Condo Blues

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party 371

I really enjoy discovering the DIY and craft projects, recipes, and clever ideas you submit to our link party every week. You make it difficult to select only one project as my favorite to feature each week!

For example, there were three projects last week that I would have chosen to features if I could:

A Wagon for the Riding Mower by Just Measuring up because it is MAD GENIUS side of cute dog giving the wagon a test ride. I am a sucker for dogs hands down.

Discovering Nara: Japan’s Ancient City from Sunny Coastlines because it makes me want to go back to Japan and discover this beautiful city with Husband.

My third pick is actually my first pick. Let's get this party started so you can read it below!



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Monday, May 8, 2017

How to make an Embroidered Dog Poop Bag Dispenser

When you have a dog, poop happens.

Being responsible pet parents means we need to carry potty bags to clean up after Lacey when she does her her business outside and on walks.

Being the green minded people that we are, I keep and fill two grocery bag holder for the stray plastic bags that cross my path.  I keep the empty grocery bag holder hanging in the kitchen to fill with random bread, frozen vegetable, and the occasional plastic grocery bag when I forget my canvas grocery bags when running a quick errand. When it is full I swap it out with the grocery bag holder I have hanging in the closet by the front door so we can reuse the bags for doggie duty. It isn’t perfect green solution but it works for us.

The big grocery bag dispenser in the closet is too big to take with us on walks. I sewed a small plastic grocery bag holder that attaches to Lacey’s leash to fill with repurposed bags from hall closet holder.


How to Sew a Clip on Dog Waste Bag Holder

Friday, May 5, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party 370

My apologies for posting this week's link party so late in the day. LinkyTools was down yesterday and wouldn't let us generate and run the code we use to let you add your fantastic projects, recipes, and ideas to our weekly party.

Now that it's up and running let's get started!

We are looking for a new Hostesses for our Friday Favorites Linky Party. If you are a blogger and would like to co host our weekly party, please fill out the interest form at the bottom of this post or send it on to an interested friend.

Let's party!


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Tuesday, May 2, 2017

How to Naturally Kill Grubs, Fleas, and Fungus Gnats

Japanese beetle grubs decimated our “easy to care for landscaping” shortly after we bought our condo because our builder planted the entire neighborhood with plants that attract Japanese Beetles.  Our final solution was to rip out every bush and plant in the yard and let it lay fallow for a year. It wasn’t pretty but it worked.

They’re back.

Dang it!

Commercial grub killers from the big box store do not work for me (hich I only tired as a last resort.) I was leery of what the "90% OTHER INGREDIENTS" listed on the label actually were next to the warning about not using the stuff around kids, dogs, and fish ponds.  So, yeah. I'm glad it didn't work.


Save this post to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!

Sunday, April 30, 2017

How to Make a Self Watering Planter Box

Husband and I were cruising the nursery when an apache pepper plant caught his eye and we decided then and there to  grow peppers in our patio garden. Yummy!

Unfortunately the self watering planter I made from a plastic storage tub had different ideas and cracked when visiting the Land of Ice and Snow (although most people call it Winter.) I wasn’t surprised because I used a light duty storage container to make the first planter.

There wasn't any love lost because while the self watering planter worked great, having a plastic storage tub taking up space on my patio wasn't' very pretty. I promised Husband a new and more rugged planter box we won’t be embarrassed to have in our back yard.


Pin this How To and share it with your friends!

 

Self Watering Planter Box Tutorial

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Zero Waste Candles and Friday Favorites Linky Party 369

I like to clear cooking smells after dinner with a scented soy wax melt in the candle warmer  I keep in the kitchen. While Husband is fantastic about giving me eco friendly wax warmer melts (affiliate links for your convenience)  as gifts, I want to switch up the scents in my collection (thanks Honey!) I decided to burn a soy candle and wouldn't you know it, all but one were spent.

I spent a rainy Saturday morning making my old spent candles into new soy candles. It didn't take very long at all and I got a fancy two toned candle out of the deal because I had more purple wax than I felt comfortable pouring into that candle jar.


A post shared by Lisa (@condoblues) on

 Who knew a mistake could look so fancy?

I showed you my project, now you show me yours. Let's party!





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Tuesday, April 25, 2017

9 Ways to Replace Plastic Wrap in the Kitchen


I have a like – hate relationship with plastic cling wrap. I like on those rare occasions that it actually and fully sticks to a container to keep food fresh. I also hate it most of the time because, no matter what type or brand, it never sticks, food dries out or gets freezer burn, and I end up tossing the spoiled food and the plastic wrap in the trash.

So it was no great stretch for me to find a way to keep food fresh without plastic wrap. Once I started using my Swiss Army knife of easy alternatives,  I noticed we also reduced the amount of weekly household trash by quite a bit. Yay!


Pin me for later!

