Condo Blues: tutorial
Showing posts with label tutorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tutorial. Show all posts

Sunday, July 26, 2020

3 Quick and Easy DIY Face Mask Lanyards

When I have to go out and about on a necessary errand to two, I'm required to wear a cloth face mask.

  As always, I try to batch my errands to save gas (eco friendlier and all) and most importantly, time. 

 Which means, I usually take off my mask by the ear loops when I get back into the car. Then I hunt to find where it shifted around while I was driving to my next stop when it is time to put the mask back on again (always using the ear loops as recommended!) I need a better way to keep track of my cloth face mask in between the short times I remove it and need to put it back on again.

 I took my inspiration from the floating sunglasses strap similar to this one  I use when I’m at a water park or pool to keep my sunglasses from sinking if they are accidentally knocked off my face. In no time at all I a cloth face mask lanyard. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links for your convenience.)

 Well, actually I made 3. Two handmade face mask lanyards and one cloth face mask chain because it is such a quick and easy project to do.

 Let’s make stuff!

  3 quick easy face mask lanyard tutorials

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Sunday, June 14, 2020

How to Make an Insulated Growler Caddy

My husband and I have a couple of glass growlers for those times we want to bring home a local craft beer from a brewpub that doesn’t put it in cans or bottles. We only tend to use them when there is a BBQ or party where a group of friends will be there to help us drink a little under 2 liters of beer (an open growler goes flat more quickly than a 2 liter of pop) over the course of a long afternoon into the evening with a bonfire. In other words, not very often.

No to mention in Ohio to go growlers have to be made of glass, which are hard to keep cold and carry if you are also juggling pot luck food as you walk from your car to the party spot. There are a lot of wood growler caddies out there but I really want something insulated. That way I can also use the growler as a water jug to refill our sports bottles  from the car when we are out and about.

When I can’t buy, I DIY! I dove into my fabric stash, grabbed some leftover corsetry fabric,  and sewed an insulated growler caddy. If you are looking for a handmade gift idea for men, based on my husband's reaction, this is a good one.  He liked the idea so much that he encouraged me to make a second insulated tote bag for the other growler.

Let’s sew!

how to make a craft beer growler caddy


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How to Make an Insulated Beer Growler Tote

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

8 Reusable Cloth Face Mask Tutorials


When I visited Japan it wasn’t uncommon to see people wearing a simple face mask when out and about because in Japan (and other Asian cultures) when you are sick with the cold or flu. In Japan it is polite to wear a mask when you are sick and  out in public so you don’t accidentally pass it on to anyone else around you. That is something I wish we had in American culture (how many times has someone given you their cold because they weren’t wearing a simple face mask?)  but I really hate that we have to go through a deadly global pandemic to adopt it.

As of April 7, 2020 the United State Centers for Disease Control (and well as the Governor of Ohio) recommends that everyone wear a cloth face covering when out in public. The idea behind wearing a face mask in public is not what a someone yelled at me for falling for “pandemic panic” or a “false sense of security.” My reply was just as less than kind because I'm battling an allergy related sinus infection that never seems to end and don't want to pass this misery to anyone else (unlikely but I get horror looks when I sneeze with and without the mask.)


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The idea is that by wearing  even a simple, non medical grade cloth face mask when you are in public is so you may be less likely to unknowingly pass a virus to someone else when you aren’t showing symptoms and don’t know that you are sick. This precaution leaves the medical grade and N95 filtering face masks and respirators to our front line COVID 19 heroes who need to be protected from known viruses in the air around them in a front line setting. 

How to Sew a Reusable Cloth Face Mask

Monday, March 30, 2020

How to Caulk Around a Toilet

After tiling the guest bathroom and replacing the boring builder molding with something a little more interesting, It is time to make this bathroom look and function like a bathroom by installing a working toilet – a luxury we haven’t had in quite a while since the builder toilet went on strike.


I went with a Watersense rated Delta Faucet Company toilet (you can find similar toilets here.)  (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.) I had such a good experience installing one in my powder room because every single thing you need to install the toilet comes in the box down to a screwdriver and the Watersense rating means it is water efficient (I think of it as the Energy Star rating for plumbing) without the hit or miss of not quite flushing everything that needs to be flushed like a duel flush toilet. 

the easy way to caulk a toilet and bathtub
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But before I can completely cross Install New Toilet off my punch list, I need to caulk around it (and also along the new tile next to the bathtub. Fortunately, you caulk around a bathtub the same way you caulk a toilet. Let’s do this!

