Condo Blues

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.


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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!


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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.