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Favorite Finds

All Things Home

the antique display case makeover

A large part of finding “good stuff” at antique stores and junk shops, is taking the time to really look through each booth and, in some cases, to dig around.  I know when I hit antique stores that I will usually end up needing a good hand-washing and a change of clothes when I’m done with the place! This cool, really old wood and glass display case was literally buried.  It had another cabinet stacked on top and stuff on both sides and leaning against the front.  I had to move things to even get a partial look at it, but the sneak peek I got of the old wood piqued my curiosity. It was really dirty, but I could look past that and see it was a gem and a great price.  Unfortunately, the glass on the front door cracked as the employees of the shop freed it from everything

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All Things Home

the whole house makeover & painted ironstone

When I was out shopping a couple of weeks ago, I came across this sweet little birdhouse… I almost passed it up, because the colors were a little drab, but I decided to give it a chance.  I decided to paint it in MMS Milk Paint Grain Sack with Boxwood on the “grass”.  Kriste loves little projects like this, so I asked her to paint it while I was working on something else. For some contrast on the roof, I picked Trophy and decided to add little stick windows on the dormers to match the stick details around the door and lower windows.  We just collected some from outside and hot-glued them on. As a finishing touch, we beefed up the moss “bushes” with some reindeer moss hot-glued into place. It’s now such a sweet storybook cottage birdhouse. The little stick porch is my favorite part.   See?  A whole

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All Things Home

antique haul for the Lucketts Spring Market

One thing that I love about what I do and being “the boss” is that I can (most of the time) chose to do the kind of work that suits my mood on any particular day.  Last Friday, I was in a get-out-of-the-studio mood, so I decided to do some more shopping for the upcoming Lucketts Spring Market (May 20-22, 2016.) My mom and I set out for a newly opened store about 25 minutes away and hit another local shop on the way.  We ended up with a pretty nice haul! I have been wanting to do more videos lately, but keep putting it off.  It’s hard for me to take pictures of everything after these big shopping trips, so a video is an easy way to share it with you and I can also talk through my thought process for why I buy what I buy… My hair is in pretty

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All Things Home

all the pretty things

There have been so many things coming into the studio lately that it’s been impossible for me to photograph each one, so I thought I would go around the “Lucketts staging area” and snap a few pictures. I found this old lineberry cart on Craigslist, of all places!  We just cleaned it up and applied a coat of Hemp Oil to bring out the richness of the wood. You can also see some of the beautiful baskets I’ve been collecting here and there. A reader sold me her collection of vintage bakeware… …and I finally found an old chicken feeder to use for displaying random plates and lids. I also acquired an awesome blue scale… …a rolling wire rack, chippy painted basket, a little wooden stool… …lots of glass cloches in varying sizes… …this cool antique fan… …wooden spindles, buckets, rolling carts and stoneware bowls… …rolling pins, mashers, wooden spoons,

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All Things Home

the green double wash basin

I know my fellow antique hunters will understand when I say “you know it when you find it.” I’ve been hunting for a double wash basin for about a year and, while I have found several of them, I never found one that was just right. Just the right price, just the right color, right shape, right everything. Well, I spotted this one and I felt that rush that happens when “you know it.” It’s just the prettiest shade of green and I love the detail on the front of the basins, the angle of the legs, the little casters… I even like the little spigots! …and, of course, the zinc basins. I decided to roll the wash basin across our parking lot to have a little photo shoot in front of the old mill that is basically condemned, but makes an awesome backdrop for me!   All of the accessories on

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All Things Home

back at the house & JAK Camera Strap Giveaway

There has been a lot of activity at the studio and things have been pretty quiet at my house.  I did rearrange the family room a few weeks ago, but otherwise, my house is just my house, which is a big change from how it was a couple of years ago. If I was at this stage of getting ready for Lucketts, I would have things piled up in my dining room, pieces in every corner of my basement and I would be hauling furniture up to my family room for quick photo shoots before I rearranged the furniture back in place by the end of the day. I realize I’m enjoying my house much more as just a home, not a place of business AND a home. Anyway, after living with the new arrangement for a couple of weeks, I am totally sold on it.  I still have a lot

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All Things Home

the zinc-topped table goes home…

I’m starting to wonder what I posted about before I had all of these furniture makeovers… Today, we’ll take a break from the before & afters and I’ll tell a little story about a table with rickety, uneven legs. He had one thing that made him really special, though – something that kept him from being a run-of-the-mill old table.  He wore a zinc top that had a perfect patina. The problem was not one of his legs was the same size as another, so he sat at a wonky angle and, even though I tried to sell this table, no one wanted him. So, I took him back to the studio and gave him a little TLC.  I sealed the chipping, flaking paint with Tough Coat… …evened out the legs and added little casters to the bottom… You can read the full makeover post HERE.   He looked so much

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All Things Home

ironstone brush boxes & grandma Shoemaker’s pitcher

It’s no secret that I love ironstone.  It’s my favorite thing to collect and I am totally honed in on it when I’m out shopping for antiques. I get excited at just about any piece of ironstone, but uncommon pieces especially get my heart pumping just a little faster.  Such is the case with brush boxes.  I own a couple and have sold a few, but they aren’t very easy to find and usually they are a bit pricey ($50-150). They are long, narrow boxes with lids that would have originally come in a “wash set” that contained a wash basin, pitcher, chamberpot, slop bucket, etc.  The brush box would hold toothbrushes and perhaps razors. I found the most amazing brush box when Kriste and I were out shopping earlier this week and the price was definitely right!  I think it was $18 or something crazy like that.  I spotted it and impulsively reached

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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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