Natural Gardening Hacks and Friday Favorites 589

I spent a good chunk of the week doing plant therapy, although you may call it gardening. I transplanted the sweet fennel that was outgrowing our container garden into the front flowerbeds. Every time I pass them on my way to take Lacey in and out I whisper,"please live" to my transplants. 

It worked when I transplanted my golden oregano earlier this summer. I'm hoping the same good vibe strategy works with the fennel. Well, that, and heaps of compost and all natural gardening hacks and techniques.

You can lean how to make plants grow the inexpensive and frugal way by reading my 12 Natural Gardening Tips for Beginners post here.

 

Time to link up your favorite projects, recipes, and posts!

Celebrating an International Holiday Weekend and Friday Favorites 588

This is a big holiday weekend for our readers in not one but two countries! Today (1st, July) our Canadian neighbors are celebrating Canada Day! This Sunday (July 4th) my fellow Americans will celebrate Independence Day!

My husband likes to celebrate the Fourth of July by wearing his Captain American shirt to backyard BBQs. You can learn how I made this quick and easy Captain America t shirt here.

I hope you have a happy, fun, and safe holiday weekend (or regular summer weekend for all of you non North American readers!) And if you are in the US and Canadian heat wave areas, please drink plenty of water all day, take it easy, and please try to stay cool in the shade!

Time to link up your favorite projects, recipes, and posts!

Container Garden Organization Ideas and Friday Favorites Week 586

 Lacey realized that all of the plants in our patio garden are herbs and vegetables and tries to sneak  snacks from the small pots whenever we go outside. I needed a fast (and hopefully less expensive) solution to organize all of the new plants we bought from the garden center.

The white tubes are watering tubes. You read my DIY self watering planter tutorial here. 

Giant Lawn Flamingos and Friday Favorites Week 585

How do you know it is officially summer?

• It is after Memorial Day?
• The lavender is starting bloom in my garden?
• The weather is warm and kids are playing in neighborhood spinklers?

NO!

At my house it isn't officially summer until Divine my metal lawn flamingo takes residence in my garden  (much to the chagrin of my husband.)

She's no Frank the Christmas Gargoyle but she's 6 feet tall and I love her.

Time to link up your favorite projects, recipes, and posts! 

Edible Landscaping Groundcover Ideas and Friday Favorites Week 584

Last weekend was a long holiday weekend here in the US and my husband and I spent a chunk of it digging in the dirt. We want to add more color to our front flowerbeds which is largely an oasis of black mulch. Wood mulch isn't a bad thing. Mulching protects the soil from eroding and helps keep moisture in the soil after watering. Wood mulch also breaks down over time and add nutrients to the soil - which a good thing for our clay soil but also a bag thing because we have keep buying heavy bags of mulch. Anything we can do to less the chance of the yearly hefting mulch into the landscaping beds is a good thing in our book.

We didn't have to look any further than our own backyard for a practical zone 6 living groundcover solution: transplant the golden oregano overflowing its pots in the container garden to the front yard.  Thyme is another fast growing perianal garden groundcover we could use or mix in with the golden oregano but we don't cook with thyme as often as we do with oregano. We're hopping the yellow in the ground cover will make the lavender blooms pop a bit more.

Please don't die.

My First DIY Cold Process Soap Project and Friday Favorites Week 583

I fell in love with using handmade soaps after trying some I bought at a renaissance festival. Every year I'd buy a bar or five. I dabbled with making soap with a melt and pour kit like this one   because I could play with herb add ins, natural scents, and colorants without messing around with lye because lye sounded scary! (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links for your convenience.) A soap maker friend encouraged me to keep experimenting because that's how you learn how different herbs and oils interact and influence the final product.

When I stumbled upon a liquid hot process soap tutorial online, I realized I had most of the equipment needed and I could buy the soap ingredients at the grocery store. I gave it a whirl and realized working with lye isn't as scary as I thought!  But liquid soap is tricky (at least for me.) The book I have doesn't give a lot of why to the how and there is even less information on line unless you're making cold process bar soap. Cold process soap tutorials didn't seem as scary as they did before I started making soap in an old crock pot. I bought this exact The Natural Soap Making Book for Beginners book and made my first batch of cold process soap!

The color is a little *intense*  and there were some slight bubbling after sequestering but overall I'm pleased with how my first batch of real deal bar soap came out. 

Steampunk Dinosaur Decor and Friday Favorites Week 582

I have a bad habit of buying a piece of wall art and not framing it and hanging  because I want to paint a  wall, rearrange a room, or have some grand project that often gets moved down in priority on my project punch list. 

