Saint Patrick’s Day Shamrock Skirt

Saint Patrick’s Day is right around the corner. I figure I better get some green duds in my new and smaller size or I will run the risk of getting pinched. No Saint Patrick owies allowed!

How to Make Dog Boots

Poor Lacey. Snow and ice get in between her toes when she goes outside during winter. It hurts so much, my snow dog stomps romping and digging and crumbles into a little ball from the pain.

You try playing in the snow with bare feet. I bet it hurts too.

I scoop her up and carry her home. Often we have to go back outside after Lacey's toes are warm to finish what she didn't get to do outside in the snow. Rinse. Repeat.

As much as I hate putting clothes on dogs for the sake of putting clothes on dogs, I bought Lacey a pair of dog boots for Christmas. I'm all for protective dog clothing if the dog needs it but I still felt like one of those people while in the store buying shoes for my dog.

I didn't feel that way last weekend when I tried to exchange the boots for a size that fit Lacey. All of the pet stores had a run on dog boots to prepare for the Polar Vortex Storm That's Colder Than Antarctica (for real. It is summer in Antarctica and 45 degrees warmer in Iceland (36 F) than in Columbus, Ohio today (-9 F. )  It looks like I am not the only crazy pet parent in Columbus putting boots on my dog. Good to know.

Seriously?

The only thing left in Lacey's size in Store Number Three were a set of disposable dog booties made from recycled plastic bottle fabric. I was less than thrilled with the disposable part, but any port in a storm. I hoped Lacey could wear them several times and see us through the cold snap. No such luck. Lacey's dachshund claws started to poke through the second time out.

Time to make fleece dog booties!

How to Make Fleece Dog Booties

One Small Green Change 2013 Resolution Wrap Up

Happy New Year 2014!

I find that I’m better at keeping my New Years Resolutions if I make them when I need them instead of making up a resolution on New Year’s Eve for the sake of making a New Year’s resolution.

During 2013, I made one small green change each month. My changes weren’t necessarily Earth shattering or big. I focused on the small stuff. The easy stuff. The hey-I-should-probably-do-that stuff.

This way, I can evaluate whether it works for me or not. I'm more likely to keep monthly resolutions because some green changes are seasonal where I live. If you look at all of those little changes that became permanent, it can make a big, huge difference.

Here's the 2012 One Small Green Change New Year’s Resolution wrap up.

January

37 Doctor Who Crafts

I am a big, big, big Doctor Who fan. When I needed more USB ports on my computer I bought a Doctor Who TARDIS USB computer hub (if you need more USB ports on your computer you can learn more about it here.)

(Disclosure: I am also including affiliate links in this post for your convince)

I write notes at my desk with a Sonic Screwdriver Pen (check out all of the Doctor's sonics here!)

I bought a bought a Tom Baker Era TARDIS Key Keychain here shortly after I discovered the classic Doctor Who episodes playing on public television and carried it for years until it  wore out.

For those of you who don’t know your Who, Doctor Who is a British science fiction show about a Time Lord named The Doctor who travels through time and space in his ship the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) which looks like a police box and saves the universe from bug eyed monsters.

The show first aired from 1963 to 1989 and took a little break until they made a Doctor Who TV movie in 1996. The BBC brought Doctor Who back in 2005. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who. 

I put together a collection of Doctor Who DIYs and crafts to celebrate the geekiest week of the year. On November 22, 2013 the BBC will simulcast the Doctor Who 20th Anniversary Special around the world and, if you are lucky, in 3D a local theater!

 Pin this list of ideas to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!

Allons-y!

Do Clothing Designers Hate Women?

I am so upset on what was supposed to be a happy occasion. Husband took me to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for my birthday. I used the birthday card to visit since I haven't been there which is practically criminal considering I live in Ohio, have family we visit nearby, and I named a dog after inductee The Ramones song Blitzkrieg Bop.

If you follow @condoblues on Instagram you might have already seen this photo.

The Rock Hall part of the day was great. Husband and I appreciated how much space the museum devotes to the country, jazz, and blues legends that influenced and created what became rock and roll. Out of all of the museums I visited this one has the best soundtrack.

DIY Chemical Free Dryer Sheets

Winter is coming.

So is static cling.

I used to pop a couple of tennis balls into the dryer as a fabric softener free way to fight static cling until Lacey came to live with us. The sound of bouncing  tennis balls she can't play with drives her (and us) bazonkers!

Dumping the dryer balls for summer worked OK but I need to come up with a less noisy and non toxic chemical free solution to keep us from getting shocked by static electricity from our clothes during the dry winter months.

 Becky from Glue and Glitter  was in a similar situation and made a fantastic solution - DIY Dryer Sheets!

Check out Glue and Glitter's DIY Dryer Sheet tutorial here.

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Highball Halloween Party!

Happy Halloween!

Today is one our favorite holidays because it is all about frivolous fun. I got my costumer on and made a rare set of matching costumes for Husband and I to wear to this year’s Highball Halloween party. We were Raving Rabbids!

BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!

I’m glad I made our full length Rabbid suits from fleece. It was freezing that night!

One Eco Dress, Three Looks, and a $75 Giveaway!

Happy news! I met my weight loss goal! I am now back into what is considered the healthy range of my Body Mass Index (BMI.) I realize BMI measurements and numbers aren’t a perfect indication of health because there are other factors in play such as muscle mass that can skew BMI numbers to the overweight range of a perfectly healthy and fit person.

I’m using BMI as a healthier target range for my height instead of  picking an arbitrary weight or saying that I want be a size 2 like I was in high school. Not realistic and probably unhealthy skinny for my only slightly older than high school body. (I may not lie about my weight but age is fair game!)

Eating a whole foods, no trans fat, no hydrogenated oil, no processed food from a box diet to lose the weight wasn’t difficult. In fact, I’m following the same no bad stuff diet that made me gain the extra 25 pounds I had to lose. I’m proof that if you eat too much of anything, even very good for you things, and get little to no exercise you will gain weight.

Thanks to my trainer and high energy exercise buddy Lacey, I lost the last of those 25 extra pounds. I feel better (especially now that my waist is no longer larger than Husband’s.) I also have a new problem. My clothes don’t fit! I need new duds.

Tank Girl and Captain Hammer Costumes

My inner costumer came out to play last year when Husband and I went to a comic convention. I took a ton of pictures of the cosplayers (the people who dress up in comic book character costumes) while Husband met and talked to some of the comic book artists he collected as a kid.

I'll admit it. I'm a costume geek. I have a Pinterest costume board to prove it. Give me a follow, won't you?

This year, Husband wanted to go to the Ohio Comic Con because his childhood hero, Stan Lee, was going to be there. For those of you who did not spend all of your paper route money on comic books, Stan Lee created Spiderman, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, and most of The Avengers. I had to learn this to stay married.

Since Husband took the opportunity to do something he's wanted to do since we was a kid, I took the opportunity to do something I wanted to do too. I gingerly dipped my toe into the cosplay water.

I pulled last year's Halloween costume out and went as Tank Girl!

Apparently good poses are part of the cosplay gig.

How to Dye a Thrift Store Shirt Bright Yellow with Turmeric

Lacey and I take several walks a day around our neighborhood. It is a good thing for both of us. Lacey drains her high energy in a positive way. I get off my duff and exercise. Everybody wins!

Except weight. That, I am losing.  

Time to get some new clothes that fit!

I love the Minions! They look like Twinkies with eyes.

Easy Blog Conference T Shirt

Summer is blog conference season. Yippie for meeting on line friends in person and networking and learning how to be a better blogger!

Not so yippie in trying to find your on line friends in the crowd and making sure they can find you. Last year at Blogher12 Laura from Pet Scribbles and I kept missing each other all day every day of the conference although Margaret from Nanny Goats and Panties and I always seem to find each other each year. Do you know why? Because Margaret is as smart as she is funny. Margaret wears a shirt with her blog name on it.

My new Condo Blues t shirt! I'll get to the kooky color hair in a minute.

While I'm a DIYer all the way, most of the DIY t shirt options are not as professional looking as I want when I'm advertising my blogs.

12 Red, White, and Blue Patriotic Summer Decor Ideas

Memorial Day kicks off my favorite season - summer! Woo hoo!

Husband and I have an even better reason to celebrate this year. Good friends will visit us from Germany that weekend. What better way to welcome our friends to the United States and celebrate Memorial Day (and pre decorate for the Fourth of July) than with patriotic red, white, and blue decor!

I like to hang banners and garlands on my porch rails. I like the texture of Uncommon Designs burlap flag banner and how it will work in a variety of decorating styles.

Photo courtesy of Uncommon Designs

I also like the stripe detail on Sweeter than Sweets star garland. Can you believe she made it out of paint chips?

Photo courtesy of Sweeter than Sweets

I'm tucking Better Homes and Gardens red, white, and blue bunting into the Idea Center of my mind (AKA Lisa's Kooky Idea Center if you listen to how Husband describes it which you probably shouldn't because Condo Blues is not his blog. It is mine.) Every summer when I finally remember to buy porch bunting it is too close to the Fourth of July and the stores are sold out. Their project is an incentive to use some of the fabric in my stash to make it.

How to Keep Dogs Out of the Garden

I took advantage of an actually-feels-like-Spring day to clear the flowerbeds of leaves and weeds. Like most DIY projects around here it:

1. Snowballing into another project - Operation: Keep Lacey Out of the Flower Beds

2. Required a  trip to the store for supplies.

One Small Green Change: Down Winter Coat

I came home from 40 degree (F) Washington DC (more on that later I promise) to -9 degree Columbus. BRR! The light winter jacket I've making do with this year because my good wool coat is a bit too snug (ahem) just isn't going to cut it no matter how many layers I wear under it.

