Okio B Designs

I hope my mom isn't reading today's post! I actually started planning some of the holiday gifts that I want to make this year. First up is one for my mom:

These ceramic Dollar Store mugs are just great. My mom is a big coffee drinker and she likes to alternate her pretty mugs each morning. I'm hoping she likes these!

I hand-stamped Mode de Paris in black ink on the bottom of each one. Once that dried, I gave both mugs a coat of poly spray to seal the ink. I was careful not to get any on the inside though - that would be kind of gross and maybe not safe?!

Simple and sweet I think.

And while I was at it, I made a Mode de Paris soap dish which you can find in my Etsy shop. I love the look of the white dish, black ink and Frenchy words for this one. Might try a blue or green one next!

Linking to Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesday.

Jeanine

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What is it about plain ol' craft paper that gives everything the perfect rustic touch? Since I've got Xmas on the brain, I wanted to do a holiday book stack:

First I measured my craft paper to wrap around my books. Then I hand-stamped the Xmas sheet music to the bindings part. Can you see my little oopsie?

After wrapping each book, I printed out this great Xmas image from the Graphics Fairy for the front book. I'm not sure if you can tell but there is some German glass glitter on the front as well. Lastly, I wrapped them together with some twine.

I think these will look lovely in my bookcase for the holidays!

Linking to The Graphics Fairy: Brag Monday and Between Naps on the Porch: Met Monday.

Jeanine

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Here we are 2 weeks away from Halloween and I've got Xmas on the brain. First it was Home Goods' fault and now I blame it all on Pottery Barn. I just got their new holiday catalog and it's definitely put me in an Xmas mood.

I picked up a few of these battery-operated candles from AC Moore earlier this week with the intent of using them for Halloween. But after flipping through the PB catalog, I decided to make some for Xmas too.

I hand-stamped some Xmas holiday music onto plain ol' craft paper. Then I used some dots to adhere it to my candle. I tied some twine around the top with some jingle bells for a rustic look. Super easy and the candles were only $2.99 at AC Moore - although I'm sure the Christmas Tree Shoppes will have them cheaper as we get closer to the holidays.

I can't wait to put a few of these in our front windows in December!

Jeanine

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We popped into our favorite Home Goods over the weekend looking for something we could use as an island in our new kitchen. Of course they had their Xmas goodies out already and I spied this neat picture frame with wooden letters spelling out peace. Since I couldn't bring myself to buy any Xmas items yet, I did the next best thing:

I made my own!

Unfortunately, I didn't have the letters to spell out peace, so this morning I headed over to AC Moore (they have redeemed themselves with me after correcting the coupon fiasco many people - including me! - encountered with them) and you know what? They were out of those letters too!

Plan B was to spell out the word joy, which is exactly what I did here. These letters were pre-painted black - saving me the time and effort of painting them - and were only 29 cents each. Yuppers, 29 cents each! The frame was $3.50 and I had a 40 percent off coupon for it. The red border was $1.50 I think and I had the sheet music.

I simply added my sheet music and put the glass behind the sheet music so the frame would still stay thick but the letters would stick out. I used glue dots to attach each letter.

Seriously super easy. The Home Goods one was $9.99. I got them beat at approximately $3.47 before tax!

Jeanine

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I picked up this little black basket at a garage sale yesterday morning. I gave it a quick Halloween makeover last night. Everything can easily be removed so I can use it for Thanksgiving, Xmas, etc. too:

I added a few crumpled pieces of orange tissue paper to the bottom - which came from a thrift store - and then added the sheet that is just slightly coming up from the top. My 4 year old wanted to add the skeletons which we got from Home Goods last year. Could have sworn I had 4 of them but we could only locate three - lol!

I tied on some orange tea-stained seam binding as a finishing touch. We hung it on the porch. I will be adding more photos of our porch Halloween decor this week.

Once again, a quick, easy and cheap project! My favorite kind!

Jeanine

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Americana primitives seems to be the theme for this morning's garage sale finds:

The wooden pilgrim will look cute hanging on our front door next month. The little ladder was just too adorable to resist - although I have no idea where I'm putting it yet. The little globe is designated for the 6 year old's room - after his father tightens up some loose screws. And lastly, the little black basket is the perfect Halloween find! I think I have some orange tissue paper I can add to it with some random Halloween goodies.

Not bad for $4!

Jeanine