Okio B Designs: July 2014

I picked up a little, unfinished wood chest earlier this week at the Dollar store. With a little paint and some Frenchy touches, it now looks like this.

This took about two coats of white paint. The image is from The Graphics Fairy. I used Omni Gel to add it to the top.

I used a Bingo piece to add a little personality to the front. And it's filled with...

Faux moss from the Dollar store, French book paper and a couple of starfish.

Not bad for $1!

Jeanine

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Oh boy, is it Monday already? I feel like the weekend is a blur because we had a lot of family time, playdates and birthday parties this weekend. This translates into: Jeanine did not get to hit any garage sales this weekend. Harumpf!

That's okay because in between the madness, I was able to paint a few recycled food cans. I used the last bit of my Annie Sloan Old White chalk. Seriously, I was scraping the bottom trying to get every last bit out.

Once they were dry, I hot glued pieces of burlap to each can. Originally, I was going to add some bling to the burlap, but then I spied some leftover starfish and they seemed to be the perfect size for the cans: not too big, not too small.

I hot glued them onto the burlap and voila: instant upcycled, nautical-inspired bliss. I have candles in them and am looking forward to lighting them for our next summer get together.

Jeanine

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I picked up a plain, white prayer candle for 50 cents at a garage sale earlier this month. It sat and sat - patiently waiting for some sort of makeover.

I finally got around to dressing it up yesterday.

I printed off this gorgeous holy card image (from The Graphics Fairy) onto label paper. All I had to do was cut, peel and stick.

Then I added a pink rhinestone and hand-stamped the word prier (pray in French) on a small tag, and tied it to the candle using twine.

Sometimes a few simple touches are all you need!

Jeanine

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Remember the wood rooster cutting board I picked up last weekend at a local garage sale? Now it matches my chalkboard pig!

I gave it a few coats of chalkboard spray paint over the weekend.

I have it displayed in the kitchen across from my piggy one.

The boys love it and so do I!

Jeanine

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I picked up this little wood tray at a local thrift store last week. It was originally an ugly blue/green. After a few coats of Annie Sloan chalk paint, it's now a pretty French tray.

At first I painted it white, but the white didn't seem to be covering the old paint very well. So I switched to grey. Much better!

You've probably seen this image on The Graphics Fairy. It's one of my favorites! And it fits perfectly for my little tray. I used the Omni Gel method to add it to the front of the tray. I couldn't wait to take pictures - you can see it's still a little wet/shiny in some spots. Apparently, patience is not one of my virtues.

Love, love, loving my new tray!

Jeanine

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The winner of the Graf & Lantz giveaway as picked by Random.org is Donna from My Shabby Chateau!

Congrats Donna! I'll be in touch shortly for your info!

Jeanine

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**This giveaway is now closed.**

It's been a while since I've done a giveaway, and this is a super cute one!

I recently received two of these adorable key chains from Graf & Lantz. Handcrafted in Los Angeles (I love, love, love when something is made in America!), these whimsical key chains are made from Merino wool felt. Yes, felt. But you wouldn't know it. They are flexible, yet sturdy and seriously, how cute are these designs????

The designers, Holger Graf and Daniel Lantz are "influenced by the constant intersection of opposites in the world, their aesthetic is thoughtful and functional, combining the disciplines of both East and West into subtle, minimal design. They set out to sculpt the world's oldest fabric into modern and unexpected forms, crafting a definitive collection of accessories, handbags and more." Sounds good to me!

Now onto the good stuff...To enter to win either the skull or dog bone:

1. Become a follower of OkioBDesigns or let me know in a comment that you already are and which design you'd choose (skull or dog bone);

You can gain additional entries by:

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

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

3. Follow okiobdesigns 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, July 18, 2014 at 5 p.m. EST.

Good luck!

Jeanine

**I was provided product samples for review, however, opinions stated are my own.**

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Just tinkering with some French paper and match boxes.

It's been hot, hot, hot here and raining on and off.

Not the best weather to be painting in.

I always try to have a plan B.

And be glad it's not snowing.

Jeanine

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Sharing a few of this weekend's garage sale finds.

I usually leave out things I pick up for my boys so while it was a pretty big haul overall, there wasn't a lot for me. And that's okay. These books were 50 cents each. Looking forward to flipping through them when I have some quiet time. The little violin ornament I'm going to doll up for the Xmas tree.

I found a rooster to go with our pig cutting board. He's going to get a chalkboard paint makeover too.

These are my favorite! Vintage porcelain door knobs. And if you look closely, there are some glass ones in there too. The tray was also a find for $1.

The door knobs will be going into my vintage Etsy shop (OkioBVintage.Etsy.com) and the rest is mine, all mine!

Jeanine

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Have you seen these super cute dairy bottles at Michael's?

I picked up two of them when I was last there. I gave one a couple of coats of Annie Sloan chalk paint earlier this week.

I sanded it in random spots for an aged look and added a little lait (French for milk) tag using baker's twine.

I'm going to paint the second one white as well. And if I recall correctly, the bottles are only $1 or $1.50 at Michael's. Super cheap!

Jeanine

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After seeing and reading so much about Jeanne D'Arc Living magazine in the blogosphere, I finally bought an issue off of eBay. Boy, oh boy, am I hooked!

Yup, I've already bought three issues.

The magazine costs $13.95 a pop (I look for sellers on both eBay and Etsy offering free or cheap shipping). Ordinarily a bit pricey for me but my theory is they provide tons of inspiration and I will likely hold on to them for years to come.

My husband still doesn't get a $13.95 magazine. I told him since I don't get my hair or nails done (ever!), this is my one little splurge that's mine all mine.

Seriously, look at these pages filled with French and shabby goodness!

Yes, I am hooked!

Jeanine

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I picked up a four-pack of these mini wood easels last week at Michael's.

I broke out some chalk paint and gave each a few coats.

When that was dry, I flipped through my stash of vintage French book paper.

I cut the pages into little slivers - just big enough to fit on the ledge of each easel, and distressed them a bit.

The perfect size for displaying trinkets and little works of art!

Jeanine

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Enjoying some sand and surf this long weekend.

Jeanine

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(Image courtesy of the36thavenue.com)

Wishing all of my bloggy friends a safe and happy Independence Day!

Jeanine

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Remember my nest frame a few days ago? Here is the sister frame, done up in all its Jeanne D'Arc-inspired best.

As with the first frame, I gave this one a few coats of Annie Sloan chalk paint. I, again, added some vintage sheet music as my backdrop. All of the images are from The Graphics Fairy.

I added some faux flowers tied with twine to the bottom and a French enamel number tag to the top.

I feel like it's still missing a little something. Vintage lace perhaps?

I also finished up this thrift store star to fit with the frame's religious theme.

It also got the "star" treatment: a couple of coats of chalk paint, sheet music and other little touches.

Both are on display in my tea room.

Jeanine