Okio B Designs

An upcycled violin ornament.

My 9 year old plays the viola and he picked this up at a garage sale over the summer. I painted it white, added some glass glitter and a hand-stamped noel tag. Waiting to be added to our Christmas tree.

Happy White Wednesday!

Jeanine

3 comments

When I saw these mugs at the Dollar store last week, the wheels immediately started turning.

I broke out some faux moss (from a previous Dollar store trip), tea-stained seam binding and some of my hand-stamped French candles.

Add them altogether and you get a quick Xmas touch to add to a bookcase, shelf or, in my case, a staircase.

It adds just the right touch of holiday-appropriate colors: white, red and green.

And it's a super affordable way to add to your Xmas decor!

Jeanine

6 comments

I picked up this little apothecary jar at a church fair last weekend. When I saw it, I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it.

Voila! I added white and gold buttons galore. I never realized just how many buttons I've accumulated through the years! There are probably anywhere from 750-1,000 buttons in there.

I also added an I heart Paris bracelet and faux string of pearls to the mix.

The tea-stained seam binding was the finishing touch. So excited that now I have a pretty way to display my buttons!

Jeanine

7 comments

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...at Walmart. I stopped in there yesterday and grabbed some of their skeleton key ornaments ($1.97 each). You can see the before picture on my Instagram - kind of a gunmetal color. I decided to give them a Frenchie makeover.

I gave each a couple of coats of spray paint. It was actually pretty mild here today, so I was able to get some outdoor painting in.

While the paint was drying, I made some pendants using some French dictionary paper. One reads joyeux and the other noel. I also hand-stamped an enamel tag with a festive star.

Because I removed the thread used to hang the keys before painting them, I had to find something else to hang them with. Some vintage lace to the rescue!

I then used some grungy red safety pins to attach my pendants and tag to the lace.

I can't wait to hang these for the holidays! What's nice is I can switch out the pendants to use them for other holidays or if I decide to keep them displayed all year.

Happy White Wednesday!

Jeanine

4 comments

I always pick up cinnamon sticks for the holiday season. We love adding them to a pot of water and simmering them all day, so the delicious aroma fills the house. This year, I bought a little extra so I could do this...

My hubby cut them into little pieces for me. I then tied them in little bundles using holiday-ish fabric - you might remember the fabric from the church fair I went to a couple of weeks ago.

I added a little faux snow to the bottom of the jar, and a vintage-inspired noel flashcard I made last week.

This could make for a pretty holiday centerpiece or you could display it on a bookcase or counter-top. Sadly, I'm packing it away until the end of the month when I'll officially start my Xmas decorating. Can't wait!

Jeanine

4 comments

Remember that little wood desk I picked up last weekend?! Here's the before:

And here's the after:

I almost threw in the towel for this project. First, I tried to spray paint it white. No good. Then I used some old chalk paint that got a little gloopy. No good.

Yesterday I picked up some fresh chalk paint and it covered my mess perfectly! I used Omni Gel to add this great French graphic (courtesy of the Graphics Fairy) to the front. I'm so glad I didn't have to toss it and that I have a pretty place to store some of my fabric pieces.

Jeanine