Okio B Designs

I've had this cake dome (I'm not sure what the official name of it is) for a few years now. It was a Home Goods find many moons ago and was banished to the basement after I tired of its boring brownish color.

After walking by it 100 times over the last couple of weeks, I decided to give it a fresh makeover.

It's amazing what a few coats of white spray paint can do! I've fallen back in love with it and am thrilled with its new shabby look.

I'm using it to hold some pretty vintage plates now. Isn't shopping the house great?!

Jeanine

No comments

I can't take credit for this project. It's a copycat of one I saw on Pinterest. Once I saw it, I knew, finally, what I could do with all of the random baseballs in our garage.

My boys played baseball briefly, but somehow we had all of these balls hanging around. I started by breaking out some red, white and blue acrylic paint. I painted the colors randomly on each ball and added some stars to a few of them.

I'm not the best painter as you can see. My stars are a little smudgie. Still, I love how they came out and how they look in my little red wagon. And they are perfect for our 4th of July decorations.

Jeanine

No comments

While at our local thrift store last week, I spied these wood pieces in their craft area. I wasn't sure what they were for or what I was going to do with them, but I grabbed them anyway.

And here they are now! I turned them into coasters.

I started by giving each piece a few coats of white spray paint. Then I printed out the words onto vinyl transfer paper using my Cricut. I carefully peeled and stuck them to the wood, and then went over them with another coat of white spray paint.

Once that was dry, I broke out the grey paint and did a few more coats over the wood and sticker letters. I waited and waited for that to dry and then I carefully peeled the stickers off. I followed up with a quick coat of Mod Podge, and they were done!

For roughly $1-$2, I have some cute new coasters that I'm sure we'll be using all summer!

Jeanine

No comments

Some white-washed, French script wood clothes pins for this lovely White Wednesday. Cheers!

Jeanine

1 comments

I am NOT the best sign maker. I am horrible at stenciling. I do not have a steady hand. Most of my signs have been epic fails. So when I saw Live Craft Love's post on making a reverse canvas sign, I was intrigued. (Click the link above to go to her post.)

I bought a rinky-dink canvas from Target for $2. First step was to remove the canvas from the wood frame - including all of the staples and glue. Check. Then you stain the wood. Check. The next step I kind of did on my own. I used my Cricut (Signatures Font cartridge) to print out my hi on vinyl paper.

I just had to peel and stick to get it on the canvas. Once that was done, I trimmed off the excess canvas and stapled it to the back of the wood. Seriously, how easy was that?! And now I have a cute, new decorative wood sign for the house.

Be sure to check out Live Craft Love's post for the full tutorial. I can't wait to make more of these adorable little signs.

Jeanine

1 comments

This year is the first time in years that we won't be away for July 4th. So I'm kind of going to town on the decorations.

This is our cozy Cape Cod and beloved porch. I love decorating it each season/holiday. The burlap banner is from Walmart. I grabbed it last year and I'm surprised at how sturdy it's been. I have one hanging on each side of the porch.

We painted the porch swing red last year and it really works well with the decorations.

This cabinet was a roadside find. Scroll through previous posts and you can see its before and after. It's the perfect size to display some of our festive goodies.

The little red wagon is from Hobby Lobby. I'm using it to display some red, white and blue candles. I think it's my favorite piece on the porch.

More reds and some Dollar Store pieces. I'm still adding more pieces, but so far I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out.

Jeanine

1 comments

Inspired by my friend, Susan from Homeroad, I whipped up some quickie, patriotic, mini pillows last night.

We were away for Memorial Day weekend, so I had a bunch of Dollar Store mini flags that were just sitting around. With Flag Day and the 4th of July right around the corner, I decided to make a couple of these adorable mini pillows.

First, I ironed the flags to make them flat. Then I carefully removed the staples holding them onto their sticks. I chose Osnaburg fabric for the backing and cut it to size. A few stitches from the sewing machine and some stuffing, and voila! - mini American flag pillows!

Jeanine

No comments

Today I'm sharing a quick makeover I gave to this thrift store wooden "frame." I wish I had taken a before picture so you could see the full transformation. It was a really ugly turquoise hue. So first things first, I gave it a few coats of white spray paint.

Once the paint was dry, I gave it a good sanding. Next I added some vintage sheet music to the back. It's hard to see, but that is a touch of French book paper on the bottom.

I plan on using it as a shadowbox of sorts, so I added some random embellished match boxes and a small bottle. I'm still playing around with it, but overall I'm loving the new look!

Jeanine

1 comments

Now that spring is in full swing, I've been busy doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that. So many random projects going on at one time and I'm loving every minute of it!

First up is this wood cheese board. This is the before. Yuck! I gave it a few coats of white spray paint. I found a great French image on The Graphics Fairy and added it using waterslide decal paper. Above is the after. Can you believe it's the same piece?

