Okio B Designs: October 2013

Image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

And a happy birthday to my sister Kathy!

Jeanine

Ikea is one of my favorite stores. Every time I go there, I stock up on these pretty red-striped grain sack-ish dish towels. I've been wanting to use them for a pillow for quite some time, and this weekend I finally took the plunge.

After measuring and sizing for my pillow insert (20"), I started by sewing three of the four sides together. I then turned it right-side out and broke out some black fabric paint.

I just purchased this pretty French stencil from Etsy and it was the perfect size for my pillow. It features a wreath design too but I was feeling a little lazy and just stenciled the wording and fleur de lis.

It took about a half hour to stencil and then I had to let the paint dry. I made one little oopsie on the S in Paris. You might not be able to see it, but it's there. Once the paint was dry, I closed it up.

This is the first time I've made such a large pillow and used a pillow insert. I really love the look and hope to make a few more this winter.

Linking to: Between Naps on the Porch: Met Monday and A Stroll Through Life.

Jeanine

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I'm calling this my accidental Santa pillow. Yup, I never intended to make a pillow yesterday.

I was working on some decorative bowl filler sacks using some vintage fabric. I got this great ticking from Etsy earlier in the week from one of my favorite shops - Kitteridge Mercantile. Anywho, I had this long piece and after I had sewed the sides and bottom, I realized it was too long for a sack.

Long story short, I ended up adding some filling and closing up the side that was still open. So now I had a plain pillow. I went through my crafting stash and couldn't find anything I liked to add to the front. I spied one tiny piece of iron-on transfer paper and printed off this Santa image.

Problem was, I had already stuffed the pillow. Could I iron-on the transfer when it wasn't completely flat? The answer to that question is yes! It was definitely tricky but as you can see, my image transferred on just fine - albeit, it's a little light. I added a grungy bell and 25 tag on a red safety pin to finish it up.

And that is the story of my accidental Santa pillow!

Jeanine

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I've completed the first of this year's handmade holiday gifts. My mom loves to read, so I wanted to make her a pretty tote that she could bring back and forth with her to the library.

Truth be told, I'm not sure if she's a Jane Austen fan, but it was the perfect image to use (get it at The Graphics Fairy!). I printed it out on iron-on transfer paper (my last sheet to be exact) and added it to the front of the tote.

I'd like to say I made the canvas flower embellishment. Alas, I did not. I picked it up at AC Moore last week. I did add the red button though for a touch of color. I hot-glued both to the top of tote.

It's a great size for books (look closely, I have some peeking out of the top) and has a velcro closure. I hope she loves it and gets a lot of use out it. But ssssssh...it's one of her Xmas gifts.

Jeanine

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Last week, AC Moore had flat-faced Mason jars on sale for 99 cents each. And they were just what I needed for this quick holiday project.

First, I painted the insides of the jars red. Once that was dry, I used painter's tape to cut pieces for my trees. I added those to the front of each jar.

Next, I gave the outsides a couple of coats of white spray paint. When they were dry, I peeled off my painter's tape to reveal little Christmas trees. I sanded the tops a bit to let even more of the red paint show through.

I finished them up by using some of this festive fabric I picked up over the weekend. Can't wait to add some candles and use them for the holidays!

Jeanine

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Lucky me! We had a bunch of small fall fairs and garage sales to hit this weekend. Saw LOTS of overpriced pieces, but did manage to score a few gems.

This wreath is originally from Target. The price tag says $25. Ouch! I picked it up for $3. And how great are the sleigh bells? I love how they look just draped over the wreath. They were 50 cents.

This vintage cow bell was only $2. It's a nice one to add to my small collection.

The Bobsey Twins books were 2 for $1. On top is a vintage biscuit cutter. That was $2. Ignore the dust on the floor. We were getting our electric panel updated this weekend. No power = no vacuuming for me.

I think these little Santa candle holders are adorable so I had to bring them home with me too. Only $1 for the set of 2 - although they are marked $2. I would have loved if they were facing right and left - instead of left and left, but what can you do?

I scored not one, but two, Scrabble games. Of course, I grabbed them for crafting purposes but my boys enjoy playing Scrabble, so I'm letting them have the newer version to play with. Got a bunch of fabric quarters in holiday-ish color palettes.

My 6 year old loves the cat and owl cookie cutters. I'll be painting the wood server and giving it a Frenchy touch no doubt. Looking forward to using it as centerpiece of sorts for the holidays.

Not a bad haul for the weekend. Overall, I spent about $25 for everything (including some kid stuff not pictured).

Jeanine

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I picked up this vintage sled at a garage sale over the summer for $2. It's actually one of two that I scored over the summer. I put the finishing touches on it yesterday and here it is ready for the holiday season.

I started by giving it a few coats of red paint. The wood is so old that it soaked up the paint in seconds. I lost count after 4-5 sprays. I let it dry for a few days.

The wood letters are from AC Moore. I gave them a couple of coats of white acrylic paint before gluing them to the front.