Sunday, April 23, 2017

How to Make a Brick and Pallet Rain Barrel Stand

There is an issue with the French drain in my side yard which leaves my side yard is wet and spongy days after it rains. I installed a rain barrel as a temporary fix until I can get my Homeowner’s Association to repair the poor drainage problem. Not to mention being able to capture and use rainwater to water our flowerbeds. A quick drainage fix, free plant water, and being green – high fives all around.

Originally I planned to hook a soaker hose up to the rain barrel as a lower waste way to water the front yard and garden but it didn’t work as well as I hoped because the rain barrel water pressure was practically nil. Turns out the height of your rain barrel determines how much water pressure flows from it and not what I thought – the amount of water in the rain catch system.

How to Increase Rain Barrel Water Pressure the Quick and Easy Way

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Renaissance Noble Dress Project Part 3: Princess Dress Reveal!

I blogged about designing a new Elizabethan Nobility Dress to perform with Husband at Renaissance Festivals. This project was harder than any other costuming project I’ve done. I like the finished dress for the most part, but I don’t love it as much as I do the costume it replaces. There are a bunch of mistakes, and the bodice fit (among other things) needs tweaking which is why I haven’t shown you the finished project.

But I promised you a DIY renaissance festival princess dress and that you shall have, warts and all.
I started with a sketch after pouring over my favorite Elizabethan costuming books working backwards by buying the fabric first and coming up with a dress design second. I like to work the other way around.


Disclosure: affiliate links appear in this post for your convenience.

I started with the overskirt and underskirt (forepart) first. I attempted hand embroidering the brown velvet trim but didn’t liker my test pieces, not to mention  that kind of hand embroidery means an extra year for construction I didn’t have.

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party 367

Have you started Spring Cleaning yet? I've been cleaning and reorganizing a cupboard shelf, closet space, and such bit by bit for the last couple of months or so. I like to think of it as "shopping the house" because I always find something I misplaced or forgot about. It's almost like getting new stuff even though it's my stuff already.

Small projects like this keep my Cabin Fever which rolls into Spring Fever in check while I'm waiting for it to be warm enough to work on projects in my garage workshop.

It not only pays off in more organization, and clearer shelves and closets (after I drop off the donation box) but this year it paid off in cash money. I tossed the stray coins I found while cleaning out my drawers and purses into my Travel Fund coin bank instead of chucking them back into the drawer.

I put over ten dollars in my coin jar without even trying. I don't know if I should proud or embarrassed we had so much money laying around the house. Oops.


Let's Party!

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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!


Monday, April 10, 2017

DIY Magnetic No Soliciting Sign

One of the few downsides of living in a condo community with neat little sidewalks is we are an easy target for every single organization that thinks door to door sales is a fabulous way to pester people in the middle of their day with stuff they don’t want.

Like most of neighbors, I put a No Solicitors sign on my front door. Sometimes it works.
Often it doesn’t.

Every surveyor, free offer, or people offering to register me to vote (only me, never my husband, and even though I have been registered to vote since I became of age,) ignored my No Solicitors sign because they clam they “aren’t selling something.”

Even thought they end their spiel with some sort of sales pitch. Every. Single. Time. Grr!


How to Make a Quick and Easy Front Door No Sales Sign

 

Pin this tutorial for later and to share with your friends!

 

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party 366

I can't wait to see what super fantastic awesome projects, recopies, and idea you have to share with us this week so let's jump right into it!

Let's Party!

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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



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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!


Tuesday, April 4, 2017

What’s in Your Trash and How Do You Reduce it (or Not?)

I’ve been thinking a lot about trash lately. The stuff in the bin outside your house, not about tawdry things. Lacey is a genteel lady who not tolerate dirty things in her home (unless it is something muddy or smelly to roll in.)

 I love mud!

I’ve been mulling over ideas to share how to reduce your household trash since the New Year.  I’m coming up short because every draft I write sounds like some big green guru sitting on a mountain top looking down  her nose at the world thinking that my Swiss Army knife of low waste options are the Pinnacle of One Size Fits All Solution to reducing household waste.

Or at least it feels that way and that is not my intent at all.

I want to offer options not absolutes because, honestly, there aren’t any one size fits all eco friendly low waste living solutions. It all depends on where you live, how you like to live, family size, etc.

Sunday, April 2, 2017

How to Make a Farmhouse Industrial Wine Cork Wreath

Many (OK, most) winter weekends husband and I mull a bottle of table quality red wine until it gets too warm outside to drink hot drinks then we switch over to making sangria. So between that and enjoying a bottle of the good stuff from time to time, I have several vases full of wine corks in my craft room.

Quick and Easy DIY Wine Cork Wreath Idea

My wine cork stash is getting high, my door wreath stash is letting low so with my creative powers combined (just like Captain Planet and The Wonder Twins!) I made a quick and easy wine cork wreath and you can too!


