four things | eighty
I hope all of my American friends had a nice July 4th! We kept the day very low-key, but it was nice to have a long, slow weekend, and I enjoyed watching some of the festivities in clips online. I have spent years in the past going to see fireworks displays, but I find I […]
telling stories
I’ve been telling stories here on this blog since 2009, but they’ve mostly been stories about furniture, about my business, my work, and my creative endeavors. About refinishing floors as a novice, about my first magazine feature, about the exciting firsts for my business that unfolded as I shared online. As this blog continues to […]
Move Slow & Make Things | Giveaway No. 3
Welcome to giveaway number three leading up to the September 1 launch of my new book, Move Slow & Make Things. This giveaway is in collaboration with Erin Callahan of Garden & Guild. I’ve been following Erin on Instagram and have purchased several heirloom garden tools and classic gardening books from her since learning about […]
four things | seventy nine
Oh my word, it is hot as the blazes this week. I often joke that I was made for Norway. (Although I have never been there, and the ancestry information I’ve found so far has all led back to England.) I certainly wasn’t made for anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line. I’m fair-skinned, have a […]
Peg & Awl | Small Business Spotlight
There are times when I have fleeting thoughts of quitting the online space. I think about how much time is sucked into the rabbit hole of Instagram or YouTube when I could be doing something more meaningful and productive… But then I think about the beautiful people I’ve met, dear friends I have made, and […]
proof of life & productivity
One of the little tidbits I jotted down in my phone and then in my commonplace notebook (a place where I collect quotes, lyrics, words, poems, thoughts, and such) recently was this: “A clean barn has no oxen.” I am going to confess that, as a pastor’s wife, I didn’t know that little nugget of […]
Recent Blog Posts
four things | eighty
I hope all of my American friends had a nice July 4th! We kept the day very low-key, but it was nice to have a long, slow weekend, and I enjoyed watching some of the festivities in clips online. I have spent years in the past going to see fireworks displays, but I find I don’t really want to sit in traffic and fight the crowds on a hot summer night. I’d rather stay at home and listen to the
telling stories
I’ve been telling stories here on this blog since 2009, but they’ve mostly been stories about furniture, about my business, my work, and my creative endeavors. About refinishing floors as a novice, about my first magazine feature, about the exciting firsts for my business that unfolded as I shared online. As this blog continues to morph and I continue to evolve as an artist and a person, I have decided to start sharing some of my personal stories here. These
Move Slow & Make Things | Giveaway No. 3
Welcome to giveaway number three leading up to the September 1 launch of my new book, Move Slow & Make Things. This giveaway is in collaboration with Erin Callahan of Garden & Guild. I’ve been following Erin on Instagram and have purchased several heirloom garden tools and classic gardening books from her since learning about her small shop. Since I reference many gardening stories, analogies, and parallels in the book, it seemed fitting to have a giveaway centered around gardening
four things | seventy nine
Oh my word, it is hot as the blazes this week. I often joke that I was made for Norway. (Although I have never been there, and the ancestry information I’ve found so far has all led back to England.) I certainly wasn’t made for anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line. I’m fair-skinned, have a sun allergy, turn beet red in the heat, and feel nauseous if I can’t cool off. So, I’m getting my gardening and pool chores done
Peg & Awl | Small Business Spotlight
There are times when I have fleeting thoughts of quitting the online space. I think about how much time is sucked into the rabbit hole of Instagram or YouTube when I could be doing something more meaningful and productive… But then I think about the beautiful people I’ve met, dear friends I have made, and endless encouragement and inspiration I have found from like-minded creatives and all-around awesome people. I know I would miss that community, and leaving social media
proof of life & productivity
One of the little tidbits I jotted down in my phone and then in my commonplace notebook (a place where I collect quotes, lyrics, words, poems, thoughts, and such) recently was this: “A clean barn has no oxen.” I am going to confess that, as a pastor’s wife, I didn’t know that little nugget of wisdom was directly from the Bible. Well, it is. It’s from Proverbs 14:4. When I heard it, though, it resonated with me right away.
