Okio B Designs

Away went the Halloween decorations and out came the Xmas decorations this weekend. No, just kidding! Although I did hear Xmas music on the radio already, which was perfect for my trio of upcycled Santas.

Well, the Santas themselves aren't quite upcycled. The pieces I used to make them are: a Pringles canister, an old Hershey's tin and a random tin we had floating around the house.

I really love how this guy turned out. First I printed out the image onto sheet music. Then I glued it around my Hershey's tin. Once that was dry, I added some pink, yes pink, tea-stained seam binding around the lid. I used some to tie a bow to add my rusty jingle bells. I like using non-traditional holiday colors these days. Red and green just don't seem to cut it for me anymore.

This tin is actually from a Spongebob card game my 6 year old. I was shocked when he said I could have it. Before he changed his mind, I quickly gave it a few coats of white spray paint to start. I glued in some vintage book paper. The Santa and reindeer are from The Graphics Fairy. Not sure if you can see, but I finished it up with German glass glitter in random spots and lace around the edges.

And here we have my second ever Pringles makeover. The first one I did had a Frenchy touch. This one includes another great Santa image from The Graphics Fairy. I covered the canister with sheet music and then added my Santa image. This one has blue and white tea-stained seam binding.

And Xmas spelled out with Scrabble letters. The letters are actually glued onto the seam binding. I'm shocked they're staying on so well! I finished this one up with some German glass glitter as well. I can't wait to put these guys out later this month.

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

Jeanine

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Hope everyone survived the madness of Halloween. If I never see another piece of candy again, I would be quite happy! I'm still getting over a nasty sinus infection so I didn't have much time to craft this week. I did, however, finish up this wood tray that I started painting last week.

I had picked up the tray at our local church thrift store. It was an ugly brown so first thing was to give it a few coats of white spray paint. Then I was stuck. I wanted to keep it simple and wasn't in the mood to Mod Podge.

With the French stencil I received from Etsy last week, the seller included a little Fleur de Lis stencil. Voila! Problem solved. I broke out a Sharpie, yes a Sharpie, and stenciled it on the middle part of the tray.

I sanded parts of the tray and a bit of the Fleur de Lis to give it a more aged look. I'm loving it's clean, simple look and am looking forward to using it during the holidays.

Jeanine

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Image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

And a happy birthday to my sister Kathy!

Jeanine

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Ikea is one of my favorite stores. Every time I go there, I stock up on these pretty red-striped grain sack-ish dish towels. I've been wanting to use them for a pillow for quite some time, and this weekend I finally took the plunge.

After measuring and sizing for my pillow insert (20"), I started by sewing three of the four sides together. I then turned it right-side out and broke out some black fabric paint.

I just purchased this pretty French stencil from Etsy and it was the perfect size for my pillow. It features a wreath design too but I was feeling a little lazy and just stenciled the wording and fleur de lis.

It took about a half hour to stencil and then I had to let the paint dry. I made one little oopsie on the S in Paris. You might not be able to see it, but it's there. Once the paint was dry, I closed it up.

This is the first time I've made such a large pillow and used a pillow insert. I really love the look and hope to make a few more this winter.

Linking to: Between Naps on the Porch: Met Monday and A Stroll Through Life.

Jeanine

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I'm calling this my accidental Santa pillow. Yup, I never intended to make a pillow yesterday.

I was working on some decorative bowl filler sacks using some vintage fabric. I got this great ticking from Etsy earlier in the week from one of my favorite shops - Kitteridge Mercantile. Anywho, I had this long piece and after I had sewed the sides and bottom, I realized it was too long for a sack.

Long story short, I ended up adding some filling and closing up the side that was still open. So now I had a plain pillow. I went through my crafting stash and couldn't find anything I liked to add to the front. I spied one tiny piece of iron-on transfer paper and printed off this Santa image.

Problem was, I had already stuffed the pillow. Could I iron-on the transfer when it wasn't completely flat? The answer to that question is yes! It was definitely tricky but as you can see, my image transferred on just fine - albeit, it's a little light. I added a grungy bell and 25 tag on a red safety pin to finish it up.

And that is the story of my accidental Santa pillow!

Jeanine

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I've completed the first of this year's handmade holiday gifts. My mom loves to read, so I wanted to make her a pretty tote that she could bring back and forth with her to the library.

Truth be told, I'm not sure if she's a Jane Austen fan, but it was the perfect image to use (get it at The Graphics Fairy!). I printed it out on iron-on transfer paper (my last sheet to be exact) and added it to the front of the tote.

I'd like to say I made the canvas flower embellishment. Alas, I did not. I picked it up at AC Moore last week. I did add the red button though for a touch of color. I hot-glued both to the top of tote.

It's a great size for books (look closely, I have some peeking out of the top) and has a velcro closure. I hope she loves it and gets a lot of use out it. But ssssssh...it's one of her Xmas gifts.

Jeanine