 Pin this recycled wine cork craft idea for later!

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party 365

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!
 
Sale ends in Let's Party!

Monday, March 27, 2017

How to Make an Easy DIY Floor To Ceiling Shoe Rack Organizer

The over the door shoe rack similar to this one on the closet door and stackable shoe rack similar to this one worked for awhile. Well actually, it worked for Husband’s shoes rather than mine. My shoes are so small they would often slip through the split shelves and end up in a pile on the floor. (I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)

And after years of wear and tear, there came a time when even Gorilla Tape wouldn’t put our dilapidated shelves back together again. Which, frankly, I only put them back together every time they fell apart because Husband and I have grand plans to make this closet a cedar closet and pimped out with a custom closet organizer system.

Someday.

That keeps getting pushed down the punch list because blah, blah, yadda, yadda.

Does this happen to you or am I the only one?

After two months of shoe clutter barfing out of the closet and not being able to shut the door I had enough. This project doesn’t have to be my perfect dream of custom wall to wall floor to ceiling shoe storage, it just needs to be done. Now.

Shoe Closet Before. I am not proud of this.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

When is it Wrong to Paint Furniture and Friday Favorites Linky Party 364

As a DIYer, upcycler, and maker of things, it isn't unusual to paint a piece old and beat up furniture. I do it all of the time and I'm sure you do too.

But I am starting to rethink that updating strategy after hearing about the long and horrific restoration job a friend went through to remove silver spray paint from a set of antique rattan Mid Century Modern footstools. There was one footstool for each spouse and they groused about DIYers ruining a classic antique but it also meant they added them to their collection for a song because the current value was shot.

I understand both sides of the coin. I love a good painted or reworked furniture project but I can also get sick to my stomach when I see someone wreck a piece that would sing on its own with stripping, sanding, and retaining the finish (Flea Market Flip I'm talking to you.)




Which is why I appreciate the extra work Vintage Green took to restore her scratched and water stain dresser rather than take the easy way out and paint it. Bravo!
Let's Party!

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

7 Ways to Make Magnetic Embroidery Needle Minders

If you do a lot of hand sewing, cross stitch, embroidery, beading, or other needle crafts, you know eventually you will play the I put my work down and where did my needle go? game.

Slipping the needle into the fabric works to keep track of your embroidery needle but can leave permanent holes in certain fabrics. In that case you can keep track of your needles with the power to science: a magnetic needle minder!

Basically, a needle minder is a magnet that holds your needle and is glued to the back of a fairly thin decorative piece on the top side of the work in your embroidery hoop that is held in place on back side by another magnet.

DIY Needle Minder Tutorial


I am hand sewing beads on a super size beading project – an Elizabethan under skirt. Since I am using a small beading needle on such a large and busy fabric, a magnetic needle minder will help me keep track of and find such a slender needle when I take a break.

Let’s make a needle minder!

 Pin this tutorial for later!

Sunday, March 19, 2017

How to Make a Flannel Sleep Mask

The only way I can get to sleep and stay asleep at night is in a super duper cave like dark room. Unfortunately, curtains in every room on the planet (and especially in hotel rooms) conspire against me.

No matter how well I think I close them, there always is a hairline sliver between the curtains that shoots the early morning light directly into my eyes like a laser beam and wakes me up hours before my alarm is set to go off.  Every. Single. Morning. ARUGH!

Fortunately,  wearing a sleep mask thwarts the Sun Beam – Curtain Conspiracy. Take that sunbeam hahaha!

Unfortunately, most sleep masks are backed with nylon polyester, which doesn’t breathe making it way too hot to wear.

Fortunately, I reorganized and unearthed more scrap fabric than I realized I had including some nice, soft, cotton, and breathable flannel that makes an excellent and super cute sleep mask!


How to Sew a Super Cute Sleep Mask

 

Pin this quick and easy tutorial for later!

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party 363

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.





Let's Party!

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Tiny Mall Micro Loft House Tour

Tiny houses are all the rage, so it should be no surprise that city dwellers can live cute and with a ridiculously small carbon footprint in tiny micro apartments – in a converted historic shopping mall!



 Pin this tiny house tour and share it with your friends!

You don’t have to be a shopaholic to live here. In fact, given that the average size of each tiny apartment is 220 square feet it is probably best if you aren’t.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Friday Favorites Linky Party 362

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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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

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

15 of the Best Scrap Fabric Projects

After spending an afternoon finding hidden fabric caches around the house (and wondering if I am turning into a ferret,) I organized the larger than I realized fabric stash into my super big DIY under bed fabric organizer

And oh my goooooooooooodness I learned I have a lot of scrap fabric! More than I thought.  I figure I should celebrate National Craft Month by sewing some scrap fabric project to clear out my stash so I can buy more fabric.

 Pint these all new and fantastic sewing and no sew ideas for later!

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.