this post for later!

First you should decide if you want to make a historically accurate renaissance clothing (or as close as to historically accurate as we can get in the 21st century,) a fantasy type costume, or a little bit of all of the above. There are buckets of different opinions on what you should or should not do, all of which are valid because everyone’s purpose, desire, and budget differs.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Friday Favorites Link Party - Week 336


How can it be Labor Day weekend already? Do you have plans? One last BBQ blast? Watching fireworks?  Football, football, and even more football?

I have some DIY projects planned and time set aside to to watch my favorite guilty pleasure and Labor Day tradition streaming the movie Serial Mom on Amazon Prime.  (This is an affiliate link for your convenience)

If you aren't familiar with the movie Serial Mom, Kathleen Turner plays a soccer mom who tries to make the world a better place by murdering people over such trivial  
vile and heinous crimes as wearing white shoes after Labor Day.

Basically it's like if Martha Stewart had a dark side that included bludgeoning the neighbors with a leg of lamb for not sorting their recycling and she got rid of the evidence and murder weapon by having a dinner party featuring an award winning leg of lamb recipe while all of the guests rave over the impressive recipe and think she is kind and wonderful to invite them to impromptu dinner parties.

It is also the reason why I am afraid to where white after Labor Day.

Let's party!




Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:
Jerri at Simply Sweet Home - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Christine at Light and Savvy - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Dawn at LeroyLime - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL
Maisy at Becoming Alice - FB | G+ | Pin
Sheree at Stage Presents - Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst
Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Penny at Penny's Passion - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Kelly at Under a Texas Sky - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL
If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!
 photo Friday Favorites Featured Button.jpg
You can show your love for this week's favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week's favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week's linky party!