Why Should I Caulk Around the Toilet?

Sunday, March 8, 2020

How to Install a Bidet Attachment

Disclosure: Tushy supplied product to facilitate this tutorial and review. It had no influence on my opinion because all opinions are my own. This post contains an affiliate links for your convenience.

I’m working on the details of the guest bathroom renovation while looking forward to the master bathroom renovation. Well planning actually. I’m not looking forward to this even more involved project where are water leak began.

Anyway.

I would have liked to add a bidet in the bathroom to save on toilet paper because according to Tushy it takes 37 gallons of water to make a roll of toilet paper and most people use 1.5 toilet rolls a week! That is a lot of water to flush down the drain, which doesn't include the amount of water it takes to flush it all down the drain.

But more importantly, with a bidet, even if you run out of toilet paper at the time you need it most, you have an option.

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Unfortunately all of our condo bathrooms are too small to add a free standing bidet. I didn’t think much more of it until friends raved about just installing a bidet toilet seat. I was  intrigued. A bidet toilet seat attachment I can do. Then I promptly forgot about it because I'm awesome like that.

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

DIY Poo Pourri Air Freshener Spray

I’m sure you are aware of those times when the air in a bathroom needs a little immediate help to clear the room of…uh…um…odor.

Even though I wasn’t thrilled with the synthetic ingredients (although now Scent Fill  makes natural essential oil refills for Glade and other brand plug ins, ) I had scented oil plug thingies in each bathroom for that purpose. Once they became available, I upgraded to pluggable wax melt warmers similar to these and use a locally made vegetable wax and essential oil wax melts for my bathrooms. They work just as well, and I like that I easily scrap the last bit of wax from a dead candle into the smaller wax warmers to keep enjoying the scent. I am the only one who buys a candle and can never seem to find the same scent when I need to replace it? (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links for your convenience.)

Unfortunately, there are still times when your bathroom needs a little more immediate or preventative air quality attention.  Does a room freshener exist without the synthetic ingredients? 

Yep, it sure does and it is the perfect thing for zero waste, natural living, and budget minded folks.

Or you just want something prettier than a can in your bathroom, that’s cool too. *raises hand* 

how to make zero waste non toxic air freshener bathroom spray
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DIY Natural  Air Freshener

Sunday, February 16, 2020

11 Floor Tiling Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Tiling a floor is a pretty easy DIY job.

It is also a DIY job that is easy to mess up if you don’t follow a few precautions first. You really don’t want to put in all of the work of tiling a floor only for the tiles to eventually come loose or crack after the job is done.

how to tile a bathroom floor
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1. Not adding an extra 10% of tile to your tile order – Depending upon the design, you may need extra to match up the pattern in the room. It is also good to have extra tile on hand just in case you cut one incorrectly or worse drop one and break it.

Sunday, January 26, 2020

How to Prep a Wood Subfloor for New Tile

Just like painting a wall, the success or failure of your floor tiling project depends upon how well you prepare the surface for the tile itself. The more care and consideration you take when installing the tile underlayment, the better.

Flooring underlayment is the layer of material that sits in between the subfloor and the flooring material. As tempting as it may be to skip the underlayment – don’t. The underlayment layer is what keeps your floor tile from shifting and cracking over time.

And trust me, after the killer backache preparing and tiling this floor gave me, it is NOT something I want to completely redo if I don’t have to!

Fortunately, preparing a floor for tile by installing underlayment isn’t difficult to do and once you finish the job you can immediately go into tiling the floor.



how to install waterproof bathroom tile underpayment
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How to Lay Bathroom Tile Underlayment the Easy Way!

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Quick and Easy DIY Heart Door Decoration

I like to decorate the front door of my house but lately I haven’t been feeling the winter door wreath.  It probably has a lot to do with most of the wreaths I like have greenery that doesn’t show up well on our green front door.

Not to mention I seem to have a love hate wreath relationship. I love the wreaths my neighbors use to decorate their doors and seem to hate every wreath in the store. What can I say? I’m the Goldilocks of front door décor, apparently.

