Okio B Designs: August 2015

My boys go back to school tomorrow. As you can imagine, we've been busy doing last minute summer activities with them and running school-related errands. I did find some time over the weekend to put out the first of my autumn touches.

White dollar store pumpkins and faux greens.

My favorite corner to decorate in the kitchen.

Neutrals on the bookcase.

Fabric pumpkins and scarecrows.

Jeanine

4 comments

I am obsessed with doing the laundry. Seriously, my husband is not allowed to go near the washing machine or dryer. And when my boys are older, they will be banned too. With that said, how excited was I when the folks at Selestial Soap sent me their MyGreenFills laundry detergent to try?!

MyGreenFills delivers non-toxic laundry products right to your door. You simply choose your fill (unscented laundry soap, fabric softener, etc.), choose your delivery frequency (with free shipping, I might add) and "your last laundry jug" lands on your front doorstep.

I'm a big fan of green products, and I have to say, I love that I am helping save the planet and using an eco-friendly detergent. The jugs come with the powder included. You simply add water, shake and get started on your mountain of laundry.

And since the company is big on paying it forward (#PayItForward), they are offering my readers a FREE laundry soap jug (plus S/H) if you go to Free.MyGreenFills.com. But wait, there's more.

They make these wonderful non-toxic, eco-friendly products for kids: bug spray and sunscreen. Both have come in quite handy this summer! Find them here.

Don't forget to visit Free.MyGreenFills.com for your free laundry jug!

Jeanine

Note: I was provided free samples of the products mentioned in this blog post, however all opinions, comments, experiences and text is my own.

1 comments

We have a week and a half to go before school starts here and much to my boys' chagrin, I created a little back-to-school vignette.

Of course, the pieces I used sadly can't be found in any classrooms today.

I have everything displayed on the vintage desk we have in the dining room. The vintage cursive image is from the Graphics Fairy. Everything else I already had in the house.

I added the vintage ink well and grungy Scrabble tiles to a cloche I have propped on a stack of old Bobsey Twins books.

I picked up the thermos last week at a garage sale. There's a debate in the house as to whether the little salt shaker looks like a tomato or an apple. It's actually a tomato but I'm using it as an apple.

I even found a French instruire (to teach, instruct) flashcard in my stash to display.

Sorry boys, but Mommy loves her little back-to-school vignette.

Jeanine

2 comments

Apparently there are 77 days until Halloween. I get a little reminder from one of the accounts I follow on Instagram.

And then I start to panic: only 77 days until Halloween?! Not really, well maybe just a little. So then I start whipping up some spooky creations like these peat pots.

I printed the vintage black cat and jack o' lantern onto cardstock. I tied them on using orange tea-stained seam binding. Then I just added some Halloween appropriate pieces like the 31 tag, boo carnival tickets and faux frozen Charlottes.

For the smaller ones, I added some really old and grungy Scrabble tiles spelling out Boo and RIP. Each pot also has some Dollar Store faux moss to keep things in place.

I have a couple more in the works and plan to use them for place settings for my Halloween table.

Jeanine

1 comments

My kids head back to school September 1st. Like so many others, they are not looking forward to it. Every year I try to make it a little more exciting and toss something cool into their backpacks.

This year it's Fiskar's Designer Scissors. Seriously, how cool are they?

According to the company:

"Fiskars scissors have been in classrooms for years, but with refreshed Designer Non-Stick Scissors, students and teachers will be eager to update their tools. From space-inspired designs to scissors decked with flowers, Fiskars’ kids scissors are not just safe and durable but fashionable, too. The trendy, kid-selected patterns are sure to appeal to kids’ unique styles."

I couldn't agree more. Both of my boys will be toting these back to school with them next month. I'm secretly keeping the middle one for myself. Shhhhhh...FYI, the scissors have a suggested retail price of $5.50 each and can be found at retailers including Staples, Target and Walmart.

Jeanine

Note: I was provided with samples of Fiskars Designer Scissors, however all opinions and text are my own.

1 comments

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw an Estate Sale sign around the corner from my house this morning. I haven't been able to hit many garage sales this summer and the ones I have gone to haven't had anything I'm looking for. I think I did pretty well this morning.

Vintage salt shakers. Yes, both are for salt but the S is so faded on one of them that you could easily use it as a pepper shaker. I love the plaid thermos. I'm hoping to start a collection this year.

You know me, I never, ever pass up vintage sheet music.

These candle holders are perfect for a design I have in mind for Halloween.

This entire haul cost me less than $10. Yay!

Jeanine

3 comments

And so it begins...

I checked some posts from this time last year and wouldn't you know it, like clockwork, I started some Halloween projects. This skull tea towel is my first of the season.

I used some muslin and pre-made ruffle trim that I picked up last month at Hobby Lobby. The image is from The Graphics Fairy and is one of my faves for Halloween.

First, I used TAP paper to transfer my image onto the muslin. Once that cooled, I sewed the ruffle trim to the bottom of the front panel of my towel.

I love that it's creepy and feminine all at once.

Jeanine