Okio B Designs

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