I found a contemporary, modern, classic, or rustic (depending upon how you view it) front door decoration idea when I made a fast and simple Danish Christmas Heart decoration to coordinate with the giant outdoor Christmas gnome decorations I made from tomato cages last year.

DIY outdoor Scandinavian Christmas gnome decorations

I like the look.

Sunday, September 8, 2019

How to Clean Rusty Chrome the Non Toxic Way!

Taking my bathroom décor que from hotels I stayed in I hung a chrome towel rack shelf in the Master Bathroom shower. It is handy as a towel rack and even better when I need a place to hang some hand washing up to dry. I popped a little plastic tray on top so I can use it as a storage shelf for shampoo and such.



how to clean chrome the quick and easy way
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Unfortunately, the chrome is developing tiny rust spots.


Fortunately there is a quick, easy, cheap and non toxic way to remove rust from metal chrome.

Monday, August 19, 2019

How to Make a Pendent Necklace into a Pin Brooch

I was going though my costume jewelry collection to bling out my Husband’s and my Halloween costumes. I have more costume jewelry necklaces than I do pins in my princess treasure chest. Naturally I actually need the opposite.

No worries! It is super quick and easy to turn a necklace charm or pendant into a pin brooch!


how to upcycle a necklace into a pin brooch
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Tuesday, July 16, 2019

How to Make Embroidered Insulated Can Koozies

Somewhere along this road we call life, we ended up with several matching  promotional insulated can and bottle drink holders.* 
*Or can Koozie.Or coosie (cozy, cosie.) Or huggie. Or bottle hugger. Or beer sleeve. Or bottle jacket. Or the so awesome I can’t decide which name is my favorite: coldy holdy or the Australian stubby holder.
I didn’t think they were very useful at the time and tossed them into the back of a kitchen cupboard that is so close to the ceiling I never use it.

It was only after I learned you can ripen avocados in a neoprene can Koozie like the avocado bag I don’t have (an avocado ripening bag looks like this for reference) that I put those now deemed useful beer huggies into a lower cupboard where I can easily find and use them to ripen avocados.  (Disclosure: I am including some affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)

If the insulated bottle holders didn’t all match I could pull the drink cozies and use them as drink marker charms when we treat ourselves or guest to our recent retro soda pop (check them out here!) obsession.

Let’s fix that and make embroidered insulated bottle koozies!


how to sew a unique embroider can beer bottle insulated sleeve
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How to Machine Embroider Insulated Bottle Sleeves


You can easily sew insulated beer Koozies from scratch (you can buy the insulating fabric here) or machine embroider on a plan insulated neoprene can sleeve (you can buy plain can cooler sleeves here ) if you like.

In my case, I wanted to upcycle the  free promotional insulated beer coolies I have into something cuter than a walking advertisement for a company I’m not going to use.

You will need the following supplies for this craft project:


Insulated foam drink holder

Jersey fabric – I tried covering a soda pop sleeve with cute cotton fabric and it didn’t have enough give to put a can inside it. A few experiments later, jersey fabric worked the best as a functional can holder. I used plain t shirts I bought on clearance at the craft store.

Embroidery sewing machine – I have this sewing and embroidery machine and love its versatility!

Machine embroidery stabilizer

Embroidery machine thread

Sewing machine thread – yes, there really is a difference between machine embroidery and sewing thread

Seam ripper – I have a handmade seam ripper necklace similar to this one and never lose it while I’m in the middle of a sewing project !

Scissors

Sewing gage

Tailor’s chalk or pencil

Straight pins

Step by Step How to Make it Tutorial


1.  Hoop your stretchy fabric and embroidery stabilizer and use the embroidery machine to machine embroider a design onto the fabric with embroidery thread, if desired. You can hand embroider the design if you desire.


how to embroider an insulated foam can bottle beer koozie sleeve


Caution: It is better to pick an embroidery design that is light on thread that will allow your fabric and cozy to stretch around a can or bottle than a more dense and thread intensive design that doesn’t allow fabric movement.
2. Use the seam ripper to open the sides of the foam drink huggie and lay it flat. We will use this as our pattern in Step 3.


how to sew a can bottle beer huggie holder
Hey! It looks like a Tie Fighter! Pew! Pew!


