Condo Blues: March 2017

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party 365

Husband and are I in the middle of planning our travel schedule for the rest of the year. Part of that is double checking we have all of the travel organizers and accessories we need to pack for our trip.

 The one thing we never seem to have is enough luggage tags. So I made this music lover's luggage tag for my shop LNW Creative Gifts! You can personalize it with your first name on the front or leave it plan and print your contact information on the bag of this sturdy tag.

We're have a20% off  sale starting today, Thrusday March 30 to April 2, 2017 when you use this code at checkout: ZAZDETAILS17. No Foolin'!



 I have one on my instrument case to make sure my black case isn't mixed up with the rest of my band's black instrument cases. If you want to keep you bag - tag it!
 
Sale ends in Let's Party!

Monday, March 27, 2017

How to Make an Easy DIY Floor To Ceiling Shoe Rack Organizer

The over the door shoe rack similar to this one on the closet door and stackable shoe rack similar to this one worked for awhile. Well actually, it worked for Husband’s shoes rather than mine. My shoes are so small they would often slip through the split shelves and end up in a pile on the floor. (I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)

And after years of wear and tear, there came a time when even Gorilla Tape wouldn’t put our dilapidated shelves back together again. Which, frankly, I only put them back together every time they fell apart because Husband and I have grand plans to make this closet a cedar closet and pimped out with a custom closet organizer system.

Someday.

That keeps getting pushed down the punch list because blah, blah, yadda, yadda.

Does this happen to you or am I the only one?

After two months of shoe clutter barfing out of the closet and not being able to shut the door I had enough. This project doesn’t have to be my perfect dream of custom wall to wall floor to ceiling shoe storage, it just needs to be done. Now.

Shoe Closet Before. I am not proud of this.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

When is it Wrong to Paint Furniture and Friday Favorites Linky Party 364

As a DIYer, upcycler, and maker of things, it isn't unusual to paint a piece old and beat up furniture. I do it all of the time and I'm sure you do too.

But I am starting to rethink that updating strategy after hearing about the long and horrific restoration job a friend went through to remove silver spray paint from a set of antique rattan Mid Century Modern footstools. There was one footstool for each spouse and they groused about DIYers ruining a classic antique but it also meant they added them to their collection for a song because the current value was shot.

I understand both sides of the coin. I love a good painted or reworked furniture project but I can also get sick to my stomach when I see someone wreck a piece that would sing on its own with stripping, sanding, and retaining the finish (Flea Market Flip I'm talking to you.)




Which is why I appreciate the extra work Vintage Green took to restore her scratched and water stain dresser rather than take the easy way out and paint it. Bravo!
Let's Party!

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

7 Ways to Make Magnetic Embroidery Needle Minders

If you do a lot of hand sewing, cross stitch, embroidery, beading, or other needle crafts, you know eventually you will play the I put my work down and where did my needle go? game.

Slipping the needle into the fabric works to keep track of your embroidery needle but can leave permanent holes in certain fabrics. In that case you can keep track of your needles with the power to science: a magnetic needle minder!

Basically, a needle minder is a magnet that holds your needle and is glued to the back of a fairly thin decorative piece on the top side of the work in your embroidery hoop that is held in place on back side by another magnet.

DIY Needle Minder Tutorial


I am hand sewing beads on a super size beading project – an Elizabethan under skirt. Since I am using a small beading needle on such a large and busy fabric, a magnetic needle minder will help me keep track of and find such a slender needle when I take a break.

Let’s make a needle minder!

 Pin this tutorial for later!

Sunday, March 19, 2017

How to Make a Flannel Sleep Mask

The only way I can get to sleep and stay asleep at night is in a super duper cave like dark room. Unfortunately, curtains in every room on the planet (and especially in hotel rooms) conspire against me.

No matter how well I think I close them, there always is a hairline sliver between the curtains that shoots the early morning light directly into my eyes like a laser beam and wakes me up hours before my alarm is set to go off.  Every. Single. Morning. ARUGH!

Fortunately,  wearing a sleep mask thwarts the Sun Beam – Curtain Conspiracy. Take that sunbeam hahaha!

Unfortunately, most sleep masks are backed with nylon polyester, which doesn’t breathe making it way too hot to wear.

