Okio B Designs: January 2019

There is a fun, little secret behind this upcycled mini chalkboard. It is yet another thrift store find of mine. The backside is riddled with crayon marks, but that didn't stop me from seeing its potential.

I way lying in bed thinking about it - seriously! I was wondering how I could print out the word eat and add it to this little pretty. Clear sticker paper wasn't going to give me the look I wanted. Neither was Mod Podge.

Then it came to me! I clicked on over to Pinterest and found a chalkboard template. Using Windows Paint, I typed out the letters and hoped for the best after I hit print. And it worked!

Yes, you are looking at a faux chalkboard image! Amazingly it looks like the real thing and fit perfectly to size. All I did was glue it on and distress the edges of the wood frame. After patting myself on the back a few times for achieving the look I wanted, I quickly popped it into the wood tote on my kitchen counter. I'm love, love, loving how it came out.

I'm sharing the pdf of it, in case you want to make your own! Just right click on the image and save to your computer.

Jeanine

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Valentine's Day is just three weeks away, and love is definitely in full bloom at our house. Over the weekend, I worked on three different love ribbons that are currently for sale in my Etsy.

The first one is just simply...love. I hand-stamped the word (several times!) on some off-white seam binding ribbon. So simple, yet I adore how it came out. So much so that I kept some of the ribbon for myself as you can see from the first picture.

Next, I used some carnival style letters on watermelon-colored muslin. This one sold within 2 minutes of me listing in my Etsy. Sadly, it was my last piece of colored muslin, so no extras for me.

Last up is this je t'aime ribbon. I used the same off-white seam binding as my first love one. Again, it's stamped several times over the yard or so of ribbon. Understated and elegant in French!

How are you decorating for Valentine's Day?!

Jeanine

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I've had this pretty, white Ikea pitcher for a few years now. I had originally given it a Frenchy makeover using waterslide decal paper. Since, I'm trying to "shop the house" this month, I decided to give it a facelift. Because...

...the elements were not kind and this is what it looked like yesterday. Yuck! Thankfully, Goo Gone was able to remove the waterslide decal stickiness, and I was able to replace that label with the fresh sticker in the first picture. I used clear sticker paper this time. I don't love the air bubbles, though, so I will likely return to using the waterslide decal paper.

Speaking of shopping the house, I grabbed this food jar I upcyled many moons ago and gave it a new look by adding the broken wood ruler pictures. It's now the perfect touch of rustic/farmhouse goodness!

Okay, so I did splurge on something new this week. I picked up this Laguna vase at Home Goods yesterday - although it didn't cost me a dime! I had a $10 gift certificate (you get them if you have the TJX credit card), so I popped in and grabbed this beauty. I've wanted one since forever. I simply added some faux flowers from the Dollar Store and I love, love, love it! I love that it was free even more.

Jeanine

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A few months ago while driving my boys to school, I spied a bedspring on the side of the road. Let's just say I could not stop my car fast enough and load it in.

It was your standard brown bedspring, and it's been sitting in our garage awaiting the end of the holiday season. Once January 1st came around, I got busy.

I started by giving it a few coats of white paint - on both sides. Once it was dry, I lugged it inside and started adding some embellishments like the number tag on top. Since Valentine's Day is around the corner, I decided to start by giving it some love.

The LOVE banner I made a few years ago. It fits perfectly! Then I just started adding some old black & white photos of mine and my husband's parents, book pages (French poetry and Romeo & Juliet), wood clothespins and other pieces.

My parents on their wedding day.

My father-in-law.

French poetry book paper.

I'm super excited by how it turned out. I can't wait to decorate it for each season and holiday. I haven't decided whether or not to hang it up, so for now it's in our guest room.

Total cost for this project: $4.99 for white spray paint. I had everything else I needed.

Jeanine