3.  Using the flat bottle cozy as a pattern, trace it with the tailor’s pattern onto your embroidered fabric.
Tip: Make sure you trace your pattern slightly larger than the cosie on to leave a seam allowance on the sides and enough fabric to fold over the top of the coozie and sew into place to make a neat top hem. The sewing gauge will help you measure and mark a consistent seam allowance.

4. Pin the fabric to the bottle snuggie. Use a stretch stitch to sew the bottom sides of the fabric to the snuggie. If you do not have a stretch over lock (serger type) stitch on yours sewing machine like I do, you can use a stretch zig zag stitch.
Tip: You want to use a stretch stitch when sewing your beer cozy so it will allow the neoprene to contour to the bottle or can you put in it.
upcycle and sew a free promotional can bottle beer jacket


Tip 2: To keep the embroidered stretch fabric from slipping and otherwise trying to go wonky when removing the pins to sew it, I use a quick spritz of textile spray adhesive like this kind to keep the fabric and neoprene in place while I remove the pins as I sew.

5. Fold the the fabric over the top edge of the beer coolie, pin it into place, use a stretch straight stitch to sew the hem into place. Repeat this on the other side of the coolie. Trim the excess fabric with a pair of scissors if needed after sewing the hems.

how to personalize a bottle can beer cozy holder

You might want all of your pins to go in the same direction - unlike me - oops!


6. Fold the koozie in half, right sides (the pretty part) together and pin into place. Use a use a stretch straight stitch on each side to sew the koozie back together again. Trim the excess fabric with a pair of scissors if needed after sewing the side seams
Tip: To make sure you don’t sew the bottle holdy too small to hold a can or bottle, you can try sewing just over the foam and onto the fabric. Or not. It’s up to you.
7. Turn the koozie right out, pop your favorite drink inside, and enjoy
If you’d rather buy than DIY, check out the following options –and more! – below!

Check out these unique can cooler hacks on my food blog Lazy Budget Chef!

12 Ways to Reuse and Recycle Can Koozies

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Monday, March 11, 2019

How to Make a Double Sided Rainbow Bottle Cap Necklace

I wanted to make a rainbow bottle cap necklace but couldn’t decide which rainbow sticker design I wanted to use to make it.

I took a page from Mother Nature who sent us not only real live in the sky rainbows after a record breaking rainy summer last year but they were often double rainbows. How cool!

2 designs. 2 sides to a bottle cap. Why not make a double sided bottle cap necklace?

Let’s do it!

How to Make a Rainbow Bottle Cap Necklace


how to make a recycled double sided bottle cap necklace tutorial for kids
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You will need:

Sunday, January 27, 2019

How to Make a Bed with Folded Hospital Corners

Apparently it is a huge big deal whether or not you make your bed and use a top sheet. This something that is totally out of my frame of reference because if you don’t use a top sheet, you need to clean blankets and/or duvet weekly and is way too hot and gross to use during the hot and humid summer.

In other words, not making a bed without a top sheet is gross! Don't do it!

Stuffing a king size top sheet in a washing machine on the regular is way easier than trying to cram king size anything thicker than a sheet in a washing machine. If you have a smaller size bed than I do I guess it might be easier but nonetheless I’m rather replace a worn top sheet than shell out the extra bucks to replace s spendy duvet

I understand the argument of the to sheet getting all twisted up and becoming tucked itself when tossing and turning while you are sleeping. I get it. That used to happen to me until I found an easy fix: Make your bed with hospital corners. Problem solved!

How to Keep Sheets from Slipping off the bed


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Sunday, October 28, 2018

The One Thing You AREN’T Doing to Save Money on Your Heating Bill but Should!

In 2008, my husband and I started a year long project to reduce our utility bills by what we though was a too lofty goal of 20% with cheap home improvements and new habits. We beat our original goal and reduced our electricity and natural gas our use by 32%!

We’ve kept our yearly average lower than comparable size energy efficient rated homes in our area for 10 years running and with all of the things that make life worth living: holiday lights, electronics, and toasty warm toes in the dead of winter.

So while my heating bill stayed low and the rest of the house is toasty warm (thanks in no small part to adding weather stripping like this to the bottom on my window sashes installing a programmable thermostat like this one and using it) my laundry room was always colder than the rest of the house. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)

the one thing you MUST do to save money on your energy bill
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Monday, October 22, 2018

How to Make an Easy Hot Glue Embossed Wood Sign

Call me Danger Girl. I have to admit hot glue is one my favorite adhesives even though it has the potential to sear off my fingerprints. I use hot glue to glue stuff together all of the time but using hot glue to make the craft itself? Not so much. 

