Okio B Designs

I started putting out some Halloween decor earlier this week. Nevermind that it was 90 degrees. A girl's gonna do what a girl's gonna do. You might remember these painted wine bottles from last year. I'm still loving their haunting Halloween look. This is on our front porch.

This doormat is from Pottery Barn. Not super happy as it ripped when I was taking it out of the packaging. And now it's sold out. Grrr...Can you see where it is or have I camouflauged it well?

Speaking of not being supper happy, I came to find out today that PicMonkey is no longer free. Seriously. You now have to sign up for a membership just to get a 7 day free trial. I'm sure some hardcore, money-making blogs don't mind, but for my little blog, I'm not ready to be shelling out any money. Sooooo...I found a nice FREE alternative in Ribbet.

Back to Halloween...I'm doing an Alice in Wonderland theme in our tea room/she-shed this year. I picked up this lantern at Goodwill, gave it a few spritzes of white spray paint and added some tiny Alice pieces.

I'm still on the hunt for more things Alice, but so far I'm loving how it's turning out.

Have you started decorating for Halloween yet?

Jeanine

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Just sharing a few more autumn touches about the house. The message board is from Joann Fabric ($14). I love creating different messages on it, but I'm probably going to keep this one up for a bit as it captures everything I love about autumn.

This toolbox is an upcycle of an upcycle. I had painted it pink and added some French touches when I kept it in our bathroom. This time I just gave it a few coats of white spray paint and dressed it up for the kitchen using some faux plants and wood cutting boards.

And my theme for our tea-room/she-shed this year is: Alice in Wonderland! I'm still playing around with it, but so far I'm loving the framed Alice sheet music and the Alice tags I found on Pinterest. Not sure if you can see it, but Hatter's hat is indeed there! Stay tuned as this one is a work in progress.

Jeanine

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I know autumn doesn't officially start until later this month, but it's been beautifully brisk here the last few days and that has me in an autumn state-of-mind.

So, of course, once my boys went back to school, I started working on some autumn-inspired projects. First up was this tarnished metal cake stand from our local thrift store. All it needed was a few coats of orange spray paint, Dollar Store pumpkins and some Scrabble letters.

This corner of my kitchen is one of my favorites. I love playing off the white/off-white palette. The ceramic cup is from World Market and is displaying a bunch of my French script candles, while the ceramic pumpkin was a Home Goods find. It's filled with scented mini pumpkins.

Another old scale in the kitchen that I dressed up for autumn.

I filled some "apothecary jars" with more mini pumpkins and potpurri, and some faux cotton branches from Hobby Lobby. I made the "jars" using glass candleholders and vases fom the Dollar Store. I used the same technique I used when I made a redneck wine glass a few years ago: simply use some E6000 glue and glue the vase to the top of the candleholder. Super easy!

My front porch is still a work in progress, but here's where I am so far. I have big plans for this piece for Halloween, but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself.

How are you decorating for autumn?

Jeanine

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This is not one of my boys' favorite vignettes of mine.

School starts here in 2 weeks and they are not amused by how I dressed up my little vintage desk.

I, on the other hand, think it's adorable. I used a vintage Thermos, microscope, Scrabble letters and message board to "celebrate" the upcoming school year.

Sorry boys!

Jeanine

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Why yes, I have started some Halloween projects. If you've been following me for a while, you probably know that Halloween is my favorite "holiday." And it seems every August, I start to get the itch to create some creepy decor.

This tray was actually inspired by one I saw on Pinterest and was super easy to make. First, I grabbed the metal tray from our local thrift store. Next, I gave it a few coats of black spray paint - front and back. I knew I wanted to use this great vintage skull image (from The Graphics Fairy), but I felt it was missing a little something.

Since I didn't have any scrapbook paper - which the original pinner used for hers, I simply printed the skull onto some aged French script paper. I used Mod Podge to glue it to the front of the tray. I gave it another coat to seal it in.

I'm debating on whether or not to add some Scrabble letters or other creepy touches or just leave it as is. Luckily, I have almost 2 months to figure that out!

Jeanine

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It was chilly and rainy here yesterday. Yes, in July! Since we were trapped in the house most of the day, I took advantage of the down time to make a new set of lavender jars.

I made some a few months ago and they are sitting on my kitchen window ledge. This time I used some aged-looking French script paper.

I ripped the pieces to make the paper look older and used some Distressed Ink on the edges. I finished up by tying on some twine and filling the jars with lavender. They smell so good!

When the sun finally came out, I was able to take some pics on items headed to my vintage Etsy shop - like these rusty old mattress springs.

And these Christmas tree tins.

And this vintage children's book.

You can visit my vintage shop here. In the meantime, I've got some Halloween projects in the works. Stay tuned!

Jeanine

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I scored this little plant table at a garage sale a couple of weeks ago. It was $3.

I finally got around to painting it this week. It was a bit hit and miss. I painted it white. Then I tried the Mod Podge method to add a French graphic. Fail - I peeled it right off. Then I tried to do a farmhouse stripe design. Fail - I smudged the paint. Sooooo....

I went with a simple black chalk paint top. And you know what? I actually like it. A lot.

Jeanine

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I spied this cabinet on the curb back in April. Yes, April.

It sat and sat and sat in our garage. I was waiting on the weather and going back and forth on what color to paint it. Finally, I decided on gray, and this past weekend - with a little help from the hubby - I finally gave it the makeover I had been envisioning.

