Condo Blues

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!

Sunday, February 26, 2017

How to Make a Travel Mason Jar Coin Bank

I’m putting my Annual Winter Restlessness (trademark pending) to use by periodically cleaning out and reorganizing a drawer and such to help combat our chronic Out of Sight Out of Mind Disease.

I gave myself an extra pat on the back for chucking the coins I found lurking in the kitchen junk drawer into an empty mason jar instead of tossing them back into the drawer to be forgotten. That happens more than you care to know.

The only thing this is my mason jar coin bank is not cute.

Let’s make it cute!

DIY Adventure Fund Adult Piggy Bank

 

Husband and I love to travel. In fact, almost all of the money saving tips and hacks I do here on Condo Blues and my food blog Lazy Budget Chef are so we can put more money into our travel fund.

My Annual Winter Restlessness always comes with a serious case of wanderlust, so why not make my coin jar bank with a travel theme?

Friday, February 24, 2017

Chinese Takout Container Drawer Organizers and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 360

I'm embarrassed to say that not only do I have a kitchen junk drawer, I actually have two. They are full of flotsam and jetsam and who knows what else because I can't buy a set of drawer organizers that fit what I need to store inside such a large drawer. Please tell me I am not the only one!


How did you cram all of this stuff in a drawer and actually shut it, Lisa?!


Turns out I already had the perfect size junk drawer organizers on deck in my craft room - plastic takout meal prep containers! (affiliate link for your convenience if you end up running out of containers in the middle of the project like I did.)

I emptied each junk drawer, sorted what should stay and what surprising things should go (like the owner's manual to a car we got rid of three cars ago!), and organized like with like in the containers. Once I finished with one junk drawer I moved onto the next messy drawer.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

12 Small Space Fabric Storage Ideas You Need To Try Right Now!

Recently during some serious Girl Time with a fellow costumer and my BFF, our conversation turned to to talking about how our fabric storage is out of control and threatening to take over not only our sewing studios, but the house as well.

Or at least it seems that way when you live in a small condo.

Most of the time I sew with nontraditional fabrics such as upholstery fabric, velvet, tulle, and plush fleece and they are more difficult to store than traditional cotton quilting and apparel weight fabrics because, even their scraps  require much more space!

12 of the Best Ways to Store Non Traditional Fabric

After spit balling fabric organizing ideas with my costumer friend and coming up short, I turned to the Internet. I found a bunch of small space fabric ideas to add to my ever growing To Do List and thought I’d share.

Ready? Set. Organize!

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 359

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.

And the rest is history!



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!"

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Quick and Easy DIY Industrial Farmhouse Kitchen Utensil Holder

We recently outgrew our ceramic kitchen utensil and spoon holder. Trying to cram gently fit and remove wooden spoons and utensils from it was like playing Kerplunk on a daily basis.

After a losing round of kitchen spoon Kerplunk for the third time that day, Husband made the off hand comment that we need a new utensil organizer. He's right and we did what happens a little too often than I care to admit.

We totally forgot about doing something about it until the next round of quickly grab a ladle and everything else comes with it. Grr!

After losing that game one night  after cleaning up from making crock-pot chicken enchilada soup recipe (read it on my food blog Lazy Budget Chef here)  I liked how the empty red El Pato Enchilada Sauce can looked in contrast to the green ceramic utensil holder on the counter. Instead of popping the empty aluminum can into the recycling bin, I  washed it out and plunked my short handled Instant Pot paddles into it. Whimsical and functional!

But I needed more.

Fortunately, that was only a cup of coffee away. The next time I opened a can of Cafe Du Monde coffee (Cafe Du Monde has been on of our favorite brands of coffee long before we visited New Orleans - so good!) I got the "medium" in my low, medium, and high food themed kitchen spoon organizer to follow the decorating rule of three: odd numbers of objects look better clustered together than even numbers.


Pin this idea for later!
I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience in case you don't have a local international grocery store that carries these super yummy (and now decorative) products.

Not to mention, using low, medium, and high kitchen utensil caddys saves counter space because I can cluster them together and still find everything I need.

What do you think?


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Sunday, February 12, 2017

3 Year Old Boy Starts a Recycling Company to Save the Ocean (and for College)

At three years old my only ambition was, um, not much beyond what any other three year old was into: toys, meals, and playtime.

Because 3 year olds.

Not Ryan. When he was three, actually three and a half as he always emphasizes in interviews, he started a recycling company called Ryan’s Recycling. Ryan was fascinated a trip to a recycling center and asked his parents if he could give bags to his neighbors so maybe they could give their recyclables to him.


 Pin this post to share Ryan's fantastic story!
 Photo courtesy of Ryan's Recycling.

Four years later Ryan is now seven years old and estimates he has recycled over 200, 000 glass and plastic drink bottles and aluminum cans. He’s saved 10 thousand dollars from his recycling buisness and wants to to put it toward new business equipment – a garbage truck!

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 358

It's time to link up your favorite DIY, decorating, and craft projects and tutorials and drool over your fantastic recipes!





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

 

You can show your love for this week's favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!
 
And if you love all of this week's favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week's linky party!

Monday, February 6, 2017

How to Make a Quick, Easy, and Ergonomic Computer Monitor Stand

When I look down slightly at my computer monitor on my desk I get the most horrendous and awful migraine headaches because my head acts as a counterweight and gives me a migraine that makes me want to cut off my own head and pain that makes me feel beaten up all over my body. Pain shoots down my extremities and I feel like I want to vomit when I’m supposed to be productive at work.