Fortunately, I reorganized and unearthed more scrap fabric than I realized I had including some nice, soft, cotton, and breathable flannel that makes an excellent and super cute sleep mask!


How to Sew a Super Cute Sleep Mask

 

Pin this quick and easy tutorial for later!

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party 363

Sunny days are here again! We moved our clocks forward which is a sure sign Spring is just around the corner. I   found a stash of viable seeds when Spring Cleaning and I can't wait for the weather to warm up enough to put them in the ground.

That is the inspiration behind my featured pick from last week's Linky Party The Three Easiest Vegetables to Grow and Enjoy from Green Talk. Anna is a terrific gardener.  I practically have her on speed dial when I have gardening questions but it sometimes feels like I  kill more plants than I  grow.





Let's Party!

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Tiny Mall Micro Loft House Tour

Tiny houses are all the rage, so it should be no surprise that city dwellers can live cute and with a ridiculously small carbon footprint in tiny micro apartments – in a converted historic shopping mall!



 Pin this tiny house tour and share it with your friends!

You don’t have to be a shopaholic to live here. In fact, given that the average size of each tiny apartment is 220 square feet it is probably best if you aren’t.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party 362

To deal with this summer to snow temperatures, I'm working on small fiddly projects I've been putting off like updating all of my blog goals and statics.

The fantastic thing is I am just. this. close. to reaching my Pinterest goal of 20K followers by SIX people. Wow!

If you do'n't already can you follow me @condoblues on Pinterest to help me reach my goal of 2)K followers?  If you like my blog you will love my Pinterest feed! I pin waaaaaay more awesome projects and ideas to my Pinterest boards than I can share on my other social media feeds. It's easy. Just click the Condo Blues Pinterest box below. Thank you so very much!

I if could find a job curating and sharing fantastic ideas on Pinterest full time I would!

Let's Party!

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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

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

15 of the Best Scrap Fabric Projects

After spending an afternoon finding hidden fabric caches around the house (and wondering if I am turning into a ferret,) I organized the larger than I realized fabric stash into my super big DIY under bed fabric organizer

And oh my goooooooooooodness I learned I have a lot of scrap fabric! More than I thought.  I figure I should celebrate National Craft Month by sewing some scrap fabric project to clear out my stash so I can buy more fabric.

 Pint these all new and fantastic sewing and no sew ideas for later!

Sunday, March 5, 2017

How to Make a Sliding Under Bed Fabric Storage Box

Even though I am fairly strict about only buying fabric and craft supplies that I need for a specific project to keep me from being overrun with cute supplies I won’t use I still have a lot of leftover fabric stored in plastic storage tubs throughout the house.

Which makes it difficult to use in a stash bust project because I have fabric here, there, and everywhere - especially under the bed in my guest room/craft room. There is quite a bit of unused storage space under the guest bed but all of the storage options I found where laughably small for what I wanted to consolidate from around the house and store under the bed.

The only solution is to build an epic super fantastic awesome fabric solution for my craft room that holds ALL of my extra fabric, makes use of all of the empty space under the bed, slides underneath when not in use!

Lisa didn't build a difficult earth shattering small space storage solution. She made a simple beginner pocket hole jig project - a storage box.
 By the way, Lisa's fabric stash is really comfortable and she totally loves it when I cover it in dog hair.

OK, I built a box.

An under the bed fabric storage box.

But it is a huge box that runs the width of the bed, slides out easily on the carpeting, and is a fantastic DIY pocket hole project for all of you who are intrigued but nervous about using a pocket hole jig.

How to Build an Easy Pocket Hole Sliding Storage Box 

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party 361

My master bathroom remodel hit a scheduling snag because we have to remove the floor down to the studs and replace it due to mold found around the base of our current toilet. I have a feeling (but no concrete confirmation) that micro leaks from the seal may be the cause.

Which is a fantastic reason to replace the toilet I hate with a toilet I have come to love for how easy it is to install AND its super sealing wax ring - the Delta Faucet Company Corrente toilet.
 
 Toilets courtesy of our friends at Delta Faucet Company.

Yep, after installing the easiest toilet in the world in my powder room (you can read my Delta toilet review on Condo Blues here) we like it so much that I have two of those bad boys sitting in my garage waiting for our flooring guy to do his thing so I can do my thing with the rest of the remodel.
 
I showed you my project, now you share yours. Let's Party!