dusting off the sewing machines…
It’s been a minute since I had my sewing machines out. I had to reacquaint myself with winding the bobbins and getting the needles properly threaded, but I slowly figured it out. The funny thing is that I needed to wear reading glasses over my contacts to thread the needles this time. As an aside, I started writing this blog when I was in my early thirties and both of my boys were in diapers. Now, they are in college,
four things | seventy eight
I realized once I started working on this post that I was chattier than I expected! I only posted twice on the blog this week and twice last week, and I think I’m feeling that! Writing and posting on this blog have been part of my creative process for over 15 years, and when I take that away, I miss the outlet. It’s like when you haven’t called your mom or a friend you usually speak to regularly, and then
Move Slow & Make Things | Giveaway No. 2
Welcome to giveaway number two leading up to the September 1 launch of my new book, Move Slow & Make Things. For this giveaway, I’ve partnered with Luxury Brands of America, a US distributor for fountain pens, inks, notebooks, and other fine writing supplies. They carry some of my favorite fountain pen brands, such as Platinum, Waldmann, and Benu. One of the themes I write about in Move Slow and Make Things is buying and using tools and materials that
Annabelle hydrangea update
If you’ve been following our landscaping projects over the past few years, you are probably somewhat familiar with the Annabelle hydrangeas I was determined to plant. I purchased Annabelle hydrangeas for our house in Minnesota on a whim at the grocery store for around $15/each, and they thrived. They were the best hydrangeas I ever had. Prolific bloomers, great for drying in the fall, and so beautiful. They were also pretty easy. I didn’t really do anything for them in
antique-inspired color charts
I’ve been making and selling color charts on linen for a few years. My first one was inspired by color charts found at an artist’s estate sale. I was so smitten with them when I first spotted them online – the colorful squares in oil framed by age-stained fabric – that I decided to make some of my own. I made small color studies on antique linen and hemp scraps, testing different ways to tape off the squares and apply
Live Painting at Lucketts
This post has been sitting in my drafts for weeks! I know some of you must have been losing sleep because I left you hanging about the Lucketts Spring Market. I will not torture you any longer. Here’s how the afternoon of painting went back in May… After my triumphant antique find and a morning of scurrying from shopping the Lucketts Spring Market to selling paintings, I settled into my space to do some live painting. I decided to do
four things | seventy seven
This week started with the loss of power from a storm. It wasn’t really the storm that knocked out the power, but the wall of wind that came right before the rain. It took out trees, limbs, power poles, and made a general mess of our yard and pool. Jeff had just finished cleaning up the curb, only to have it littered with leaves and branches again. Such is life with six mature maple trees! We put our generator to
Visiting Clarkson’s Farm
When Julia (my English friend and host when visiting the UK) and I discussed what we should do with our time in the Cotswolds, we frequently kicked around the possibility of visiting Jeremy Clarkson’s concerns – The Farmer’s Dog Pub and Diddly Squat Farm Shop. Both of us are fans of the show, and we were going to be right in that neck of the woods. Our only hesitation was the tourist attraction factor. Neither of us wanted to wait
Move Slow & Make Things | Giveaway No. 1
Welcome to the first of several Move Slow & Make Things giveaways! To celebrate the book and introduce the themes explored in these pages, we’re going to give away products and gift cards that highlight small creative businesses and showcase analog tools and materials that perfectly complement living a delightfully fulfilling creative life. We’re talking fountain pens, inks, journals, heirloom gardening tools, antique-inspired small-quantity clothing, handmade pottery, and more. I’m excited to partner with some of my favorite makers to
the notesbooks on my desk
I take a hybrid approach when it comes to running my life and organizing my thoughts. I like paper, pencils, and pens for writing down ideas, planning, and managing my day. While old-fashioned notebooks are my preference for most things, I rely heavily on a digital calendar and reminder alarms to make sure I don’t miss appointments, important deadlines, or even mundane weekly chores like putting the trash cans on the curb and changing the pool’s chemical cartridge. (Yes, despite
