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Okio B Designs

A craft, food, fashion, home & shopping blog

Anyone else dreading New Year's?  Well, not so much New Year's, but more the pressure to make resolutions that seem to go out the window by Valentine's Day?!  For 2015, I'm going to try really, really hard to stick to my resolutions.  I don't have many:
Resolution #1: Stop buying things we don't need and put that money to work in a high yield savings account.  No, my kids don't need another Lego set.  And, no I don't really need that Tory Burch bag.  Still, I realize I'm human, so I'm giving myself a $100 a month budget to buy myself and the boys some goodies.  That's it: $100 and once it's gone, I'm going to have to wait until the next month.  You hear that J. Crew Factory????  That also includes Michael's, Hobby Lobby and A.C. Moore.
Resolution #2: Stop worrying so much.  I'm a Virgo, so it's in my nature, I'm afraid.  I'm really hoping to take it down a notch for 2015.  I need to realize there are just some things (and people) I can't change and no amount of worrying is going to fix certain problems.  I'm going to go with the flow and be easy like Sunday morning.
Resolution #3: Get rid of the clutter and get back to being organized.  Again, being a Virgo, we tend to be organized to a fault.  Well, I used to be.  Then I had a husband...and two boys. My house isn't quite hoarders-buried-alive, but there are days I feel like it is.  Not anymore.  I'm making a valiant effort to keep everything in its place, toss what we don't need and file what we do.  I don't want to have to dig through the linen closet to find my flat iron.  I want to know exactly where it is when I need it.  Same goes with my car keys, cellphone charger, school spelling words list, etc.

Those are my top 3 resolutions anyway.  Wish me luck!  What resolutions are you making and sticking with for 2015?

*All images courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.*

Jeanine
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Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  Now that things have finally settled down here, I was able to get in some crafting last night while the boys had a playdate.
I've been swooning over this Vintage with Laces button box for weeks now.  While going through our Christmas decorations, I came across a little wood box and thought it would be perfect for a copycat.  Here's my version:
I used vintage sheet music on the top of and inside the box.  I also added a pretty burlap flower and vintage lace around the cover using my hot glue gun.
I used this fabulous French image from The Graphics Fairy like Julia from Vintage with Laces did for the inside of the cover.
I also found this great vintage buttons image to add to the inside with my buttons.
Thanks for the inspiration, Julia!

Jeanine
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My, my how time is flying.  Three more days until Christmas Eve. I haven't been able to take a breather so I'm just sharing some vintage Christmas card images.
I bought a disc of the images from eBay a few years ago.  Way before Etsy became all the rage.  
I use them in a lot of my Christmas decorating and crafts.
Some of them appear to be pretty old.  Overall I'd date them all pre-1970s.
Feel free to download them for your personal use too!

Jeanine
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I can't believe Christmas is just days away.  I am scrambling to wrap presents, plan my Christmas eve menu and attend my boys' class parties.  
Even though I closed my Etsy shop for the holidays on Monday, I've been stealing some time to create some new items that I'll be adding after Christmas.
I found these great vintage religious images and thought they'd make for some pretty tags.
I added some tiny rhinestones and vintage lace, and then distressed the edges.  I'll be adding these to my shop after Christmas.

Jeanine


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What can you do with some leftover bottle brush trees and miniature deer?  If you're like me and already made enough "snow globes" using them, here's another idea.
Mini Xmas peat pots!  I had already painted the pots white and basically forgot about them.  I broke them out over the weekend for this quick project.
I folded some vintage lace over the rims and then tucked in some Poly-Fil to be my "snow."  Then I just added my trees and deer, along with some vintage sheet music scraps.  One also holds a fabric joy tag I did a few weeks ago.
I added some picture hangers to hold my number tags (from Ikea) - 25 of course!  A really sweet and simple Xmas touch for our livingroom.

Jeanine
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Found this cutie on Pinterest.  I printed it onto vintage sheet music and added it to a frame.  I forgot the site it's originally from, but if you search for reindeer silhouette on Pinterest, it should come up. It's free!

And P.S., if you've noticed my posts lately have been short and sweet, it's because I've been having serious computer issues.  Boo!
I did a system restore yesterday and all seems to be okay now - fingers crossed. 

Between my computer and the horrible weather here, I haven't been able to create anything worth blogging about.  I'm going to recharge over the weekend and hopefully have better luck next week.

Jeanine
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Happy White Wednesday!  Just tinkering around with some gift bag ideas.  

