Okio B Designs: August 2014

I bought this little clothes hanger from a garage sale a few weeks ago. It needed a few coats of fresh paint...

And a Frenchy touch.

I used some of the chalk paint I got at Michael's - again not loving the paint but I refuse to throw it out.

I used the Omni Gel method to adhere the French crowns. Boy were they tricky. They are so tiny - I had to use wallet size in order to get them to fit!

I'm going to be hanging this in the tea room.

Jeanine

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Black paint. Old food jars. Creepy stickers. Yes, I'm in full Halloween mode.

I really couldn't help myself after seeing so many wonderful pins and Instagram photos.

Pretty soon the beachy decor will be packed away - only to be replaced with autumn and spooky touches.

I'll be dreaming of cool, crisp days and the boys will be excited to go trick or treating.

September is right around the corner and I'll have to contain myself.

But at least I have a nice head start!

Jeanine

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I picked up two of these little wood crates at a garage sale several months ago. They were holding metal brass letters - which I also purchased and have for sale in my vintage Etsy shop. Earlier this week I decided to give one a makeover.

I ran out of white spray paint and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, so when I was at Michael's on Monday, I bought their version of chalk paint.

Unfortunately, not all chalk paint is the same. I didn't love this one. It took about 3-4 coats to cover the wood which admittedly was a little old and dirty. Still, I think I made it work.

After it was dry, I added the French images (from the Graphics Fairy) using the Omni Gel method. I also sanded it in random spots for a more aged look.

I'm using it to hold some of my coffee-baked tags.

Jeanine

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We've been having autumn-like weather in NY lately. I think I've put the air-conditioner on twice all summer and I'm loving that! The cool temperatures have definitely gotten me in the mood for some fall creations. This one is Pinterest copycat: a pumpkin Mason jar.

I think the actual pin was for an apple but I made mine into a pumpkin. I painted the glass part orange and the lids green. Then I added the painted wood spool as the stem.

Then I painted some Scrabble wood blocks black and played around with some lettering. Too early for Halloween phrases so I stuck with autumn and pumpkins.

The black will definitely work well for some creepy Halloween words too. I'm picturing them on a stack of black books - like the bunch I got at the thrift store last week.

Jeanine

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I've been tinkering with some holiday glassine sacks for the shop. Since crafting time has been few and far between, this will have to do for me for now.

I used stickers for some for Halloween.

And hand-stamped some for Christmas.

And visited The Graphics Fairy for others.

I'm working on some matching tags as well. Yes, it seems super early but the early bird does get the worm in Etsy world.

Jeanine

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I treated myself to some garage sales yesterday (finally!) and scored some great finds.

I'm very picky when I go to garage sales. I look for very specific items, so nine times out of ten I leave empty-handed. The first few sales were a bust until I hit one in Bellmore. I couldn't grab these rosary beads fast enough!

The next sale had a ton of Halloween and craft goodies. One lady bought 5 big buckets of craft supplies before I could rifle through. Rats! I had to settle for this trio of silver pumpkins.

I don't know why I'm constantly buying racks with hooks. I swear we don't have that much clothing. This one just needs a fresh coat of paint. I couldn't pass up the dancing skeleton dish towels for $1, and fingers crossed the faux tealights work. Again, for $1, I couldn't say no.

I spent about $12 on everything and it felt great getting back into the garage sale trenches.

Jeanine

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I'm sure you've noticed that I haven't had too much time to blog of late. Camp ended for my boys last week, so don't have a lot of free time to craft or blog. My posts until back to school will likely be few and far between.

But I did want to share a few thrifty finds from last week. Yes, I'm already thinking ahead to Halloween. I want to make more creepy book stacks and these fit the bill - they are already black! No painting for moi. I never pass up vintage Bobbsey Twins' books. The little checkerboard is for the 9 year old's room.

And speaking of Halloween...yes, I have started tinkering with ideas. This is how I've been envisioning the book stacks: spooky black frame on top. I plan on hand-stamping the pages so they read things like boo and Happy Halloween.

Get on over to Pinterest if you haven't lately. Folks are starting to pin lots of great Halloween ideas - including tons of free printables. My witch one is from Etsy. I printed it out onto vintage sheet music for my frame. I sneak onto Pinterest when the boys are playing nicely or sleeping.

Lastly, forgive me if I haven't been over to your blogs in a bit. Keeping two boys busy and handling my day job leaves me exhausted.

Jeanine

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We had our boys' birthday party this weekend so I had to skip garage sale shopping again. That's okay because I popped into Home Goods on Friday for a little retail therapy.

I went in looking for a tablecloth for the party - which I did get - and came out with this little ceramic love dish. So adorable!

And then there was this little bird plate. I have that same exact bird in a rubber stamp so I couldn't pass it up!

I've wanted a ceramic strawberry basket for years. I love the color of this one.

Lastly is this salt and pepper set. Love the lettering.

I spent less than $50 on everything including the tablecloth. So, yes, I am definitely Home Goods happy!

Jeanine

*I was not compensated for this post; I just love shopping at Home Goods!*