four things | seventy six
It’s been a full, exciting week. I’ve been walking each morning, caring for the garden beds, working on commissioned paintings, packing prints, and recording some test audiobook samples for Move Slow and Make Things. I’ve also been arranging some fun giveaways as we get closer to the launch, and this afternoon (Friday), I received my first advanced copy of the book! As an author, there are few things as thrilling as receiving the first copy of a book, holding in
Antiquing Jaunt
When my in-laws were visiting for Calvin’s graduation, I decided it would be a good opportunity to hit a few antique stores with my mother-in-law. She is happy to sit and read while I work on things, and over the years, she has helped with many sewing and slipcover projects during her visits, but we also enjoy going to antique stores together. She rarely buys anything, but she likes antiques and is good company. I needed to shop for frames
Move Slow & Make Things Preorder Print Bonus
In case you didn’t hear, my new book, Move Slow & Make Things, comes out September 1, 2026! We’re getting into the final weeks before the launch, so I’ll be releasing more preorder bonuses, running giveaways, and sharing more about it in the lead-up to the release date. Of course, I’m sharing the book because that’s part of my job as an author, but I’m also sharing it because I am so proud of this book. I loved writing it,
May Garden Notes | Part II
We had a gorgeous weekend, so Jeff and I both worked outside to get some more yard and garden projects done. Jeff has actually been working in the yard almost every day. He’s been a beast this spring! Since we made so much progress, I thought I would share one more update on the garden for May. One of the big projects Jeff took upon himself was edging and cleaning the curb. Our house is on a “peninsula”, so we
I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.
Now Available for Preorder
Move Slow & Make Things
A book about creativity, intention, and making things with care. Sign up to receive updates, preorder details, and exclusive bonus content.
From the Studio
Artful pieces for your home and everyday life.
From the Studio and Home
Shop the Feed
Recent Video
Spring Posts
Explore the Shop
Explore the Blog
Categories
More stories, inspiration, and creative ideas await
More from the Blog
From the very first coat of paint to custom cabinetry, Marian has been slowly transforming her 1970s split-level into a home filled with charm, character, and creative vision. Explore room-by-room updates, clever DIYs, and the stories woven into each renovation project. It’s a work in progress—and that’s part of the beauty.
In the Studio
Artistic Endeavors
telling stories
I’ve been telling stories here on this blog since 2009, but they’ve mostly been stories about furniture, about my business, my work, and my creative endeavors. About refinishing floors as a novice, about my first magazine feature, about the exciting firsts for my business that unfolded as I shared online. As this blog continues to morph and I continue to evolve as an artist and a person, I have decided to start sharing some of my personal stories here. These
Move Slow & Make Things | Giveaway No. 3
Welcome to giveaway number three leading up to the September 1 launch of my new book, Move Slow & Make Things. This giveaway is in collaboration with Erin Callahan of Garden & Guild. I’ve been following Erin on Instagram and have purchased several heirloom garden tools and classic gardening books from her since learning about her small shop. Since I reference many gardening stories, analogies, and parallels in the book, it seemed fitting to have a giveaway centered around gardening
Peg & Awl | Small Business Spotlight
There are times when I have fleeting thoughts of quitting the online space. I think about how much time is sucked into the rabbit hole of Instagram or YouTube when I could be doing something more meaningful and productive… But then I think about the beautiful people I’ve met, dear friends I have made, and endless encouragement and inspiration I have found from like-minded creatives and all-around awesome people. I know I would miss that community, and leaving social media
proof of life & productivity
One of the little tidbits I jotted down in my phone and then in my commonplace notebook (a place where I collect quotes, lyrics, words, poems, thoughts, and such) recently was this: “A clean barn has no oxen.” I am going to confess that, as a pastor’s wife, I didn’t know that little nugget of wisdom was directly from the Bible. Well, it is. It’s from Proverbs 14:4. When I heard it, though, it resonated with me right away.
