Okio B Designs

I bought these paper mache houses last year for Christmas. They were a little larger than I had expected, but I still decided to make them work by painting them black and adding tea lights for the holiday season.

This year, I decided to give them a Halloween makeover. I bought black and orange glitter, and kept the black paint. I wasn't sure which glitter to use at first. I really like Pottery Barn's version of Halloween houses - which use black glitter. Still I was drawn to the orange.

So I did the first two in orange. I'm not a huge fan of glitter - mainly because of the mess it leaves behind. So this was an outside job in between rain storms this weekend.

I see a few spots that I missed, so I'll try and fill them in today. The last house, which is also the largest, will get the black glitter just to break up all of the orange.

Wish me luck!

Jeanine

2 comments

According to my calculations, there are 53 days until Halloween. Yay!

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a little rushed this year. Looking back at some old blog posts, I usually have a ton of Halloween items made by now. Eek!

So last night, I broke out some glass ornaments that were sitting in my craft room since last year, and decided to turn them into Halloween ornaments. For this one, I used some faux moss, a creepy skull image (from the Graphics Fairy) and black & orange tea-stained seam binding.

For this one I used an image I bought on Etsy last year. I spray painted some faux reeds black and added them to the bottom. Topped this one off with some purple & black tea-stained seam binding.

I have one more in the works.

Jeanine

2 comments

Hope your holiday weekend is off to a great start! I've been relaxing after a long work week, which didn't leave any time for real crafting.

I did manage to arrange a basket o' pumpkins for my porch. The basket is a garage sale find that I painted Paris Grey (Annie Sloan Chalk Paint).

I also framed some autumn printables I found on Pinterest. After that, I decided to reward myself with a little retail therapy.

Found this cute Ouija cheese plate and Halloween-inspired candles at Marshall's this morning.

I hit Target yesterday with my boys and that's where I scored this adorable pumpkin pillow. There were only two left! So you better hurry to your local Target before they are gone, if you want one!

I also picked up two Chevron pumpkins from their DollarSpot.

And this pretty landed earlier in the week from Pottery Barn. It's patiently waiting for its debut for Halloween. I'd like to get another one, but I only shop PB when I have a coupon these days. Hopefully, they'll send me another coupon code before they sell out.

Jeanine

5 comments

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

4 comments

I got a few minutes of free time last night to make this quick, cute laundry bag.

I picked up the bag from Michael's a few months ago. It sat and sat while I tried to figure out what type of image I wanted to add to it.

I knew I was going to hang it in the bathroom, so I didn't want anything too girly (given that I'm outnumbered in my house!). I chose this great image from The Graphics Fairy to use.

I printed my image on to TAP paper and simply ironed it on to the front of the bag.

Super quick and easy and I love, love, love the look!

Jeanine

1 comments

Sometimes it pays to "shop" your house.

Case in point, I found this ironstone tray in my basement during the week.

At least I think its ironstone. These are the markings on the back. (The previous owners left a lot of old treasures in the house.)

Anywho, I brought it upstairs, gave it a good cleaning and pondered what to do with it next. A quick trip to Marshalls solved the problem. I picked up this little crate with faux greens in it. Perfect!

While at Marshalls, I also picked up what could quite possibly be the cutest summer straws ever. There were $1.50 on clearance. Woo hoo! Can you see the little crabs????

And a trip to my local Marshalls wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Dollar Store, which is right next door. They already have autumn items out. Yes, I picked up two pumpkins in July. Please don't judge me.

Jeanine

3 comments

It's been scorching here the last few days. I'm not complaining (because I know what's right around the corner), but the heat does nothing for my creativity. Last night it got a touch cooler and I was able to make a few more French match boxes.

I picked up these little boxes from Hobby Lobby. They are slightly smaller than actual match boxes from the Dollar Store. I used French book paper and these great religious images.

I also whipped up some new tags for my Etsy shop. Found this wonderful image on Pinterest.

Another great Hobby Lobby find are these blank enamel tags. I used some rub-ons that I had in my craft room to make these two. Both are available in my Etsy shop.

And remember a few weeks ago when I said I was going to try and make my own rub-on transfers using a YouTube technique? Turns out I don't have to. Turns out Michael's sells something called Smash Paper. You can use it to create your own rub-ons, printing right from your computer. Woo hoo!

Jeanine