Okio B Designs: October 2014

Wishing you a lovely White Wednesday!

Jeanine

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Just sharing a few holiday-inspired projects from the weekend.

Some hand-stamped holiday fabric tags. Wouldn't they look sweet with some red/white baker's twine?!

Jingle Bells tea towels. These are actually ones that I made for me and my mom. The ones in my Etsy are minus the bells.

I purchased the image from Graphique on Etsy. I plan on also using it for a pillow.

The colder it gets here, the more I have Xmas on my mind. I know, I know, Halloween isn't even here yet, but there are 6 more weeks until Xmas.

Jeanine

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What can you get for $3 at our local church thrift store?

How about a vintage copy of Peter Pan, an antique dictionary and 2 more dictionaries for my boys?

How cute are these little charms? Crowns and Fleur de Lis, oh my! But this one is by far my favorite...

This gorgeous old chair. It definitely needs to be cleaned up. I want to paint it, but the hubby says no way. Either way, can't you just see it with some pretty quilts stacked on it? Or a pretty Christmas pillow?! I don't quite know yet where I'm putting it, but for $2, I can find the space!

Jeanine

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I know many of you also have Etsy shops, so I'm sure I'm not alone when I say, I am already starting on Christmas projects. Yes, Christmas.

It probably doesn't help either that my Pinterest pages seem to have been hijacked by Christmas. Still, it puts me in a festive mood and the early bird does get the worm.

These are some Twelve Days of Christmas advent bags I made for my boys. I hand-stamped each with random Xmas images and numbers.

These wood pins are going into my Etsy.

I hand-stamped various Christmas phrases on them. Cute for hanging Xmas cards or decorations.

I have a bunch more holiday projects in the works, but want to work on stocking up my Etsy before the madness truly sets in.

Jeanine

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Oh boy! I wanted to do a copycat of these Pottery Barn Christmas houses.

I ordered some paper mache houses from Hobby Lobby. They landed on Saturday. Apparently, someone did not read the measurements.

Doh! A little bigger than I was expecting.

The small one is just right. The other two? Well, they are going to need a lot of glitter. The moral of my story: read the measurements before buying. Now, wish me luck!

Jeanine

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I picked up a couple of these wood coffins from our local Dollar store a few weeks ago. The 9 year old asked me if we could design his together. How could I say no?

We started by giving it a few coats of chalkboard paint - well, technically I did the painting. He was more of the supervisor, lol. I suggested adding the skeleton (also from the Dollar store) and some cotton to prop him up. I got two thumbs up for that.

He wanted to add the skull and crossbones to the front and the RIP. He thought the upside down 'i' looked creepy.

I came up with the Nevermore paper. Had a slight fail when I attempted to burn the edges of the paper (he was no where in the room when I attempted that!). It went up in flames, literally. Plan B: use Distressed Ink to make it look burnt. Much easier and safer.

This is probably my last Halloween project of the season and I was glad my son joined in on the fun.

Jeanine

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Some pretty embellished pieces for White Wednesday.

One is a candle holder and the other is an apothecary bottle.

I used some vintage lace, French script and tea-stained seam binding to dress them up. This one has a hand-stamped Frenchy enamel charm.

This one has a French clothespin and mini flashcard.

Why the number 2 you ask? It's my lucky number. =)

Jeanine

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I popped into Target yesterday and came across these little jars. They were $1 each and just what I was looking for to create these spooky, Halloween "specimen" jars.

The taller jar is actually from Home Goods. It originally held autumn-ish sprinkles, but the sprinkles are long gone and only the jar remains.

I found the sticker images on both Pinterest and the Graphics Fairy.

Since I haven't bought any candy yet, they are filled with carnival tickets, cotton (to look like a spider sack) and some raffia (shriveled witch's fingers, anyone?). Soon they will be filled with candy corn and M&M's.

I used clear label paper for the fronts and regular label paper for the tops. Not bad for a couple of dollars, right?!

And now onto my giveaway winner - as picked by Random.org.

Congratulations Victoria! You are the winner of the Hen House Linens' potholder and Sea Glass Jewelry book, and some other goodies I'll be adding in.

Jeanine

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You know it's been a hectic summer when this gorgeous book, Sea Glass Jewelry (by Lindsay Furber and Mary Beth Beuke), slips your mind. My loss, but your gain as I'm adding this wonderful read to this week's giveaway (enter here).

I'm a huge fan of beach glass. We have jars and jars filled with it in the house. It never occurred to me to turn it into jewelry. This book shows you how to do just that.

Lindsay and Mary Beth show you how to make wearable, one-of-a-kind keepsakes - including bracelets, pendants, earrings and rings.

The book offers step-by-step directions on how to "create beautiful and unique designs with beach-found treasures."

It's hard to part with this gem (no pun intended!), but given my crazy daily schedule, I'd rather have someone else enjoy it and put it to good use!

Jeanine

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**Don't forget to enter my giveaway here.**

A quick makeover of a canister I found at Goodwill. It perfectly matches other vintage canisters that I have.

I think it once housed a candle because I do see some residue on the inside. For 99 cents, though, I can overlook it.

I made the sticker using this great image from the Graphics Fairy. I still have to smooth out some of the air bubbles on the sticker. Otherwise, I love it.

Jeanine

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**This giveaway is now closed.**

The folks at Hen House Linens were kind enough to send me some of their autumn/Halloween-inspired cocktail napkins.

How pretty are these? They are called Fern Orange. They retail for $24 for a set of 6.

Don't they look spiffy in this basket I just scored at Goodwill? It's like they were meant to be! I can't wait to use them to dress up our Halloween and Thanksgiving tables.

Hen House Linens was also nice enough to include this gorgeous pot holder in Latticework Aubergine. I'm giving it away to one lucky winner. The deep purple hue also makes it perfect for autumn and Halloween decorating.

C'mon, you know you want it!

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 Hen House Linens on Facebook and let me know in a comment you did;

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

3. Follow okiobdesigns and/or henhouseeveryday 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, October 10, 2014 at 5 p.m. EST.

For more info, visit HenHouseLinens.com or click on the link at the top of this post. You can also find them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter (@henhouselinens) and Instagram (henhouseeveryday).

Jeanine

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

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Not exactly a banner day at our local church thrift store, but I did score a few pieces for $5.

I needed a pie plate so the large one is going to be used the ol' fashioned way: to make pies. The other one I'm painting white. The bag is holding a nice batch of vintage white lace. I can't seem to pass up vintage lace.

These wood candlesticks are also getting a white spray paint makeover.

I'm really hoping I can clean up this slate chalkboard. This is the back. I imagine a small child thought crayons would wipe off like chalk. Um, no. I'm going to do some research to find out how to remove it. If anyone has any tips on how to remove it or clean it up, please do pass them on!

Jeanine

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Just some random pretties for White Wednesday.

Found both the baby shoes and dish at a local garage sale. How cute are those shoes?! Future pin cushions for sure.

Playing with ephemera, beads and French stamps.

This is a vintage tin that used to hold wax soap. It was a pain getting it out of the tin, but well worth it.

A simple brown craft bag dressed up with lace, French perfume image, French script clothes pin and a rhinestone.

I love the look of beads and buttons in bottles. I dressed this one up with vintage sheet music and a flower.

Hope everyone is having a great White Wednesday!

Jeanine