Okio B Designs: June 2014

It all started with this frame.

And then this pin on Pinterest.

Put those two together and you get this:

I almost tossed the frame after it didn't sell at our last garage sale. Something told me to hang onto it. So glad I did!

For the DIY, first I used Annie Sloan chalk paint to add a shabby touch to my frame. I then added some vintage sheet music to the back piece of the frame. It took two sheets. I glued on the burlap pieces using fabric glue.

While the burlap was still drying, I added the hand-stamped bird's nest images to it. I did those on some coffee-dyed muslin. I added a piece of raffia and a button to the top nest and then a larger nest to the bottom using hot glue.

The Scrabble tiles spelling out "nest" was the finishing touch.

The best part about this entire project was the fact that I had everything I needed on hand. Even better? I have a duplicate frame in the garage. Think I'll add a Frenchy touch to that one!

Jeanine

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School is over for my boys and that means summer is in full swing in our household. Lookie at this adorable printable I found on Pinterest.

Love the color. Love the words. It screams summer to me!

Jeanine

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I've been playing around with the little vignette I have on a vintage school desk in our dining room.

I recently re-painted both of these frames to freshen them up.

I simply added vintage sheet music to this one.

More vintage sheet music and a beautiful religious image (from The Graphics Fairy) for this one. I love the soft touch the whites and pinks add to this space.

I also dressed up this cardboard letter B that I got from Walmart last week. I painted it white and then decoupaged French book paper on it. I still have to seal it with Modge Podge and fix the little bit of paint I missed on the top insert. Funny how I just noticed it as I was writing this post. Off to go fix it...

Jeanine

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I've been wanting to try Omni Gel after seeing a few pins about it on Pinterest and after reading about it in the blogosphere (Susan from Homeroad and Karen from The Graphics Fairy both have nice tutorials on using it). I found it at Walmart.com and decided to give it a go.

This is actually a re-do of a re-do. I used this little wood tray on my porch last summer. It had a lobster design on it but that peeled off. Doh! It made the perfect candidate for this trial run. I gave it a few coats of Annie Sloan chalk paint before starting.

I printed out the French image (from The Graphics Fairy) onto regular white paper. Because I have an inkjet printer, I made a copy of it using my fax machine. (Yes, fax machine. Remember those?!). I did NOT reverse the image.

I gave the image two coats of Omni Gel and let it dry overnight. Once it was dry, I added it to a bowl of water and just started peeling the paper away from the back - kind of like the Modge Podge method. With the paper removed, I added the image to both sides of my tray and put a coat of the gel over it.

Super easy! I like this much better than the Modge Podge method, which I just can't seem to master. Can't wait to use it for other projects!

Jeanine

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I hit a few garage sales this weekend. Sadly, I didn't score much.

Yup, that's pretty much it. The little pitcher was 50 cents. So was the prayer candle. I could not pass up the bag of vintage clothes pins.

These are my favorite: skull shot glasses. Now, I am not a big drinker but I do love Halloween and these are perfect for it! I got four of them and they are actually big enough to hold some creepy candles. Score!

Some of the vintage clothes pins are available in my Etsy shop!

Jeanine

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Remember these wood Easter blocks I picked up at our local thrift store back in April?

While they were super cute, they just weren't quite my cup of tea. I knew when I bought them, I'd be turning them into something a little Frenchy. Here they are now:

I gave each block a few coats of Annie Sloan chalk paint. Once they were dry, I sanded the edges for an aged look.

Then I broke out my Staz On ink (brown) and some random Frenchy stamps.

I, of course, had to add a little bling to each one.

An easy way to add a quick, Frenchy touch to any shelf!

Jeanine

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I know you've seen these types of cloches floating around Pinterest. I love the look and just happened to have a petite lampshade lying around from a past Goodwill visit.

I simply removed the fabric cover revealing the vintage-looking wire. No painting, no distressing - nothing more to do!

Except add some pretty vintage teacups. I think this would also look lovely with a small bird's nest or on a book stack. So many possibilities!

Jeanine

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Truth be told, when I bought this chevron burlap from Walmart last week, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it.

After unraveling it a bit, I saw it was the perfect size for banner pendants. I broke out some twine, scissors and fabric glue, and got busy.

After cutting each pendant, I added some fabric glue to the bottom edges and the tops so they wouldn't be sliding up and down the twine. I used clothes pins to hold everything together until the glue was dry. This literally took 30 minutes from start to finish

And now I have a sweet new banner for my kitchen!

Jeanine

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Sharing some random Frenchy projects that I've finished over the past week. I jazzed the photos up via Instagram, which I believe I am quite possibly obsessed with. If you're on it, you know what I'm talking about!

This is that big garage sale basket that I got for $2 a couple of weeks ago. I gave it a few coats of white spray paint and French labels on each basket top. Hard to see in this photo...

Here they are.

This chalkboard was also a garage sale find. I added some Frenchy goodness and put it in my Etsy shop. It sold out the same day.

Petite bottles dressed in vintage French book paper.

And me goofing around with Scrabble tiles.

Just a reminder, if you're on Instagram, please let me know as I'd love to follow!

Jeanine

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A few months ago, Debra from Common Ground posted some beautiful numbered wreaths. I believe she used them for some pretty holiday napkins. I saved the image to my computer and finally found a way to use them.

These are slightly larger peat pots than what I am used to getting. I picked them up at Walmart last weekend. I started by giving each a coat of white acrylic paint.

While the paint was drying, I printed out the numbered wreaths onto tissue paper. I simply ripped around each image and used one coat of Mod Podge to adhere them to the front of the pots, and another coat to seal in the image. I added a couple of blue rhinestones to add some color.

If you want to try the tissue paper method, here's what I've found: 1. You don't need to reverse your image, 2. Ink jet printers work best, 3. Tape your tissue paper to a piece of cardstock for easy feeding into the printer - I usually tape mine a little at the top bottom and on the sides. Super easy, right?!

Jeanine

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While I was at Ikea earlier this week, I grabbed a few of these white picture frames. In a matter of minutes, you can turn them into...

Mini, free-standing chalkboard frames. Super cute, right? So perfect for a kitchen counter.

I used chalkboard paper for this one - just peel and stick. I have another one drying in the garage that I used chalkboard paint spray on. I like to play around with different textures to see which works best.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go fishing. Just kidding!

Jeanine

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I popped into Ikea yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by their newest candles. Have you seen them?

How perfect are these for the 4th of July? Sadly, none with stars but I'm digging the stripes, and they work so well for this quickie centerpiece idea.

I'm using a chalkboard painted Dollar Store tray as my base.

I used a pretty patriotic image (from The Graphics Fairy) for my candle holders. I printed the image onto label paper and add them to the front of each holder. Can you see the small red rhinestones on the firecrackers? I think they add a nice pop (see what I did there?! Pop, firecracker. Hee, hee hee).