Floating Jedi Christmas Tree

Every single Christmas tree of my childhood was decorated with red glass balls and shiny gold tinsel garland. No deviation. At. All.

When I got out on my own I quickly changed that. Every Christmas tree I’ve ever had has been a collection of ornaments that coordinate but there was and is nary a shiny ball in the bunch.

Here’s the weird thing. I’m starting to jones for glass shiny ball ornaments.

When I saw not Martha’s take on shiny ball ornaments, I really wanted to run out and buy a set or seven.

Photo courtesy of notmartha.  

I Made a Gift Tag for Portland

I put a bird on it.

If you watch Portlandia you understand what I'm talking about. If you don't, watch the sketch below. Enjoy!


Did you enjoy this post? Get more like it by subscribing to the Condo Blues RSS Feed or to Condo Blues by Email.

How to Make Reusable Cloth Gift Bags

I usually like wrapping Christmas gifts. I have all sorts of tips and tricks to upcycle just about anything into gift-wrap, ribbon, and bows to make Pinterest perfect gift-wrap. My gift wrap turned art projects reduce waste while the recipient  is none the wiser. All they see is a pretty package and that’s the way I like it.

I save paper gift bags like these in our stash stored in an under bed gift wrapping storage box similar to this one) for Husband because he claims he’s not as good at wrapping gifts as I am. This may or may not be a spousal management issue on his part because it means I end up wrapping almost everything. (I am including affiliate links in this post for your continence.)

As our extended family has grown so large that it takes me days to wrap all of their gifts. After last year’s four night wrap a thon left me less than holiday cheerful (to put it mildly), I promised myself I was going to make wrapping gifts easier this Christmas.

With reusable cloth gift bags!

Pin this idea to your Pinterest Boards! Share it with your friends!

How to Make Lavender Sugar Scrub

It’s not all power tools with me. I have my girlie girl moments too. One of the ways I like to pamper myself is with a nice sugar scrub. When I found out that my favorite spendy sugar scrub was nothing more than olive oil and white sugar, I decided to make it myself.

I’ve been experimenting with sugar scrub recipes ever since.

 Pin this recipe to your Pinterest boads! Share it with your friends!

Lavender Sugar Scrub Recipe

Winter Outdoor Living Spaces an Interview with HGTV’s Dan Berger

HGTV landscaping shows make me jealous of big backyards because my tiny place will not hold a big deck, fire pit, or a little grotto with waterfall. I have a thing for gazebos too. *Wistful sigh*

To compensate, I designed our front porch to be as inviting as possible.

Now that it’s fall going into winter, my perennials are gone and my yard looks a little sad. I wish I had an HGTV designer on speed dial to help me make the outside of my Midwestern home as inviting and usable in the fall and winter as it is during the spring and summer.

I recently given the opportunity to interview Garden Designer and HGTV.com contributor Dan Berger and ask him all my questions about transitioning my outdoor spaces for fall and winter. Dan’s work is gorgeous! He really knows his stuff when it comes to landscaping and garden design. Dan is the owner of LandPlan Landscaping. He has appeared on numerous episode of the HGTV show "Landscape Smart." Dan has also worked with This Old House and been featured in Sunset Magazine.  

Make Christmas Shimmer Placemats

I’m using the holidays as an excuse to bling up the two tonecloth placemats I made yesterday with a little shimma shimma pizzazz..

Green and glitzty!

It's also an excause to play with the Tulip Fashion Glitter Shimmer Transfer Sheets  and the Tulip Fashion Glitter Shimmer Fabric Paint I got from I Love To Create.

I shy away from glitter because it's a hot mess to work with and often sheds from a project. Fortunately neither of these things is true with Shimmer products I used for this project. I rubbed the designs with my finger after the paint dried and the glitter stayed put!

If you do not sew, you can dress up a set of purchased placemats following the same tutorial.

You can also use the Tulip Shimmer products to give new life to thrift store or past its prime duds you already have by artfully covering a worn or stained area with a design cut from the Tulip Shimmer sheets or camouflaged with the Shimmer paints.

How to Make Glitter Placemats