If I lower my office chair so my head is level when I look at the computer monitor, I’m so short that the keyboard tray on my desk is too high and gives me a slight shrug while I work. Bam! More migraines and pain.

It took years to find the right person to tell me the cause of my very real  but mysterious pain issues are a poor ergonomic work station not tailored to someone of my petite stature.

 I’m just a small pint size girl living in a lanky world. Short girl problems.

Luckily, since I already use a desk with a lowered keyboard tray, it was easy to adjust my office chair to to make sure my arms are wrists are parallel to my keyboard and remove the slight shrug when I type.  I use an adjustable office desk foot rest to make sure my feet touch the ground otherwise my knees ache because my feet dangle. Disclosure: I included affiliate links in this post for your convenience.

DIY Duck Tape Computer Monitor Raiser to Kiss Those Headaches Goodbye!

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 357

Happy Groundhog Day!

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!



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

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

 
You can show your love for this week's favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!
 
And if you love all of this week's favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week's linky party! Now on to this week's picks!

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

What is This Green and White Corrosion on My Faucet and How Do I Fix It?

The kitchen sink started leaking from the back side of the faucet handle.  Most of the time the kitchen faucet leaks because the washer in the faucet handle wears out.

Faucet handles get a lot of use all day every day so the wearing of moving parts is inevitable. Replacing the washer with a new one is usually the quick and simple fix.

I removed the screw cover and screw from my single single handle faucet to lift the  handle up to remove it and replace the rubber washer.

It wouldn’t budge.


Pin this post for reference later!


You can see a lot of rust inside of the faucet handle. White and green corrosion fused the faucet handle parts together and snapped off in my had. What is this stuff?

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 356

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?




Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Tiny Recycled Glass Bottle House

Recycling glass bottles into walls isn’t a new idea, glass bottle walls have been around since ancient Rome but seeing a glass bottle house in person rarely happens unless you know where to look. This tiny house made from recycled glass bottles is in Ohio practically under my nose until I stopped while walking past it (for a zillionth time in my life,) really looked at it, and realize it is a tiny store with wine glass bottle walls.



 Pin this idea for later!


Isn’t it cute?

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 355

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.



Personally, I buy both and give Husband the set as a gift which we split accordingly.

Do you have any good Valentine's Day ideas? Add to our fantastic link party below!





Tuesday, January 17, 2017

DIY Flannel Pajama Pants

My 2016 World of the Year was Hygge – the Danish concept of what loosely translates as a feeling of happy coziness which I had no idea Hygge became A Thing but it has.

Well, well, well lookit me being all bleeding edge hipster because I wanted to share the concept of Hygge with my family in the form of handmade pajama pants as Christmas gifts last year.

Pin this project for later!
I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.

Sunday, January 15, 2017

How to Make Fleece Rain Boot Liners

I have a pair of rain boots standing ready by the front door so I jump into them when Lacey needs to go outside to do her business. This is a great plan during the muddy spring and fall but could be better during winter snow since the boots aren’t very warm.

Putting Lamb's Wool Insoles helps but adding a warm boot liner helps keep the rest of my foot warm and extent the usefulness of my rain boots into the winter. I couldn't find any to buy in a store but fortunately warm fleece boot liner socks are super simple to sew and quick to make because you make them inside out!

DIY Fleece Boot Liner Socks


Pin this tutorial for later!
 

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Sears sells Craftsman Brand and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 354

Super big news in the tool world last week. According to Business Insider, Sears sold the Craftsman brand to Stanley Black & Decker who also owns the Dewalt tool brand. According to The Motley Fool:


"Rather than buying Craftsman outright, Stanley Black & Decker is buying the rights to use the Craftsman brand outside of Sears-affiliated sales channels. Meanwhile, Sears Holdings will be able to continue producing and selling its own line of Craftsman-branded products in Sears and Kmart stores. Sears will start paying royalties to Stanley Black & Decker for use of the Craftsman brand after 15 years.

Since non-Sears retail outlets account for just 10% of Craftsman sales right now, Stanley Black & Decker is essentially paying for the growth potential associated with making Craftsman products more widely available. The deal was deliberately structured this way to protect Stanley Black & Decker from Sears' ongoing decline."

I can't say I'm surprised because the writing has been on the wall for Sears Holdings for quite awhile. For example, last Christmas Kmart made it impossible to buy a few items I was interested in both in local store and on line. They were little extras so it wasn't a loss that I didn't buy them. Although I know Husband had to jump through a quite few hoops to buy the Craftsman orbital sander I wanted for Christmas. Originally he wanted to give it to me for my birthday but couldn't find it.

I hugged my Craftsman sander like an eight year old girl getting an American Girl doll for Christmas.

Thursday, January 5, 2017

DIY Flannel Handkerchiefs and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 353

My poor wee little nose just can't take it any more. I blew through a 100 +count box of tissues (literally) in three days and my Plague is now just barely showing signs of stopping. If it weren't for my neti pot (affiliate link for your convenience) I  wouldn't be able to breathe since I'm all stuffed up with a cold AND a sinus infection. Never do anything half way I always say! 

Fortunately, as I felt this ick coming on early, I made a stack of quick and easy flannel handkerchiefs to use in addition to disposable tissues to keep my nose from getting chapped and feeling raw. By bouncing back and forth between the two types of tissues I don't have a chapped nose for the first time in forever! Not to mention, the flannel hankies don't disintegrate after using a neti pot like the paper tissues do. (Ew.)

Flannel tissues are super simple to make!

 Pin this tutorial for cold and flu season!


1. Cut a piece of flannel cloth in the size of your choosing.