Condo Blues: November 2016

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

DIY Solar Snowman Jar Lights

I need to add new lighting to our outdoor Christmas decorations this year because for some inexplicable reason, our lawn service company felt the need to mow our  lawns in December. They ran over and destroyed my lights with a lawn mower despite the fact we are allowed to have holiday decorations in our yard for Christmas.

Uff da.

My HOA didn’t understand it either.

I’m turning an annoying head scratching negative and turning it into a positive. I’m taking the opportunity to change up our outdoor Christmas decorations a little bit this year by going green and making recycled glass jar solar snowman lights!


 Pin this tutorial for later!

I'm also giving my summer solar yard lights a big green reuse and repurpose by making them into energy efficient outdoor Christmas lights.

You can use glass Mason jars to make this project if you don’t have empty glass food  jars. At the time of this writing all of my spare Mason jars are storing and organizing food in my kitchen cupboards because it stays fresher longer and I can stuff more food in the cupboards than if I keep it in the original packaging.

How to Make Quick and Easy Solar Salsa Jar Snowmen

Friday, November 25, 2016

Friday Favorites Linky Party - Week 348

How was your Thanksgiving?

We had a low key family dinner with family, in laws, and pie. So many pies!

This week I got a surprise "gift" that threw in into a tailspin. A low down rotten person spoofed both of my blogs Condo Blues and Lazy Budget Chef and stole almost all of my blog traffic and ad revenue for several months! 

So if you could throw me a bone when you do  your holiday shopping this month I'd be ever so grateful.

I receive a small commission from Amazon at no additional coast to you if you buy something by clicking my Amazon affiliate or the Amazon ad on my blog sidebar. I use the money I earn from ads to run my blogs, pay for project materials and contest prizes for you, and to keep everything free for you to read instead of making my blogs a paid subscription service.

Thank you for your support!



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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
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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!
 
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Thursday, November 17, 2016

Friday Favorites Linky Party - Week 347

Are you getting ready for Thanksgiving?

Or are you one of those super organized folks who has Thanksgiving down and is starting on Christmas gift shopping and decorating? Good for you!

This week I got a surprise "gift" that threw in into a tailspin. A low down rotten person spoofed both of my blogs Condo Blues and Lazy Budget Chef and stole almost all of my blog traffic and ad revenue for several months! 

So if you could throw me a bone when you do  your holiday shopping this month I'd be ever so grateful.

I receive a small commission from Amazon at no additional coast to you if you buy something by clicking my Amazon affiliate link here or the Amazon ad on my blog sidebar. I use the money I earn from ads to run my blogs, pay for project materials and contest prizes for you, and to keep everything free for you to read instead of making my blogs a paid subscription service.

Thank you for your support!



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!

Monday, November 14, 2016

How to Make a Quick and Easy Christmas Pennant Garland

I excavated my craft room and found some cute red and green fabric scraps I’ve been moving from storage place to storage place in my sewing room.  That put me in a sewing mood. I decided then and there to use those quirky fabric scraps to sew a cloth pennant Christmas garland.


Pin this tutorial for later!

This is a quick and easy Christmas decoration project that takes practically no time to make. I streamed a couple of movies on Amazon Prime Video and before I knew it the project was done!

Christmas Garland Décor Tutorial

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Friday Favorites Linky Party - Week 346

I am trying to knock out as many spray paint projects as I can until it becomes too cold to spray paint. I can't tell you how many clothes I've ruined with paint because I didn't take the time to change into my painting clothes.

There is an answer for that.

It is called an apron.

If you have a sloppy crafting, paint, DIY, or cooking habit you can protect your clothes and buy my This is how I roll apron in my shop LNW Creative Gifts! It features pockets to hold everything that gets lost during a project or recipe and makes a great gift for you or someone you love.


I showed you my latest project. Now you show me yours!



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!

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Amazon Echo Dot Birthday Giveaway!

Today is my birthday!

Yay!

I'm throwing a reverse birthday party and you are invited. What is a reverse birthday party you ask? It is a birthday party where I give YOU gifts! 

One of the things on my vacation shopping list a few years ago was to bring back either a Minion or a House Elf from Universal Studios. Husband thought I wanted a toy. No. I wanted a REAL one to help around the house. Sadly, they are fictional but flash forward to right now this minute in time and there IS a real live way to make your life easier - The Amazon Echo Dot! Best of all it doesn't need feeding, or clothes, or has a nasty habit of punching things.

And I am giving one Amazon Echo Dot away on Condo Blues!!!


Sunday, November 6, 2016

How to Make Pallet Storage Shelves with Side Rails

I have a DIY power tool battery station hanging on the wall on my workbench and little else. All of my tools, hardware, and empty tool cases are stored low to the ground – like me! –  in my DIY kitchen cabinet workbench where I can easily put everything away after I finish a project in my shop.

Short girl problems, yo.

But man, those empty molded plastic power tool cases are taking up some variable storage real estate in the workbench. I don’t want to keep shuffling them around the workbench to get to things I needs but I don’t want to get rid of them either. The cases are nice for those occasions I Handy Ma'am it at someone else’s house.

A dead space the wall over my workbench is the perfect place to store my power tool cases. I put my recycled pallet wood stash to good use and built a storage shelf with built in bookends (for lack of a better term) so my tool cases won’t fall off the end of the shelf.

How to make power tool case storage
Pin this idea for later!

How to Build a Simple Shelf with Built in Bookends

 

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Friday Favorites Linky Party - Week 345

Oh friends, I have a confession. I have a new obsession.

Antique crystal glasses.

It started innocently enough. I bought these sweet and versatile Bubble Champagne Coupe glasses  (aff link) as a wedding present last spring and I've been going back and forth about how useful owning coupe glasses would be ever since.   Which is somewhat silly yet somewhat practical given my lack of extra storage space in our condo.

The coupe hunger got worse after seeing a friend's recent antique mid century modern chair purchase followed by seeing cut glass coupes while thrift shopping for Halloween costume pieces. The clouds parted from the sky, a rainbow appeared, a unicorn slide down it and encouraged me to poke around one of my favorite thrift stores instead of just turning around in their parking lot.

And this happened.

If you follow me @condoblues on Instagram you might have seen this in real time! 

I love them and already tested them out. Swoon!

I showed you mine, now you show me yours!



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 link party!