I have bare walls when I could at least have something interesting on them. 

I decided it was time to frame and display this piece I bought at the Columbus Art Festival in the before times. Everybody say Hi to Uncle Morty!

Uncle Morty is not the title of the work. I named him Morty, because its a name that brings up the idea of a lovable, life of the party, fun uncle, who miiiiight have a business where he knows a guy and you shouldn't make him mad but probably not because he's always a sweet guy who pulls a quarter out of your ear every time he sees you (maybe.)

Oh and if you are wondering, the friend I went to the Art Festival with when I bought the piece thought I was weird when I bought it and so did my husband when I brought it home.

Time to link up your favorite projects, recipes, and posts! 

DIY Door Sign and Friday Favorites Week 580

It's funny how you think you come up with a totally new and original idea for a craft or decor project to find out someone (or many someones) have done it too. It's fun to see  how another person put their creative spin on a great mind think alike situation. Case in point:

I added a hanger to a sign I made with this exact Home paw print stencil and added my little creative spin using a woodburning tool like this one to add texture so it looks like the bottom of a dog paw. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links for your convenience.)

I hang the sign on the front door sometimes instead of decorating with a wreath

Friday Favorites Week 579

Time to link up your favorite projects, recipes, and posts! 

  

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Celebrate Earth Day with the Rule of Half and Friday Favorites Week 578

Today is Earth Day, although honestly we try to make every day Earth Day around here by refusing, reducing, reusing household items with the goal of running a low waste home.  One useful and FREE way to do that is to follow The Rule of Half whenever possible. The Rule of Half is to try using half (or at least less) of the amount of stuff  you would normally use to get the job done. 

You can read more about how to go zero waste on a budget with the Rule of Half here

A good example of this is toothpaste. Instead of loading up the length of your toothbrush with toothpaste like the toothpaste companies show you, put the dentist recommended pea size to half a length of toothpaste on your toothbrush. You create a little less trash because a tube of toothpaste lasts a little longer. One tube of toothpaste might not seem like such a big deal but if you do the same (or at least measure items instead of just chucking it in) with the majority of items you use on a daily basis it can make a difference in the amount of household trash you put by the curb every week and all for the affordable price of FREE. No fancy eco products required! (Unless you want to.)

Time to link up your favorite projects, recipes, and posts! 

How to Spring Clean Your Dryer Vent and Friday Favorites Week 577

I'm Spring Cleaning inside of the house, like ya do, and I noticed one thing I need to Spring Clean on the outside of my house - my dryer vent!

I'll spare you the current gory state of dryer lint build up and give you this one when I first installed my energy efficient dryer vent.

Even if you clean the link trap/screen in your dryer after every load lint can still build up in the dryer duct, vent, and end cap. Dryer lint is highly flammable (which is one the reasons why people use it to make homemade fire starters) and according to experts it doesn’t take much for accumulated dryer lint to cause a dryer fire. Fortunately cleaning a dryer vent is a quick and easy thing to do. Learn how in my post How to Clean a Dryer Vent the Easy Way! you'll be glad you did.

I showed you my project, now you show me yours! Time to link up your favorite projects, recipes, and posts! 

DIY Harlequin Jester Costume and Friday Favorites Week 575

Happy April Fool's Day!!!

As a professional jester in the Before Times, I consider April 1st to be My Day.  I don't play tricks or jokes on people, I just walk around extra happy and foolish. See?

This costume is my first and probably last quilting project because it took four months to build!

You can read how I made this diamond jester costume here

Time to link up your favorite projects, recipes, and posts! 

Fabric Storage Idea and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 571

One of my small 2020 victories was actually starting/finishing a ton of UFPs (Unfinished Projects) and fabric stash bust projects.  I didn't realize exactly how much fabric I used until I started reorganizing my craft room. The fabric storage box I built was so full it barely fit under the bed. 

I didn't take a Before photo. Imagine even more fabric than this and a 100% untidy mess that looks like a hurricane blew through. 

You can learn how to make this sliding storage box that fits under a bed here.

After The Year of Sewing All the Things three quarters of this storage box that is as long as a double bed is wide is EMPTY and I'm doing my happy dance. 

Time to link up your favorite projects, recipes, and posts! 