This little touch of pine cones, leaves and berries is from Walmart. Yes, Walmart already has its holiday items out!

I can't wait to add this to our porch in December! Cute story: this morning my 8 year old took a look at it, said he liked it and then promptly pointed out that it's not Christmas yet. Out of the mouths of babes!

Jeanine

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Just tinkering with some clothes pins, baker's twine and stamps on a dreary New York day, and spreading some love to my bloggy friends!

Jeanine

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I really love embellishing old tobacco tins. I used to collect them so I have a nice stash of them just waiting to be transformed. The first one I did was for Halloween. My second one has more of a Frenchy touch.

I broke out the Mod Podge and some vintage sheet music to start. I cut my sheet music to size and then Mod Podged it on. Once that was dry, I added one of my favorite images from The Graphics Fairy to the front.

On the top, I added some vintage lace with fabric glue. I love working with tea-stained seam binding so I, of course, had to add a bow. The middle was missing a little something so I added the crown charm with a rhinestone.

A pretty rhinestone button attached to the seam binding adds just the right amount of bling.

The faux dried flower and grungy clip (maybe to hold a picture?!) were the finishing touches.

I think my next one will have more of an Xmas touch to it.

Linking to The Graphics Fairy: Brag Monday and Between Naps on the Porch: Met Monday.

Jeanine

12 comments

Have you been noticing all of the wonderful Christmas pins on Pinterest lately? Couple that with the fact that some stores here already have their holiday goodies out and it's no wonder I'm in a festive state of mind.

My husband just shakes his head but I know my bloggy friends understand why I'm 2 months early. Last week I made a couple of Christmas mini pillows that I may or may not add to my Etsy shop.

I love how they look in this mini wire basket. The Compliments of the Season image is from The Graphics Fairy. The Santa one I bought from Etsy last year.

Can't you just picture a basket full of these in the house for December?

And you might remember this wood couch thingy I picked up at a local thrift store a couple of weeks ago. I had originally given it a Frenchy makeover (here) but I wasn't thrilled with my Mod Podge efforts so I scrapped it and gave it a yule-time feel using another great Xmas image from Etsy.

I also added the noel for the front.

I'm picturing it more as a card or candle holder for the holidays now.

Jeanine

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Sour cream and onion Pringles have never looked so good! Yes, after enjoying the chips, I saved the canister so I could copycat one of my favorite Pinterest pins.

This was my inspiration. Lovely, right? This blogger used an oatmeal canister. And here's my version using the Pringles canister.

I wrapped the canister in vintage sheet music to start. Then I printed off this great French image (courtesy The Graphics Fairy) onto plain white paper. Glued that on over the sheet music.

Once that was dry, I added another French image to the plastic top - which you totally can't see but it is there. Then I added some glitter around the edges and some tea-stained seam binding. I couldn't resist adding a little bling too on the front.

I finished up by stringing some bells and a metal star (from Ikea) on more tea-stained seam binding. I used my hot glue gun to add that to the top.

I love how the star hangs down, and how the grey/silver and pink hues play off each other. I'm so happy too with how it turned out. And lucky me, Pathmark is having a sale on Pringles so I'm off to stock up so I can make more!

Linking to Petite Michelle Louise: Grey Day Thersday.

Jeanine

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Here's a quick and easy Halloween project I whipped up last night. All you need is some sheet music, a printer and your computer.

First choose a creepy font to spell our tricks and treats. I found mine on Dafont.com.

Then head on over to The Graphics Fairy for this great, vintage hand image. I had it saved on my computer. Next, you'll want to print out the text first so you can line it up with the hand. I did this a few times on blank paper before adding my sheet music.

Once everything is lined up the way you like it, add your sheet music to your printer. First I printed out the text and then put the sheet music through again for the hand. I'm using clipboards to display mine but you could easily add these to a window or mantel.

Super easy and super cute for Halloween!

Linking to The Graphics Fairy: Brag Monday and Between Naps on the Porch: Met Monday.

Jeanine

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Sharing a few Halloween touches around our house. I still have a few more spooky projects and decorations to add but here's the progress so far.

We don't have a mantle, so I decorate the top of our wood corner hutch as if it were a mantle.

And here is the hutch.

I keep this old typewriter out year round. I just added an old crow to the top.

Lots and lots of...

Skulls.

Pumpkins and spiders too!

I also had a lot of fun playing with various spooky fonts from PicMonkey for my photos. More to come!

Jeanine

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I was toying around with this little wood frame that I picked up at a local thrift store. First I painted it white. It sat in the garage for 2 weeks until I decided to instead paint it black. All this indecision resulted in a wicked makeover - literally!

I used some Halloween-ish cardstock as my background.

Then I went over to DaFont.com to spell out the word wicked in some creepy fonts. I printed that out onto white paper and cut around each letter. Not sure if you can tell but I also distressed the paper so it wouldn't be stark white on the Halloween cardstock.