Okio B Designs

Yes, I have already starting making Easter goodies. Mainly because Easter is early this year (March 31st), and I have to get things into my Etsy shop. Since I was in a bunny mood, I decided to make two tea towels using this great image from The Graphics Fairy.

I buy these towels at Walmart. I think you get something like 6 towels for $2.99. I keep them on hand whenever the tea towel mood strikes me.

I printed my image off onto Target transfer paper (don't forget to mirror the image before printing). I'm not a big fan of the Target brand. I only buy it when I'm in a pinch. Problem is, when you are removing the paper backing, it rips and you are stuck scrapping it off and I sometimes end up taking the transfer off with it. Sigh! Lesson learned: generic brands are NOT always a good bargain.

Anywho, I did have some scrapping issues on one of these towels (it's the one on the bottom) and then I noticed a black smudge on the top one. I'll still put them out for Easter because I'm not picky. Of course one of my boys is sure to point out the black smudge.

Jeanine

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I picked up these petite ornate frames at our new Goodwill on Monday. They measure about 5" for the big one and 3" for the little one. They were a little tarnished but I recognized the potential and snatched them up for about $6 for both.

Here is the before. Don't you love the detailing?! And here they are after a couple of coats of spray paint (yes, I braved the cold just so I could spray paint these!).

I wasn't sure whether to leave them empty or add some pictures. While I'm deciding, I added these two lovely religious photos from The Graphics Fairy.

It's amazing what a couple of coats of paint can do.

What do you think? Keep them empty or keep the religious photos?

Jeanine

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Another chilly day here. A bit of snow is still on the ground. The ground hog in this neck of the woods saw his shadow on Saturday and you know what that means: 6 more weeks of winter. Sigh! I'm so ready for spring.

I'm thinking about warmer days, blue skies and all of the projects I have waiting for spray paint or chalk paint. Too cold to do them.

Dreaming of my toes in the sand, running around outside with the boys and wearing cute shorts. Wishing I could pack my bulky sweaters away - at least until next year.

Oh yes, I am ready for spring!

Jeanine

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I picked up this little wood plaque a few months ago at the local church thrift store. Last night I gave it a few coats of white paint and decided to make a sweet little French bird plaque with it:

I used some waterslide decal paper again. I had used it a couple of weeks ago on a terrarium and love the look. I used this great French bird image which is floating all around Pinterest.

The plaque is small - maybe 5x8, so I printed a 4x6 version of the image to use. Once I had the image sitting just right, I added some natural raffia ribbon by just tying it on the one side. Not sure if you can see, but there is also a pink rhinestone just beneath the bird's feet.

Super simple and now I have a sweet little plaque for my guest room.

Jeanine

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Who couldn't use a little love?

Just playing around with some fabric and stamps, and a small embroidery hoop for Valentine's Day. Glue on a Scrabble letter and you have a sweet little decoration.

Jeanine

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Finally! The sun is shining and the temperature is mild here today. Woo hoo! It instantly changes my mood and gets me back into crafting mode. Last night I decided to turn this vintage sugar bowl into a pretty pin cushion.

I always seem to have a ton of fabric remnants floating around and this one reminds me of spring so I immediately grabbed it. The sugar bowl is something my hubby found at an estate sale last year. Last Easter I had it dressed up with faux Dollar Store moss and some eggs, but I decided to give it a more practical makeover since I'm always looking for my pins.

I used a plate to cut a fabric circle. Then I started looping in my thread - leaving enough at the ends so I could pull it together to form my pin cushion.

Then I filled it with Polyfil and tied my two thread ends together to close it up. A little hot glue around the bottom of the fabric and I'm good to go! And since spring is on my mind (obviously!), I added a little spring bird tag. This literally took me all of 10 minutes and now I have a sweet new place to stick my pins.

Jeanine

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Anyone else ready for spring? I'm counting down the days after a horribly cold week here. Peat pots always make me think of warmer days, so I embellished a couple over the weekend while we were staying warm indoors.

First I gave them a coat of white acrylic paint. Then I ran some tissue paper through a printer to get these great French graphics.

I used Mod Podge to adhere them to each pot. I love how the tissue paper seems to disappear and you're left with a beautiful image.

I finished them off with a simple faux pearl and stuffed them with faux Dollar Store moss. They'll be ready for some spring touches in just a few weeks!

Jeanine

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I was super excited to find out that a brand new Goodwill opened up just 2 minutes from my house! The ribbon-cutting was on Wednesday, and I popped in on Thursday. It was nice and clean but way too early for any real treasures. A lot of Target cast-offs but I did manage to find this sweet pedestal bowl:

Not sure if you can see the etching on the sides.

I couldn't get a really great shot because of the glare but this one is a little better. Here it is now with some candy hearts for Valentine's Day.

I also picked up these great vintage salt and pepper glass shakers.

Still trying to decide on whether or not to keep them or list them in my Etsy shop. Decisions, decisions...As for the store, I give it another week or two before people start making more donations and I'll be back to find more goodies! It's going to be hard not to stop in there every week.

Jeanine

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Brrrrr...it's quite freezing here. On days like this, I like to do a little online shopping since I'm not a big fan of braving the cold. I'm still sticking with my new year's resolution of not buying stuff we don't need. However, since I play Santa each year, these were some post Xmas gifts I bought for myself.

Don't you love this little metal mail pouch from Farmhouse Decor Shop?! For now I have it hanging in the diningroom until I find a proper spot for it.

I was so sad when I missed the twine and scissors deal on Decor Steals a couple of weeks ago. As luck would have it, Lucketts had it too, so I was able to scoop it up afterall!

