Find Inspiration & Encouragement
to customize your house to feel like home
to nurture your creativity & artistic growth
to find new favorites & never stop growing
Blog
Original Art
TCe Podcast
Most Recent Posts
crinkled seam binding ribbon & the book of trees
I love how one little bit of inspiration can lead me down a creative rabbit trail. Such was the case with the "Book of Circles" tutorial offered by Rachel of The Travelling Bookbinder. Right away,...
yard clean-up begins
One of the things I love about this house and this neighborhood is the mature landscaping. There are no scrawny saplings or yards covered only by a patchwork of newly-laid sod. Everything is...
sleep week with Marlow pillow
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Marlow. As always, all opinions and words expressed are honest and my own. Did you know it's Sleep Week? I had to give the Sleep Week founders a quizzical...
ironstone cake stands | the holy grail of antique ironstone
Jeff and I were planning to work on the hall trim on his day off a couple of weeks ago, but the weather was rainy and cold and it was not the best day to set up a miter saw on the driveway. On top...
french doors for the studio
I have been looking forward to having doors on my studio since I was able to move in and use the room once the hardwood floors were finished. This room is fairly isolated from the rest of the...
picture ledges & drying racks
One of the things I'm asked about most when I share pictures of my studio (this one and my previous one in Minnesota) is the picture ledges I use as drying shelves and to hold pigment bottles and...
Feels Like Home
Marian’s new book on customizing your home is
now available!
Miss Mustard Seed’s YouTube
This channel shows a progression of my business from my early years of painting and refinishing furniture and dealing antiques to my current passions of art, painting, and design. I just love all things creative and I love encouraging and inspiring other to discover and use their creative gifts.
Free Art Classes
While most of the world was under stay-at-home orders in the Spring of 2020, I connected with my online community by offering live art classes every Friday for a few weeks. It was such a pick-me-up for me each week! I received wonderful feedback from the class participants who joined me live or have taken the classes since, so I decided to put them into an online course format and offer them for free. Sign up and learn to paint with oils in nine classes that cover everything from making a color chart to painting a grazing cow…
Recipes, projects, and decorating ideas for Spring
Marian’s Home Tours
Maryland Home
_____
We just moved into our new-to-us 1970 brick rambler in Maryland in September 2022.
Latest Posts by Topic
All Things Home
_____
yard clean-up begins
One of the things I love about this house and this neighborhood is the mature landscaping. There are no scrawny saplings or yards covered only by a patchwork of newly-laid sod. Everything is established and adds to the charm and beauty of this neighborhood. For...
Artistic Endeavors
_____
crinkled seam binding ribbon & the book of trees
I love how one little bit of inspiration can lead me down a creative rabbit trail. Such was the case with the "Book of Circles" tutorial offered by Rachel of The Travelling Bookbinder. Right away, I knew I wanted to make a little book with some of my antique papers. ...
Creative Business
_____
feels like home book launch team
Thank you so much for all of the enthusiasm and support for my new book, Feels Like Home! Writing a book is such a long process and you never know how it will be received, but the feedback I've been hearing on the sneak peeks and previews have been so positive and...
Furniture Makeovers
_____
my French dining room chairs
If you've followed me for while (even through this most recent move out of our MN home), you know that I'm pretty game to sell just about anything. I can't tell you how many times Jeff has come home to an empty space where a piece of furniture once sat. He's gotten...
Slice of Life
_____
overwhelm & order
Yesterday, I worked on the things on my daily list to get done (I try to limit it to three big things, which you can read about HERE), but then I found myself shuffling around, a little lost at what to do. There is just so much to do. Do I paint more? Do I clean? ...
Tutorials
I love learning and sharing what I’ve learned with others. Since 2009, I’ve been writing and filming tutorials on everything from furniture refinishing and slipcovers to woodworking and crochet. What would you like to learn to do today?
Try Something New
Refinishing Furniture
_____
Fine Art
_____
Upholstery
_____
Knitting & Crochet
_____
Sewing
_____