I need a new heavy winter "play" coat. Something I can wear sledding, skiing, and trudging through snow to the mailbox. Wool is warm and more eco friendly but once it gets wet, you stand a good chance of getting hypothermia on the toboggan run.

In my opinion a wool outer layer isn't practical for a winter ski coat since shushing snow can soak your coat.

Who am I kidding? My ski coat gets wet more from falling and skiing on my face in spectacularly graceful ways than from kicking up snow and outperforming Shaun White on a snowboarding half pipe.

Anyway. I need a new warm heavy winter coat that isn't too bulky to play in the snow. If it can be made from more eco friendly materials that would be awesome. I want this coat to perform well and last. I am willing to pony up the cash for that (although if I can get it on sale that will be the icing on the cake.)

How to Make Color Denim Jeans for Five Dollars

It is officially jeans weather and I got a little surprise. Turns out the Kidney Stone Diet followed by the My Dog Has Cancer Diet followed by the Grief Diet (I do not recommend these diets At. All. It isn’t healthy and stinks on ice) made me lose enough weight to make my fat jeans too big.

I need a pair of temporary transitional size jeans. Colored denim jeans might be fun because now things are settled and I plan to start Wii-ing and biking on our new bike trail my way back to the normal range of my Body Mass Index (BMI). By then the colored skinny jean trend may have jumped the shark.

Thanks to a thrift store sale and a Michael’s coupon, I made a pair of purple denim jeans for $5.00.

You can too!

Here’s how.

Schoolhouse Rock Costumes

Around here Halloween is ALL about the costume. I keep a running Halloween costume idea list in my head of unique and slightly out there costume ideas.

Last Halloween Husband and I went a Halloween party. The theme was Childhood. After mulling over the costume possibilities, I realized I had the perfect costume on my Halloween costume idea list. It’s something I’ve been wanted to build for a long time School House Rock's Bill from Capital Hill!    Husband got in on the School Rock costume action too. He was the Engineer from Conjunction Conjunction.

 Pin this costume idea to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!

Make a Louboutin Inspired Bracelet

As a green DIYer and crafter, I sometimes use products that may contain not so eco friendly ingredients. Generally, it is only one small component and I am fine with it because it contributes to the greater good of remaking the object into something clever, useful, or beautiful and saving it from the landfill. However, I am always on the lookout for an eco friendly equivalent that works just as well or better.

When I find a craft supply that promises me eco friendly ingredients AND is no odor AND eco-friendly AND water based AND low VOC I get excited. I racked my brain for an excuse to try them gift idea that lets me use the Delta Soy Stain and Soy Craft Paint I saw for sale on Scribbleshop AND makes a few Christmas gifts early.  

I am not using red for this demo because I don't want to be sued for trademark infringement.

25 DIY Superhero and Villian Costumes

Confession time. With superhero movies hitting the theaters, nephews who like superheros, and needing an escape from last summer's canine cancer battle Husband dabbled a bit in his childhood comic book hobby with an electronic subscription (much cheaper, greener, and he has access to comics published before, during, and after the time he spent all of his childhood paper route money on comic books.)

And he brought me along for the ride.

I had to read the paper books he kept from kid hood to save my marriage.

Are any of you buying that?

I thought not.

Since it is in our backyard, Husband and I got our geek on at the Mid-Ohio Comic Con 'cause you know how we are total sci fi nerds, into supporting local events.

Husband got into talking to the comic book artists he admired and collected. As a former costumer, I got into the cosplayers - the patrons who created and dressed up as their favorite characters from TV, movies, books, and video games. The detail on some of the costumes is amazing. Others were cheesy on purpose - my wacky sense of humor admires that too.

If you are looking for Halloween costume inspiration, this is the place to be.

Hero Costumes

Fall Porch Whimsy Mood Board

It takes me awhile to get excited about early fall because it means my favorite season is almost ready to hibernate but it is not quite sweater, apple cider, and cute boot season. It is a little too early to go Halloween crazy with the decorating. I’m not sure what we’ll do for Halloween. Husband and I aren’t in the mood for ghosts and skeletons this year.

I guess we should go with fall harvest porch decorations. Leaves, pumpkins, corn stalks, and country rustic autumn décor is very eco and can stay up until Thanksgiving. I appreciate that style at other people’s homes but it is not something I want to stare at for so long in my own home. I want to hang onto to bright colors and whimsy for as long as I can until the snow flies.

I created a nontraditional modern whimsy autumn porch mood board to motivate me to think fall and spark some ideas for our porch.

Enjoy.

Salt Resist Tie Dye T Shirt

I didn’t check a white thrift store t shirt carefully enough in the store. I brought it home and realized it has a stain I can’t remove. Bummer.

Not really.

I tie dyed the t shirt and made it better than new!

Once upon a time, a booth at the Viking Festival sold tie dyed Scandinavian flag t shirts. I wanted a Danish flag tie dye t shirt, but they were out of my size. They haven’t been back to the festival since. This idea inspired my t shirt design.

Make a Danish Flag Tie Dye T Shirt