These are some finds from my Mom's local Goodwill. I believe the square cloche is a butter dish from Home Goods. I'm going to use it as, well, a cloche. The little salt shaker looked so sad on its lonesome, so I grabbed it for 59 cents. I'm going to add some lace and make it more pretty.

I have my eye on a few other online treasures...

Jeanine

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It's snowing here and boy am I glad I was able to get in some spray painting on Saturday before the temperature dropped! This is another salvaged piece from my late mother-in-law's house. She had some dried flowers in there but I took it a part and gave it a quick makeover.

The frame was originally gold but I gave it two coats of flat white spray paint. While that was drying, I used a bit of osnaburg fabric and this great French bee image that is floating all around Pinterest (thankfully my sister Kathy from Creative Home Expressions pinned it!).

I printed the image onto transfer paper and simply ironed it onto my fabric. Then I hot glued the entire fabric insert (glued onto a piece of cardboard) back into the frame. I didn't even put the glass back in.

I have it propped up in our guest room for now with a collection of crowns from Decor Steals. Wish I would have centered the crown transfer more with the top of the frame but I can live with it. I love how the osnaburg gives it a burlap look.

Jeanine

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There is just something about these petite cups and saucers that scream Valentine's Day to me. They were my mother-in-law's. We saved them from the house after the hurricane and my bad, they've been sitting in our garage for weeks.

I broke them out today and played around with them a bit. They are just too sweet to put away.

She had them on a metal stand which is a bit rusty now. I'm trying to figure out what color to paint it. Gold maybe?

Some cupcakes with your tea? Of course these are candles from Home Goods - bought them a couple of years ago. But they do look delish.

And a proper lady always has a hanky to dab the sides of her mouth.

I found some vintage ones at a church thrift store.

Yes, some hot tea sounds good right about now.

Jeanine

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Sweet and simple for Valentine's Day. Romeo & Juliet book paper, stamps, key and red tea-stained seam binding. Heart image from the Graphics Fairy. Down with another winter cold and all I could muster up. =)

Jeanine

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I've been super curious about using waterslide decal paper in my crafts. As luck would have it, my boys needed it for their Cub Scout derby cars. I found some on eBay and put aside a few sheets for them and for myself. I tried it last night and I can tell you, I'm already hooked!

I used this thrift store terrarium that I picked up last week. It was black but I gave it some coats of white paint over the weekend.

To do the waterslide method, you, of course need the special paper. I bought inkjet sheets for mine. I printed this wonderful image from the Graphics Fairy onto the sheet. No need to reverse or mirror the image for this paper.

I gave it a couple of coats of clear spray paint to seal in the image. Once your spray paint is dry, fill a shallow bowl with water. Put your image in for 1 minute. Mine curled at first so I had to hold it down. I also wasn't sure how the decal came off so I started trying to peel the white paper. Nope, the decal is a see-through film so that's what you're looking to separate from the paper backing.

Peel the film from the backing - be careful because it curls rather quickly. Add it to your surface and use a sponge to work out the air bubbles. That took a little time and my corners kept folding under but I carefully unfolded them so everything sat flush.

I have to say I love this method more than the Mod Podge method which I just haven't been able to master. I have a few more sheets left and I can't wait to brainstorm some new places to use them. Email me if you need any more tips!

Linking to The Graphics Fairy: Brag Monday.

Jeanine

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Another dreary weekend in our neck of the woods. Not very conducive in the inspiration department. I broke out the last of my Dollar Store match boxes and gave them a quick Valentine's Day spin using some vintage Romeo & Juliet book paper.

My mother would kill me if she saw how I tear apart books but sometimes I just can't resist.

I cut each page to fit the size of the match boxes. Then I used some regular craft glue - the kind my boys use at school - and glued the pages onto each box.

Then I added some random heart stamps, je t'aime, lace and a button. Simple and sweet. My favorite is the one with the pierrot image from the Graphics Fairy. I've used it in several Valentine's Day projects as you probably noticed.

Rain again for tomorrow. I'm hoping something, anything will get my creative juices flowing again.

Jeanine

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Once again drawing inspiration from Pinterest for this little project. I had bought a couple of paper mache-ish top hats before the holidays. I never got around to decorating them for Xmas. Plan B: use them for Valentine's Day!

I only have this one finished so far. It's the bigger of the two I bought. I used some vintage sheet music for the top and brim. Wow, what a pain that was!

Then I covered the sheet music in Mod Podge and just sprinkled on some glitter which is hard to see in the photos - but it's there! The lace is actually from a shirt I bought 5 years ago from Newport News. It was sheer and lacey and something I hadn't worn in, well, 5 years. I snipped off some of the bottom and tied it on.

Then I added the LOVE lettering and cupid image (from Etsy). They are not glued on, just kind of tucked in so I can reuse my hat over and over again. I mean, Easter is early this year!

I'm still working on the smaller one - hopefully I can finish it over the weekend.

Jeanine

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I picked up this petite wood tray last week at our local church thrift store. Since it was a bit mild here over the weekend, I was able to give it a couple of coats of white spray paint. I really struggled trying to figure out what I wanted to do with it.

I didn't want to Mod Podge an image on the sides since they are so skinny. Instead, I opted for the faux French enamel number tag. I think it fits quite nicely on the front. Simple.

I added some vintage sheet music to the bottom of the tray. Not sure if you can see it tucked in there under the clothes pins.

Then I just added some random pieces to make a sweet French vignette of sorts. One of my embellished bottles. A religious pendant on the clothes pins. A faux pocket watch. French address tags (image from The Graphics Fairy). Old dice and a spool with French book paper.

It's on a corner of the kitchen counter that is always begging for something pretty to be added. Since it's so petite, it fits quite nicely and really doesn't take up much space.

Jeanine