The girlfriend who helped load it in the car could not believe it was the same cabinet. I have to say I'm pretty pleased with it myself.

It took several coats (and cans!) of Krylon's Granite spray paint. Again, my hubby assisted quite a bit with the spraying.

The finishing touch was the Milk & Cream Co., which I stenciled on using black paint. The stencil is from the Knick of Time Etsy shop. I bought the stencil specifically for this project, although I have used it on tea towels as well.

Again, super happy with how this piece turned out. I was intimidated at first, but as I admire it on the porch, I know I chose the right color and stencil design.

Jeanine

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What do you do when you come home from a short vacay to Philadelphia?

You whip up some pretty jars using waterslide decal paper. Well, at least that is what I did. I saved these pretties a few weeks ago. One contained jar sauce and the other held jelly.

I gave each jar a few coats of white spray paint and some sanding. Then I printed out my images onto waterslide decal paper. If you're not familiar with the waterslide decal transfer method, it's super easy. Simply print your images onto the glossy side of the paper (no need to reverse or mirror-image). Give it 2-3 coats of clear spray paint to protect the image.

After the paint is dry, cut the image to the size you want and soak in a bowl of water. After a few minutes, the image will detach from the backing and you can easily affix it to your project. Easy peasy! P.S. The Union Jack image is from The Graphics Fairy and the French graphic I found online. I get my waterslide decal paper from eBay.

Jeanine

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My boys are officially off from school and you know what that means...

I won't have much time to craft or blog for the next 8 weeks. Still, I did find some time to make this easy July 4th banner. I simply used some vintage dictionary paper and Dafont's Ringmaster font.

I opened up a word document and typed each letter onto its own separate page. Then I took turns printing each one out on the dictionary paper. Punch some holes on each end of the paper, slide through some twine and voila! - instant July 4th banner.

This next project is a copycat. It came up in my Facebook feed and I believe the original poster was My Thrift Store Addiction. Hard to see but I used a wooden pants hanger. I glued strips of lace onto each end and hand-stamped the word herbs in the middle.

I snipped some fresh oregano from the garden and tied it with some twine to hang. For now I have it in our tea-room. Once I find a spot for it in our kitchen, it will be residing there.

In other news: I'm hoping to hit some garage sales this week. And BIG news: Hobby Lobby is finally coming to my neck of the woods!!!! Yes, Hobby Lobby is opening their first Long Island store next week. To say I'm excited would be an understatement.

Jeanine

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Our porch swing had definitely seen better days. It's one of our most favorite spots at home. We sit there at night, chatting and watching the cars drive by for hours.

We got it from Lowe's about 5 years ago (if not more!) and the white was dirty and dingy. No amount of scrubbing was making it sparkle. Even the pillows were looking a bit sad. So...

We gave it a makeover over the weekend. I say "we" because my husband actually did all of the work. He took it down, propped it up and worked the spray paint like magic. We kept the bottom cushion and I added the life preserver pillows (from Target).

It's like a brand new swing now! And it adds a nice pop of color to the porch. What do you think?

Jeanine

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Finally! Today the weather here finally cooperated. No more rain. No more 50 degrees. We had a solid day of warmth and it definitely put some pep into my step.

And since summer is right around the corner, I started adding some beachy touches to the house. This sweet little vignette on our tv table includes a blue Mason jar and Scrabble tiles. The starfish print is one I bought from Etsy a few years ago. I simply printed it out on some French script paper and added it to an Ikea frame.

Aren't these petite pillows the cutest? Another Etsy find. I believe the shop I purchased them from is called My Adobe Cottage. Sadly, I don't think she makes pillows anymore. I have them displayed in a vintage clam basket in the livingroom.

This one isn't quite beachy, but since it doesn't warrant its own post, I thought I'd include it. I whipped it up the other night. It felt good to break out the sewing machine and make a pillow. I used Osnaburg fabric and simply handstamped the numbers and London right onto the front. And, no, 1885 is not a significant date; I just liked the numbers. Hee hee hee.

Are you finally inspired for summer?

Jeanine

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Lately I feel like all of my projects are a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I'm still searching for something to get my creativity really flowing again.

I did find this cute bottle at the thrift store on Friday. It was pre-wired and ready to be hung. All I did was add the French label using some clear transfer paper.

Then I finally broke out this great stencil I purchased from Angie from Knick of Time's Etsy shop to make a new tea towel for my kitchen. I swear I am the world's worst stenciler. If someone has any tips on how to keep my hand steady and how to secure the stencil while painting it - I'm all ears! I tried tape but somehow it still moved.

These beauties I found at a garage sale over the weekend.

My boys will be off from school soon, so I'm in panic mode a little because once summer comes I will have even less time to craft.

Jeanine

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We took advantage of the holiday weekend and planned a 5-day trip to Colonial Williamsburg.

I'm a huge history buff, so I love, love, loved it!

My kids, of course, went crazy over Busch Gardens and Water Country USA.

My husband was just happy to have a beer in his hand.

The weather was great, the scenery was beautiful and the food was delicious. We would definitely go back!

Jeanine

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What do you do when in the midst of spring cleaning you come across a random block of wood? You turn it into a petite farmhouse sign!

And that's just what I did. I gave it a few coats of white spray paint and then glued on some Tim Holtz cardstock letters (after painting them black). Sand a bit for a more aged look...