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Favorite Finds

All Things Home

antique german wardrobe

Before I share the wardrobe, I have to confess that I have been completely distracted by my obsession with my upcoming trip to France and Italy.  I very rarely use the word obsessed about anything, but it’s true.  I have been engrossed, consumed, and beset with all things having to do with this trip.  It’s where my daydreams drift and what I’m reading about and the topic of my phone calls and what I’m thinking about when I’m shopping or cooking or painting.  The future beyond the trip is just a small blip on my radar right now.  Everything else is about creative workshops in Barga and leather shopping in Florence and museums in Paris. So, you have to just give me some latitude… I do have something non-trip related to share today, though.  Remember the antique German wardrobe I found at Gold Rush a couple of weeks ago?  Well,

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All Things Home

cleaning an antique grain sack

I recently bought an antique German grain sack off of .  As an antique textile junkie and a lover of German things, I have been drawn to them for years and I’ve actually bought and sold a few after reworking them into projects.  Intact, ornate grain sacks from the 1800’s are rare and therefore expensive, so I usually just admire them and leave it at that.  Well, I finally had a specific project I wanted to use one for, so I bit the bullet and bought one that was really special. I felt a little better about the splurge, because I bought one that has painted detail on two sides.  Most of them just have stenciling/hand painting on one side.  Of course, the side with the design is the feature and what makes the grain sack valuable.  Without that, it’s really just a dirty old sack. With the hand painting,

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All Things Home

Gold Rush 2018

This weekend is the big antique event in this corner of the world – Gold Rush!  It’s an antique market that sets up in the entire town of Oronoco, MN and at the Rochester Fair Grounds.  I went last year, but it was raining, so I only experienced a small fraction of the event in Oronoco.  I did get to shop at the Rochester Fair Grounds venue, though, since most of that is indoors.  That’s where I bought this piece last year… This year, I was able to get a friend to watch the boys and I met up with another friend (a Gold Rush veteran) to do some antiquing. The weather was nice this year (or at least not raining), so I was able to see a lot more and get a better feel for the event.  Like most antique markets, this one is a mixed bag.  There is

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All Things Home

repainting the primitive blue cabinet

The primitive blue hutch has been one of my favorite pieces of furniture for several years, but it is a little too primitive for my current home.  The shape is simple enough, so I think it has more to do with the color and distressed, worn paint.  I have been debating painting it for months and I finally did it! Here is how it looked originally… And how it looks now… I know the blue paint on the cabinet looks like it’s old, but it had been repainted before I acquired it (I could see the roller marks) and I repainted it when I brought it home (to tone down the blue a little bit.)  All of that to say I wouldn’t have painted it if the paint was original. The new coat of paint is Shutter Gray mixed with some Lucketts Green and Linen MMS Milk Paint.  It made

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All Things Home

Finds from my old PA honey holes

One thing I wanted to do when I went back to PA to visit my parents was visit some of my favorite antique stores.  I have found some nice things in Minnesota, but I really missed the antiquing back east.  No, that’s too general.   I really missed my stores – the ones that were on my regular route.  I knew many of the vendors and which booths were routinely my favorite and I was never skunked. So, my mom, Jenn, and I hit a few of my favorite places and I found some awesome goodies.  Unfortunately, I didn’t find the biggies that were on my list, like a mirror for the dining room, but I found one of my favorite things in spades – ironstone. As you may know, I love ironstone and have been collecting it as well as buying and selling it for many years.  Thousands and thousands

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All Things Home

a new love for dip pens & other found art supplies

I have found a new favorite thing…  dip pens.  Yes, they are completely impractical by modern standards and you have to get used to the rhythm of stopping to dip your pen every couple of lines, but there is something about the scratching sound on the paper and the grace of the delicate nibs that captivate me. I recently bought the D Leonardt & Co Drawing & Mapping set and it comes with a nice wooden nib holder, a small tin for storing nibs, and five nibs made for drawing and mapping (as opposed to calligraphy nibs.) It’s a great set and I’m hooked.  Now, I’m on the hunt for antique dip pens, inkwells, and nibs. I actually had an antique inkwell with a sterling lid that belonged to my great-grandmother.  I didn’t know it was a inkwell until I started searching for antique ones on Etsy and eBay.  I

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All Things Home

antique finds from cannon falls

I decided it was finally time to start exploring my local area a bit more in search of new-to-me antique honey holes.  I’ve been so busy with the house and the kids and just trying to establish a routine in our new city, that I haven’t been outside of the bubble of Rochester very many times.  I haven’t even done a lot of exploring within that bubble, but have stuck to a few places I know. I found myself missing my antique spots in PA and the days away from my workspace.  It’s nice to step away and get some inspirations, new ideas, and maybe a few new finds for my house. A couple of weeks ago, I went to Stewartville and found a couple of antique shops to mill around in.  I have a list of things I’m looking for, like a large gilded mirror for the dining room,

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All Things Home

Junk Bonanza Buys

Oh man, oh man!  If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve spent the last day and a half at Junk Bonanza in Shakopee, MN and I am pooped!  It was so much fun, though, and such a great event.  I took lots of pictures and I’ll tell you all about it next week. Today, though, I’ll just share the things that I bought.  I couldn’t be around all of those amazing antiques and not buy anything! I know this will come as a huge shock to everyone who knows me even a little bit, but I bought some ironstone.  I found three pitchers, including this large one with a pretty handle and fluting… …and two milk pitchers.  Milk pitchers are one of my favorite things, so I pick them up if ever I find them at a good price.  The pitcher above was $65 and the milk pitchers

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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.

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