Okio B Designs

Happy new year everyone! Now that all of our Christmas stuff is (sadly) packed away, I'm gearing up for, yup you guessed it, Valentine's Day. I'm starting with these cute little peat pots:

I gave each a coat of white paint to start. Then I added my love - or what's really Ikea's version of Washi tape. I picked it up a couple of weeks ago during our last trip there. It comes in a four pack with some other really pretty designs and colors.

After adding the tape, I broke out my hot glue gun and added some vintage lace and a button to each pot. I tucked in some metal stars (coincidentally also from Ikea) that I made a couple of years ago.

I also used the tape for my love tin. I have a bunch of these white tins leftover from my son's communion. They are a little smaller than an Altoid tin, but still perfect for embellishing.

I already have these cuties about the house.

Jeanine

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Anyone else dreading New Year's? Well, not so much New Year's, but more the pressure to make resolutions that seem to go out the window by Valentine's Day?! For 2015, I'm going to try really, really hard to stick to my resolutions. I don't have many:

Resolution #1: Stop buying things we don't need and put that money to work in a high yield savings account. No, my kids don't need another Lego set. And, no I don't really need that Tory Burch bag. Still, I realize I'm human, so I'm giving myself a $100 a month budget to buy myself and the boys some goodies. That's it: $100 and once it's gone, I'm going to have to wait until the next month. You hear that J. Crew Factory???? That also includes Michael's, Hobby Lobby and A.C. Moore.

Resolution #2: Stop worrying so much. I'm a Virgo, so it's in my nature, I'm afraid. I'm really hoping to take it down a notch for 2015. I need to realize there are just some things (and people) I can't change and no amount of worrying is going to fix certain problems. I'm going to go with the flow and be easy like Sunday morning.

Resolution #3: Get rid of the clutter and get back to being organized. Again, being a Virgo, we tend to be organized to a fault. Well, I used to be. Then I had a husband...and two boys. My house isn't quite hoarders-buried-alive, but there are days I feel like it is. Not anymore. I'm making a valiant effort to keep everything in its place, toss what we don't need and file what we do. I don't want to have to dig through the linen closet to find my flat iron. I want to know exactly where it is when I need it. Same goes with my car keys, cellphone charger, school spelling words list, etc.

Those are my top 3 resolutions anyway. Wish me luck! What resolutions are you making and sticking with for 2015?

*All images courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.*

Jeanine

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Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Now that things have finally settled down here, I was able to get in some crafting last night while the boys had a playdate.

I've been swooning over this Vintage with Laces button box for weeks now. While going through our Christmas decorations, I came across a little wood box and thought it would be perfect for a copycat. Here's my version:

I used vintage sheet music on the top of and inside the box. I also added a pretty burlap flower and vintage lace around the cover using my hot glue gun.

I used this fabulous French image from The Graphics Fairy like Julia from Vintage with Laces did for the inside of the cover.

I also found this great vintage buttons image to add to the inside with my buttons.

Thanks for the inspiration, Julia!

Jeanine

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My, my how time is flying. Three more days until Christmas Eve. I haven't been able to take a breather so I'm just sharing some vintage Christmas card images.

I bought a disc of the images from eBay a few years ago. Way before Etsy became all the rage.

I use them in a lot of my Christmas decorating and crafts.

Some of them appear to be pretty old. Overall I'd date them all pre-1970s.

Feel free to download them for your personal use too!

Jeanine

3 comments

I can't believe Christmas is just days away. I am scrambling to wrap presents, plan my Christmas eve menu and attend my boys' class parties.

Even though I closed my Etsy shop for the holidays on Monday, I've been stealing some time to create some new items that I'll be adding after Christmas.

I found these great vintage religious images and thought they'd make for some pretty tags.

I added some tiny rhinestones and vintage lace, and then distressed the edges. I'll be adding these to my shop after Christmas.

Jeanine

3 comments

What can you do with some leftover bottle brush trees and miniature deer? If you're like me and already made enough "snow globes" using them, here's another idea.

Mini Xmas peat pots! I had already painted the pots white and basically forgot about them. I broke them out over the weekend for this quick project.

I folded some vintage lace over the rims and then tucked in some Poly-Fil to be my "snow." Then I just added my trees and deer, along with some vintage sheet music scraps. One also holds a fabric joy tag I did a few weeks ago.