Jeanine  
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Christmas, of course.  Sharing some random holiday decorations from about the house.
Reindeer pillows from Home Goods.
I love breaking out this plaid quilt every year.  Pillow covers from H&M.
Noel basket with vintage ornaments.
Santa boots on the porch.
Tray filled with shredded sheet music and Dollar store deer.
I'm so mad for plaid!
Ikea metal stars in a tart tin.  
Snowmen!
Vintage typewriter with a homemade flash card and Santa postcard.
Silver and gold mercury glass.
And finally our tree.  Can you figure out how tall my boys are?  I still have to re-arrange and spread out some of their "touches."

Jeanine

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The winner of the ScentSicles giftset (as picked by Random.org) is...Felecia Cofield!!

Congrats Felecia!  I'll be in touch shortly to get your info.

Jeanine
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**Don't forget to enter my giveaway here.**
Just sharing some small Christmas projects I slipped in over the long weekend.  Try as I might, I just couldn't get too many great shots of these Christmas houses I got from Hobby Lobby last month.
I decided to paint them black since I already did some smaller ones white and silver.  Plus, I'll get to use them next year for Halloween too!
I gave each a couple of coats of black acrylic paint, and then added some faux tealight candles.  We have them on a ledge in front of our front window.
I've had these Christmas trees for years.  This is the first time I've grouped them together.  What the heck took me so long?!
I used some salt and pepper shakers to make mini "snow globes." The photos are hard to make out but they are vintage Christmas images from The Graphics Fairy.

Lots more mini projects in the works.

Jeanine
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**This giveaway is now closed**

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Now that I've recovered from stuffing myself at my Mom's, it's time for a little fun.
The folks at ScentSicles were kind enough to send me some eco-friendly scented ornaments that make artificial trees smell real - and real trees smell that much better.  And oh boy, do they smell a-ma-zing!
Made of natural fibers sourced from sustainable resources and infused with pure fragrance, ScentSicles offer a no-mess, no-flame, simple way to make artificial holiday greenery smell real.  I was floored to find out they were made by a NASA scientist and happy to share that they are made in the USA.  Even better - ScentSicles last for 30 days.
Okay, so who wants to get their hands on their very own ScentSicles gift box?  The folks at ScentSicles were also kind enough to provide me with a gift box for one lucky winner!


To enter:

1. Become a follower of OkioBDesigns.Blogspot.com or let me know in a comment that you already are;

You can gain additional entries by:

1. Like Okio B Designs and/or ScentSicles on Facebook and let me know in a comment you did;

2. Follow @okiobdesigns and/or @scentsicles on Twitter and let me know in a comment you did;

3. Follow okiobdesigns and/or @scentsicles on Instagram and let me know in a comment you did;

4. Blog/tweet/Facebook about this giveaway and let me know in a comment you did.

Open to U.S. residents only (sorry!).  I'll pick a winner via Random.org on Friday, December 5, 2014 at 5 p.m. EST.

For more information, visit ScentSicles.com.  ScentSicles are sold nationally in Walmart, Target, Lowes and Michael's stores, among others.  Good luck!

Jeanine

*I was provided a sample of ScentSicles, however, opinions are my own.*
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I bought a few ceramic Christmas houses at the Dollar store a couple of weeks ago.  They had a lot to choose from, but I settled on these four.
Once I got them home, I immediately painted them white.  It took 3-4 coats of spray paint for each house.
Over the weekend, I finally got around to adding some German glass glitter to the tops using Mod Podge.
Easy peasy and more suited to my tastes!  I paired them with some mini bottle brush trees I found on Etsy last year.

For $4, I have some pretty new holiday decorations!

Jeanine
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I've been wanting to make Scrabble ornaments for our Xmas tree since last year.  You've probably seen them all over Pinterest and in the blogosphere, so nothing really new here.  I was just happy that I had everything I needed to make a few of them for this year.
I used an old ruler for mine, but I've seen crafters use everything from clothes pins to Jenga pieces (Susan at Homeroad!).  I simply picked out some holiday-ish words and glued the tiles onto my ruler pieces.
I added some rhinestones to the snow and noel ones.  Beer can tabs came in quite handy for this project: I used them on the backs so I could add my baker's twine.

This project literally took me 15 minutes from start to finish.  Can't wait to add these to our tree in a couple of weeks!

Jeanine
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An upcycled violin ornament.  
My 9 year old plays the viola and he picked this up at a garage sale over the summer.  I painted it white, added some glass glitter and a hand-stamped noel tag.  Waiting to be added to our Christmas tree.

Happy White Wednesday!

Jeanine
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About Me

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Okio B Designs
I am a small business owner by day, and mom of two boys and DIY crafter by night. You might remember me from my old blog: One Cheap B*tch. I love sharing my tips and tricks to create affordable home decor, fashion, food, crafts and more! Drop me a line at spam-proof: jeanineb4etsy(at)yahoo(dotcom). Thanks for stopping by! Jeanine
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