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!
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.
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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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!
There is nothing better to chase the Winter Blues away than decorating with fresh flowers. Husband spruced up our shared home office this week for Valentine's Day with a gift of pink and red roses. Pink roses are more special to us than red (although I think they are beautiful too) because we exchanged anonymous pink roses the day our story began.
I was surprised to get a new vase. Frankly I was looking forward to the possibility to using one of the cute Valentine's Day vases lining the top shelves in my craft room. When I asked Husband why he gave me a vase when I have several, he simply said, "because they are full of wine corks!"
The little guy saw his shadow this morning. It looks like six more weeks of winter will be heading our way.
But that's no so bad because it gives everyone six more weeks to stay inside and create your fabulous home improvement, DIY, and craft projects and yummy recipes!
Let's party!
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It's too cold to build things and DIY in the garage so I usually turn to more crafty projects I can do on the sofa.
Because Lacey likes to snuggle on sofa with her humans when it is cold outside.
I learned to crochet when I was a very little girl but I've forgotten how. Mother in Law offered to teach me. I'm not sure what I would do with the project because Mother in Law is fantastic about keeping me in hand made afghans (blankets, not dogs,) hats, and scarves already. Instead I decided to try my hand at knitting socks on a sock loom! (affiliate link for your convenience)
Pin this idea for later!
The directions that came with the sock board are written for someone who is familiar with knitting so I bought the Sock Loom Basics to teach myself how to knit. It's a nice portable project but knitting socks is slow going. Maybe because I'm new at it? Do you have any tips for me?
Yowza gang Valentine's Day will be hear before you know it! I always struggle with buying Valentine's Day gift ideas for my main man because I use all of my good ideas for Christmas.
You too?
I'm here to help you! I added two new Valentine's Day metal heat key chains to gift to the man or woman in your life in my store LNWCreativeGifts.
We’re celebrating the New Year by taking a look back at some of our favorite Condo Blues DIY projects for 2016.
From the looks of it, we all like to decorate and make things with recycled materials and add green home improvements to our homes, myself included!
Our Top 10 DIY Projects and Posts on Condo Blues in 2016
I have two quick and easy homemade gift tag tutorials to share with you today. They are perfect for snow lowers and Frozen fanatics!
Or for people who should be cleaning their craft room and get distracted by a pile of leftover supplies and decide to make something with them instead of tackling the higher priority stuff on their Holiday To Do List.
Not that I know anything about that.
Pin this tutorial for Christmas, Hanukah, or Solstice, or Yule!
Do you have your holiday decorations up? I decorated outside of our house last week. But the inside? Not so much. As in not yet. I've been working on adding new designs to my store LNWCreativeGifts for the Christmas and Hanukah shopping season.
Do you want to see what I made? Of course you do!
Personalized Bass Treble Clef Heart Luggage Tag - This sturdy personalized luggage tag with leather strap will identify your black suitcase from all of the other black suitcases on the airport baggage carousel. I have one on my instrument case to identify it from all of the other black instrument cases from the people in my section during band practice.
Personalized Bass and Treble Clef Heart Keychain - is in a slightly different color scheme than the luggage tag and is availbel in several key chain styles if you want something different than the button style shown here. A thoughtful gift idea for the musician, singer, or music lover on your gift list!
I Spill Things Metal Thermal Coffee Tumbler - Who says green living can't be fun living too? This stainless steel double walled insulated tumbler will keep cold drink cold (hi breakfast smoothie!) and hot drinks hot (coffee! coffee! coffee!) longer than your average cheapola travel mug.
Millennial You Showed Up Gold Metal Trophy Medal - if you need a white elephant or gag gift or you are disappointed you did not grow up in the era of Everyone Gets a Trophy, this gold medal is for you!
I showed you my project, now it's time to share yours!
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I am obsessed with Christmas ornaments ever since teenage me got my first few handmade Christmas decoration from my grandmother as a present. By the time I struck out into the big wide world, I had a variety of Christmas ornaments to decorate with that was a nice change from the red glass ball ornaments that hung on my parent’s tree.
I love the variety of ornaments Husband and I have collected over the years but I guess absence makes the heart grow founder. Ever since I saw the gigantic Christmas ball ornaments for sale to commercial spaces (malls, outside a business, etc.) at Bronner’s Christmas Store during our vacation a few years ago, I lust after round ball ornaments – super sized!
I adore everything about this cherry Santa decoration from the happy polka dots and lights to the cartoony Santa. If only I had mile high ceilings and enormous living room….
Taking pictures of the big Christmas ball ornaments in the store and in public places when I came across them has not scratched my itch. I could use a few more decorations the size of a yoga ball in the front yard to balance the lighted Dachshund Christmas decorations (learn more about them here)we bought last year. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)
Yoga ball?
Hey! That gives me an idea!
Keep reading! I'll teach you how to make this fun decorating idea!
Let’s make Big Christmas ornaments from exercise and playground balls!
How to Make Quick and Easy Exercise Ball Christmas Ornaments
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
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!
Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:
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:
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!
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.
Decorating the outside of a duplex for holidays is usually more miss than hit since neither side coordinates with the other (at least in my experience.)
What can I say? I like symmetry in my outdoor holiday décor.
That’s why I stopped in my tracks when Husband and I passed this sweet yellow duplex in New Orleans last November and took it all in.
Pin this Fall outdoor porch decorating idea for later!
First of all, even undecorated, it is a lovely double shotgun style home. One of many that fills the French Quarter with architectural charm.
