Okio B Designs

We spent much of our weekend, cleaning the yard and taking the boys into Manhattan, so I didn't have time to devote to any projects. And the boys are off from school this week, so I'm sure I'll have even less time for crafting but here are a few things I worked on, picked up and have plans for.

I picked up this pretty spring wreath at a garage sale literally a stone's throw from our house. They had some great vintage seltzer bottles I would have loved to grab but for $28 and $30, I had to pass them up. This wreath was just $2 so I, of course, grabbed it!

This is actually the second time I've made over these candle holders - also a garage sale find (from last year). First I used chalk paint on them and they just sat and sat in our garage. I dusted them off this past week and decided to re-paint them black. I love the design and details, but not sure where to hang them in the house. They might end up in my Etsy shop.

And this is one of my projects for the week. Yet another garage sale find that took a serious beating over the winter. I forgot to take it in and well, you can see what the elements did to it. So it needs a fresh coat of paint and some spring touches.

And for some exciting news: my sister Kathy from Creative Home Expressions has a new weekly blog series called "the Artist Behind the Etsy" and guess who is her first guest?! That's right: me! You can check it out here.

Jeanine

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I picked up a vintage metal bulb planter at a local garage sale last summer. I wanted to give it a quick makeover and a new purpose: a photo holder.

I didn't think to take a before picture - boo! This is a side view so you can see that it is indeed a bulb planter.

I started by giving it a few coats of white spray paint. Once the paint was dry, I used my hot glue gun to add some grungy clips to each side of the tool.

I also added some vintage French book paper to the bottom.

I love that I can hang photos from either side and it's skinny enough to fit on teeny tiny shelves or other spaces.

Jeanine

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I was able to get some spray painting in this weekend. Yay! First up was this bunny that I picked up at a garage sale about a year ago.

I wasn't jazzed about the original coloring so I gave it a quick makeover with a few coats of white spray paint. Here's the after:

I'm loving it much more now! It's amazing what a few coats of paint and some tea-stained seam binding can do.

Fresh, clean and very shabby chic!

And to think she almost ended up in my garage sale pile.

Jeanine

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I stopped into our local thrift store this morning and spent a whopping $2.50. It doesn't seem fair considering the cuteness I found:

Aren't these little wood place setters adorable? I got 6 of them. I originally bought them to redo as shelf sitters but the more I look at them, the more I like them for Easter.

You know me, I never met a Mason jar I didn't like. I also picked up this chipboard star. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. Thinking it calls for some vintage sheet music. We shall see.

Not bad for $2.50, right?!

Jeanine

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After two disappointing trips to two different Goodwill stores yesterday morning, I settled for a little painting using Mason jars I already had.

I used some Annie Sloan chalk paint in Louis Blue, which is the perfect pastel hue for this Pinterest-inspired makeover.

I gave them an Easter touch with some faux moss and egg soaps - both of which can easily be switched out if I feel like adding candles or summer decor at a later date.

I hand-stamped a bunny image onto a mini tag, distressed it a bit and then tied it on with some baker's twine. I love how the brown/white twine complements the blue jar. I also used sand paper on each jar to make the wording stand out.

So even though my Goodwill visits yielded nothing new and exciting, it motivated me to make good use of stuff I already had!

Jeanine

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It seems spring has finally sprung in my neck of the woods. After a kind of freaky snow/slush mess yesterday, we have beautiful blue skies today and our yard is slowly waking up!