I added a French touch to some Dollar Store erasers while I was on a conference call during the week. You know how those can go...Yawn! I simply broke out my Staz On ink and got to stamping using different French rubber stamps I have.

I also dressed up these petite French laundry hangers too. It's hard to tell, but I added some Carte Postale wording to them.

And then I painted an old chalkboard, attached some twine with chalk and added it to my tea room/she-shed for a whimsical touch.

Last but not least, I added some tied clothes pins to this ceramic berry dish ala Miss Mustard Seed.

All this plus my day jobs, being a mom & wife and exercising. No wonder I'm pooped!

Jeanine

No comments

I picked up these Pier 1 wood charger plates from our local thrift store months ago. I finally got around to spray painting them white two weekends ago. And then they sat for a few days...until today.

After sanding them down a little for a more aged look, I broke out some Waterslide Decal Paper and searched up some of my favorite French bee graphics.

If you've never used Waterslide Decal Paper, you basically print out your image on the sheet (I used inkjet paper because that is the type of printer I have, but they also make it for laser printers). I was able to get both of my images onto one sheet. Before using it, you'll need to give it a few coats of clear spray paint to preserve the image.

Once that's dry, simply add to a bowl of water (be sure to cut your image to size first!) and in a matter of seconds, your image will separate from the backing and be ready to use. Add it to your piece and smooth out any air bubbles. It needs to be wet to adhere. Once it's dry, it's basically like a clear sticker.

Here is one of them on my nightstand. It's exactly the look I was going for! You can find Waterslide Decal Paper on eBay and Amazon.

Jeanine

No comments

It's almost here! The weather forecast is for spring-like weather this weekend and I'm ecstatic. Perfect timing too for this sweet spring sign I whipped up earlier this week.

I used a frame that I found at our local thrift store and...paper! Yup, paper. I did not stencil those letters or use my Cricut. After I painted the frame white, I simply found a font I liked, spelled out my phrase and printed it out on plain white paper.

I cut it to fit my frame, broke out the Mod Podge and just glued it on. Seriously, it doesn't get any easier than that. And the best part is you can't even tell it's paper. Well it fooled my husband and two boys anyway.

I'm looking forward to starting some new projects this weekend so stay tuned!

Jeanine

2 comments

I know I've been a little MIA lately. I wish I had some fabulous reason - like I jetted off to Paris or that we won the lotto. Sadly, the reason is a lot less interesting. It's the weather.

I'm not a winter girl and this year's weather has certainly put me in a funk. I've had zero inspiration and zero energy. I've long suspected that I have SAD (seasonal affective disorder). I'm trying to shake it, but when they are forecasting snow - AGAIN! - it's hard to get back into your groove.

So where've I been? Home, working the day jobs, being a mom, posting on Instagram and perusing Pinterest. I did manage to put together this cute little Paris postcard wood plaque today. I found the Dreams Factory image on The Graphics Fairy. I simply printed it out on waterslide decal paper and added it to a wood plaque I had painted months ago.

And I put together his bucket of faux cotton for our livingroom. Not a lot, I know, but it felt good to do something creative. I'm hoping things will warm up in the next couple of weeks and I can get back to doing something I truly love. In the meantime, I'll just keep reminding myself: winter can't last forever...

Jeanine

1 comments

Run - don't walk! - to your nearest Dollar Store for these cute little buckets. I mean, seriously, how adorable are they? I picked up two which I plan on using on our porch or patio this spring.

And in other news, for some reasons your comments are not coming through on Blogger. I've been trying to figure out what the issue is to no avail. Until then, feel free to leave a comment on my Facebook page, Instagram or Twitter. Or shoot me an email at jeanineb4etsy(at)yahoo(dotcom).

Jeanine

2 comments

Have you seen Yoplait's new Oui Yogurts at your local supermarket?! I was drawn to the glass jars they are being sold in and since I've been on a health kick, I picked up two of their "French-style" yogurts.

Good yogurt, but even better jars to use for your craft projects! Goodbye Key Lime Pie and hello mini nest jars for Easter. I used two of my favorite French images (from the Graphics Fairy) and printed them onto clear label paper.

Simply peel and stick, and add whatever embellishments suit your fancy. I tied on some tea-stained seam binding for mine. Add some faux Dollar Store moss and petite eggs, and you have an instant Easter decoration.

I have mine on the kitchen windowsill.

Jeanine

2 comments

If you love the look of school metal lockers as much as I do, head to your local Walmart and pick these babies up! (Mine had them on clearance, so a set of 2 cost me $8.) Once you get them home, use a hot glue gun and enamel tags to add a fresh touch! This project literally took 5 minutes and I love the look. Fun and functional for our family room.

Jeanine