30 Best Sustainable Living Blogs and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 570

When you are doing a live performance you get immediate feedback on how people like, or don't like what you are doing. Blogging isn't like that. I'm grateful for all of your comments and emails but the only thing I have to see if folks are reading and hopefully liking what I do here on Condo Blues is a bunch of tools that give me cold, hard, numbers. Readership fluctuates naturally during different seasons and holidays. Even thought I know why, it makes me think if I'm making any sort of difference or creating something people like to read.

It's always nice to get feedback, especially when I'm in a writing slump, and this week I got it with stars, exclamation points, and biodegradable glitter. I am included in Shaman's Market's list of 30 Best Sustainable Living Blogs for 2021 as their Number 1 pick!

I'm thrilled and grateful. Here's what they have to say about little ol' me and Condo Blues:

 "A blog about green living, crafts, decor, and dogs by self-described “Frugal Green DIY Diva” Lisa Nelsen-Woods, Condo Blues is filled with quirky humor and style that’s sure to make you smile. From DIY home renovation, and crafts to countless painless frugal life hacks and healthy, delicious cooking recipes, Condo Blues is a great all-around blog for anyone interested in living differently."

They called me quirky! Quirky is good.

Time to link up your favorite projects, recipes, and posts! 

DIY Bottle Cap Bees and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 568

February is almost over and we are inching towards Spring which brings warm weather, flowers, and happy little bees! Bees are going to be this year's craft and decor trend. Why not get started a little early and recycle a few bottle caps into cute little bees?

You can read my bottle cap bee craft tutorial here

I made the recycled bottle cap bees and little trinkets to trade with children when I do (someday) children's theater. It's a versatile craft project. You can glue a magnet to the back to make them magnets, a pin back to make them into pins, or punch a hole and make it into a necklace. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination!

Time to link up your favorite projects, recipes, and posts! 

Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 567

Hi everyone Lacey here! Lisa is letting me take over the blog today. 

We hope everyone is safe and warm during the recent snowstorms. It has been snowing a lot and I've very glad my people are staying safe from slippery roads and stuff working from home. 

But mostly it is because I want my people home with me all day, every day.

 I like them. 

A lot.

Toasty warm!

Quick and Easy St Patrick's Day Shamrock Decor

One of my favorite things about St Patrick’s Day is that it is the one day of the year that even mainstream places will play Celtic music. Listening to a good jig or reel always puts in a good mood no matter what.

The only thing I like better than listening to Scottish and Irish music is dancing to it. I performed as a Scottish Country Dancer and even had Scottish Country Dances at my wedding reception.

Scottish Country Dance is social dancing somewhat like American Square Dancing. Competitive Irish and Scottish dance is a completely different thing.

Since I like the music so much, why not decorate our door for Saint Patrick’s Day with a quick and easy shamrock featuring The Swallowtail Jig sheet music? The Swallowtail Jig is one of my favorite jigs because of the lyrical flute part that I’m still trying to nail down because I'm out of practice playing the flute.

 Save this decorating and craft idea to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!

Quick and Easy DIY St Patrick's Day Shamrock

Mason Jar and Wine Cork Centerpieces and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 567

I like to mix up my home decor from time to time. I want a new center piece for our dining room table and thought it was a good time to revisit making my mason jar and wine cork candle holders.

The construction is simple. simple. simple.

You can learn how to make my mason jar and wine cork candleholders here.

Put a handful of wine corks in a mason jar, add a glass tea light candle holder, pop in an electric or real tea light, and decorate with a bit of raffia. Cute. Quick. Cheap. Love that!

I showed you my project, now it is time for you to show me yours!

DIY Dollar Store Valentine's Day Wreath and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 566

February will be here in no time and with it brings Valentine's Day! If you are looking for something a little different for your DIY Valentine's Day decor my glass bead heart wreath is just the thing! It is quick, easy, and best of all inexpensive because everything I used to make it came from the dollar store. Woot.

The Best Ever Sea Shanty and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 565

Sea Shanties are having a moment on TikTok and as a historical performer, I sing a lot of sea shanties.  Mingulay Boat Song is one of my favorites because its slow and steady rhythm makes it easy to visualize the whole crew pulling together to hoist anchor to sail home to their families.  

Most renaissance festivals end the day with a pub sing. Another reason I like Mingulay Boat Song is after my fellow performers sing it, the fun is just beginning. If you notice a bagpiper makes his way onto the stage towards the end of the song ready to rip with Scotland the Brave. Everyone claps. Some sing. Cast members jump up on benches and tables to encourage the crowd or dance. Sometimes there is a crack the whip silly dance snaking around the pub. It is a rowdy, good fun way to end the day!

It's that time again - show me what ya got!