Which is why I was very interested when a review copy of the book  Hot Glue Hacks and Crafts 50 Fun and Creative Décor, Fashion, Gift and Holiday Project to Make with Your Glue Gun by Angie Holden and Carolina Moore was delivered to my doorstep. I was happy to learn the book does not feature your typical crafts put together with hot glue. Instead Hot Glue Hacks and Crafts teaches you how to make the craft elements almost entirely out of hot glue – including a pair of flip flop shoes!

(I reviewed a copy of the book for review but that has no bearing on giving you my honest review of it. I am including affiliate links for the items I used to make this project in this post for your convenience.)


One of the things I like about craft books like Hot Glue Hacks and Crafts is how it can inspire you to use several techniques from different tutorials in the book to make a totally different hot glue gun craft on your own. In this case, I drew inspiration from the Hot Glue Embossed Vase and Hot Glue Party Cake Topper projects to make an embossed hot glue Love wood wall sign.

DIY hot glue embossed Love sign
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DIY Hot Glue Wall Art Tutorial

Sunday, September 9, 2018

How to Watch Spectrum Cable without a Digital Cable Box

Spectrum Cable TV is switching all of their customers over to digital cable boxes. Which means you now need a digital cable box on every TV in your house in order to watch to watch Spectrum’s new and supposedly improved digital cable TV signal.

That’s all well and good for our main television set in the living room but I’d rather not rent a second cable box for the older flat panel TV we intermittently use in our home office.

Yeah, yeah. I know. Cable TV is old fashioned and costly. This extra annoyance has made me think about cord cutting. (Well, this and I think Spectrum’s service has gotten worse since Charter bought them.)

But as of now cable TV is part of a bundle and I’d like to use what I’m already paying for to watch the news or a movie on the second TV in my office without the extra expense of renting a second cable box or buying a new TV.

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How to Watch Spectrum Cable on an Older TV Set

Sunday, August 26, 2018

How to Repair a Front Load Washing Machine that Will Not Drain

I think I am one of the only people in the United States who actually likes her front loading washing machine. That’s why I panicked when my trusty Whirlpool Duet washer stopped in the middle of a cleaning cycle and flashed me a F21 error.

I didn’t want to use a washing machine that will not wash as an excuse to buy a new one. We’ve been good to each other. I wanted to save her, not replace her.

Fortunately, an F21 error on my washing machine means the drain is clogged and is a very simple fix you can do yourself!

 

How to Clean a Clogged Washing Machine Drain


How to fix a Whirlpool Duet washing machine error code F21
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Tuesday, July 31, 2018

How to Repair a Loose Cabinet Door Hinge

Recently,  I closed a lower kitchen cabinet door with a slightly more aggressive shove to push whatever dish was preventing the door from closing all of the way to slide back into the cupboard and allow the door to close all of the way. I’ve done this a million times before when I’ve been in a hurry. Maybe you have too.

This time the cupboard decided to revolt after I closed the door and did a nice lean to the right.
I broke the kitchen cupboard door hinge.

I popped the plastic hinge cups that are common on boats, campers, and builder grade kitchens back into the holes. There. Fixed!

Until the next time I opened and closed the cabinet door. Gentle close. Wonk. Door shift to the right.

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How to Repair a Plastic Concealed Door Hinge


Sunday, July 8, 2018

How to Make 6 DIY Cooling Body Spray Recipes (Hydrosols)

Summer is hot.

Really hot.

Add a big dollop of Ohio humidity and it feels ridiculously stupid hot.

All I can think of when the heat index makes the air temperature feel like it is 105 degrees outside (like yesterday. Ugh!) is how nice it would be if I could accessorize my outfit of the day with a wearable air conditioner.

Which  I can, sort of, if I make and use a quick, easy, and cheap body cooling spray that feels like an air conditioner in a bottle! Or if you are not the DIY type, you can buy a refreshing cooling spray here (I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)


how to make 6 natural essential oil cooling hydrosol spray recipes
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Six Quick and Easy Essential Oil Cooling Spray Recipes