Move Slow & Make Things | Giveaway No. 2
Welcome to giveaway number two leading up to the September 1 launch of my new book, Move Slow & Make Things. For this giveaway, I’ve partnered with Luxury Brands of America, a US distributor for fountain pens, inks, notebooks, and other fine writing supplies. They carry some of my favorite fountain pen brands, such as Platinum, Waldmann, and Benu. One of the themes I write about in Move Slow and Make Things is buying and using tools and materials that
antique-inspired color charts
I’ve been making and selling color charts on linen for a few years. My first one was inspired by color charts found at an artist’s estate sale. I was so smitten with them when I first spotted them online – the colorful squares in oil framed by age-stained fabric – that I decided to make some of my own. I made small color studies on antique linen and hemp scraps, testing different ways to tape off the squares and apply
Seasonal
Fall
tucking in the garden for winter
This is our fourth fall in this house, and I think we have finally figured out how to best deal with the leaves from the six large maple trees on our property. The first fall, we had just moved in and were completely overwhelmed by them. Our amazing neighbors jumped in and used their two riding mowers to help us out. Since then, Jeff (primarily) and I have been trying to figure out a system to stay on top of
simple, natural fall mantel | autumn decorating
In the very early years of my blogging career, I connected with Layla of the Lettered Cottage. I was smitten with her design aesthetic and eye for styling. We both wrote tutorials for HGTV.com (you can find mine HERE) and wrote and contributed photography for several of the same editors and magazines. We met at a few blog conferences over the years and even partnered on the very first Chapel Market hosted by her community in Alabama. As another fun
fall baking with Walmart
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Walmart and contains affiliate links. As always, all words and opinions expressed are honest and my own. As the chilly weather has started to show up more consistently, I find myself in the mood to do some baking. I actually really enjoy baking, but I don’t do it very often since I also like to eat baked goods! But, baking a dozen apple cinnamon muffins seemed like a pretty safe bit of fall baking
fall entertaining with Walmart
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Walmart. As always, all words and opinions expressed are honest and my own. Last week was the first week that felt like fall and it was glorious. I mourn that the pool has become a polar bear swimming experience, but that is about all I’ll miss about summer. I love it when cooler weather comes in and I can don my hoodies and slippers. I also love decorating during fall and winter perhaps more
outdoor fall entertaining with Walmart
Disclosure; This post is sponsored by . As always, all words and opinions expressed are honest and my own. I have partnered with many times over the years and I am excited to be working with them in our new home. An advantage to moving into a home in late September is that we are entering one of the most beautiful, outdoor-entertaining-friendly weather of the year. It’s usually pleasant outside, not too buggy, not too muggy, and nature starts to
Bavarian Pretzels (Bretzels) Recipe
For Christmas, I got a cookbook called . It’s an excellent book if you’re interested in learning about or improving your bread baking. As I read through it, I was surprised to see a recipe for German/Bavarian soft pretzels (bretzels.) These delicious soft pretzels spilled over the German border into France and were adopted by the region of Alsace. For those who don’t know, I’m a military brat who spent most of my childhood in Germany and soft pretzels were
at home
All Things Home
Move Slow & Make Things | Giveaway No. 3
Welcome to giveaway number three leading up to the September 1 launch of my new book, Move Slow & Make Things. This giveaway is in collaboration with Erin Callahan of Garden & Guild. I’ve been following Erin on Instagram and have purchased several heirloom garden tools and classic gardening books from her since learning about her small shop. Since I reference many gardening stories, analogies, and parallels in the book, it seemed fitting to have a giveaway centered around gardening
dusting off the sewing machines…
It’s been a minute since I had my sewing machines out. I had to reacquaint myself with winding the bobbins and getting the needles properly threaded, but I slowly figured it out. The funny thing is that I needed to wear reading glasses over my contacts to thread the needles this time. As an aside, I started writing this blog when I was in my early thirties and both of my boys were in diapers. Now, they are in college,
Annabelle hydrangea update
If you’ve been following our landscaping projects over the past few years, you are probably somewhat familiar with the Annabelle hydrangeas I was determined to plant. I purchased Annabelle hydrangeas for our house in Minnesota on a whim at the grocery store for around $15/each, and they thrived. They were the best hydrangeas I ever had. Prolific bloomers, great for drying in the fall, and so beautiful. They were also pretty easy. I didn’t really do anything for them in
Antiquing Jaunt
When my in-laws were visiting for Calvin’s graduation, I decided it would be a good opportunity to hit a few antique stores with my mother-in-law. She is happy to sit and read while I work on things, and over the years, she has helped with many sewing and slipcover projects during her visits, but we also enjoy going to antique stores together. She rarely buys anything, but she likes antiques and is good company. I needed to shop for frames
May Garden Notes | Part II
We had a gorgeous weekend, so Jeff and I both worked outside to get some more yard and garden projects done. Jeff has actually been working in the yard almost every day. He’s been a beast this spring! Since we made so much progress, I thought I would share one more update on the garden for May. One of the big projects Jeff took upon himself was edging and cleaning the curb. Our house is on a “peninsula”, so we
May Garden Notes
If you’re interested in following along with how our garden and landscaping efforts are coming along, you can read about my April Garden Notes HERE. Over the past couple of years, I shared more frequent gardening updates here on the blog throughout the spring and summer, but this year has been more about maintenance so far. I would like to plant some perennials to fill in some of the beds, but we’ve mostly focused our attention on the details of
Everyday Moments
A Slice of Life
four things | eighty
I hope all of my American friends had a nice July 4th! We kept the day very low-key, but it was nice to have a long, slow weekend, and I enjoyed watching some of the festivities in clips online. I have spent years in the past going to see fireworks displays, but I find I don’t really want to sit in traffic and fight the crowds on a hot summer night. I’d rather stay at home and listen to the
four things | seventy nine
Oh my word, it is hot as the blazes this week. I often joke that I was made for Norway. (Although I have never been there, and the ancestry information I’ve found so far has all led back to England.) I certainly wasn’t made for anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line. I’m fair-skinned, have a sun allergy, turn beet red in the heat, and feel nauseous if I can’t cool off. So, I’m getting my gardening and pool chores done
proof of life & productivity
One of the little tidbits I jotted down in my phone and then in my commonplace notebook (a place where I collect quotes, lyrics, words, poems, thoughts, and such) recently was this: “A clean barn has no oxen.” I am going to confess that, as a pastor’s wife, I didn’t know that little nugget of wisdom was directly from the Bible. Well, it is. It’s from Proverbs 14:4. When I heard it, though, it resonated with me right away.
four things | seventy eight
I realized once I started working on this post that I was chattier than I expected! I only posted twice on the blog this week and twice last week, and I think I’m feeling that! Writing and posting on this blog have been part of my creative process for over 15 years, and when I take that away, I miss the outlet. It’s like when you haven’t called your mom or a friend you usually speak to regularly, and then
four things | seventy seven
This week started with the loss of power from a storm. It wasn’t really the storm that knocked out the power, but the wall of wind that came right before the rain. It took out trees, limbs, power poles, and made a general mess of our yard and pool. Jeff had just finished cleaning up the curb, only to have it littered with leaves and branches again. Such is life with six mature maple trees! We put our generator to
Visiting Clarkson’s Farm
When Julia (my English friend and host when visiting the UK) and I discussed what we should do with our time in the Cotswolds, we frequently kicked around the possibility of visiting Jeremy Clarkson’s concerns – The Farmer’s Dog Pub and Diddly Squat Farm Shop. Both of us are fans of the show, and we were going to be right in that neck of the woods. Our only hesitation was the tourist attraction factor. Neither of us wanted to wait
Explore painting at your own pace—no experience needed
Free Art Classes for the Creative at Heart
While the world slowed down in the spring of 2020, I found connection and creativity by offering live art classes each Friday—just a simple way to share something joyful during uncertain times. What began as a small spark turned into something truly special. After receiving such kind and encouraging feedback, I decided to turn those lessons into a free online course. Inside, you’ll find nine beginner-friendly oil painting classes covering everything from mixing colors to painting a sweet grazing cow. It’s a gentle, joy-filled place to start (or continue) your painting journey.