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Favorite Finds

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for the love of antique portraits…

One thing I want more of in our next home is antique portraits (or studies of new old portraits.)  I have always loved how antique portraits look in a home, so when I first started working with oil paints about five years ago, I imagined painting portraits to hang in my house.  It took me a while to get there, but I eventually did a master study of Manet’s Morisot and I was hooked.  She wasn’t perfect and certainly not as masterful as Manet’s version, but she was an original oil portrait painting hanging in my house.  I even had an antique frame that fit her perfectly. I then had a chance to work with French Art Shop and ordered an antique portrait of a young boy.  I always thought that antique oil portraits were wildly expensive (and they can be), but they can also be a reasonable investment.  Something

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Antiques

epic antique book haul & other goodies

Well, I am having a grand time hitting some of my old favorite antique stores and some new-to-me ones as well.  I haven’t had a chance to photograph everything and, besides, it’s a little hard to do photoshoots that look and feel like “me” when I’m not in my own house.  But, I wanted to share a few things I found… I headed up to Carlisle, PA last week to visit a couple of my favorite antique stores – Bedford Street Antiques and Stonehouse Road Antiques.  They were two of my favorites five years ago and they will remain securely on that list. This is just a cool old building across the street in Carlisle. This store is always packed with goodies and has a pretty nice turnover.  Some booths look the same year after year, but there are others that are very dynamic.  I had to laugh when I

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Antiques

antique umbrellas & canes | favorite things

I’m sure I’m not the only one who gets an idea about something she wants in her house and dives head-first into making it happen.  Such is the case for me with having an umbrella/cane stand in my foyer and then, naturally, filling it with antique umbrellas and canes.  I don’t have a foyer or an antique stand for umbrellas and canes, but that hasn’t stopped me from picking up a few when I’m out and about and seeing them at reasonable prices. So, my mom and I have been hitting up some of my favorite antique malls and stores around south central PA, western Maryland, and the Northern VA area.  (You can find a post about my favorite “honey holes” from when I lived in this area five years ago HERE and HERE.)  It’s been fun to connect with some of my old buddies from the antique community and

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Antiques

buffalo china | bargain finds

Several years ago, I received a tip from one of my local friends in the antiquing community.  She told me there was a huge stash of like-new vintage buffalo china at a thrift store and I might want to go check it out.  Well, as an ironstone lover and an antiques dealer, I couldn’t turn that down!  So, I made a little day trip to the thrift store and my jaw dropped when I saw this.  I had been warned, but I wasn’t expecting this much buffalo china.  I wrote about the entire experience HERE. I made dozens of trips up and down stairs, carrying hundreds of heavy pieces of buffalo china in small plastic shopping baskets.  I was a woman determined!  I did finally give up, though, and I really didn’t even make a dent in the stacks. I sold most of the pieces at the Lucketts Spring Market

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Antiques

the victorian sewing bird

If you haven’t discovered this about me, yet, I love learning about old things, researching them, and hunting for just the right thing to add to my collection.  It appeals to the history-love in me, my inquisitive nature, and my love of owning and using beautiful, functional things.  Of course, it does appeal to my collector gene, too.  So, when I learned about these delightful, useful tools, I went about my routine of researching, hunting, and then purchasing an antique Victorian sewing bird. When you search for “Victorian sewing bird” on or you will find true antiques, reproductions, and ones that have been restored or repaired.  Common restorations include the screw that holds the bird to the table and the fabric pieces that cover the pin cushion(s.)  When I was hunting for one to purchase, I wanted to stay around the $150 price range (or less), and I wanted an

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Antiques

thrifting & antiquing in Raleigh

  I have always enjoyed poking around town, and checking out shops I haven’t been to, so that’s what I’ve been doing with my mom and mother-in-law.  We hit some antique malls, thrift shops, and used book stores just to see what we find.  I am not buying any larger pieces but rather taking pictures of pieces I feel drawn to just to do some “imaginary shopping.”  I have been buying a few small things, books, and frames for paintings.  (You can see what I bought in PA HERE.)  It’s been fun to do a bit of shopping. So, my mother-in-law took me to Fuquay last Wednesday, which is just a few minutes from their house in Raleigh, and we went to The Guardian Angel Thrift Store and two antique stores. This thrift store is great.  It’s well-organized and has a wide variety of home goods, furniture, clothing, accessories, and

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Antiques

thrifting in PA

My mom and I went out to a local antique shop and thrift shop on Thursday and it felt so good to be hanging out with her in some of my old haunts.  Before we get into thrifting and what I bought, I wanted to clear something up.   When I shared my shopping adventures on Instagram, a few people were deterring me from buying anything.  “You just downsized!”  “Wait until you have a house!” Very valid points except for two things. One – I didn’t downsize our belongings because we are planning to downsize our house (although we might.)  I was downsizing because of the cost of moving and storage.  I didn’t want to pay to move and store something that would be more cost-effective to sell and replace on the other end of the country.  We wanted to move pieces that we really loved, that were easy to pack

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Antiques

antique French architecture portfolios

Yesterday, I scored two amazing finds – a pair of antique architecture portfolios by Wulliam & Farge of Paris.  Here’s how that came about…  As we were planning some afternoon outing options while visiting my parents we talked about hitting our favorite ice cream shop, visiting a couple of antique shops, going to the battlefield, and, of course, the topic of bookstores came up.  My mom shared that there is a used bookstore in an old house in Cashtown, PA that I might want to check out.  I looked up their website because used bookstores can be a total bust for me depending on what kind of books the shop owner curates.  If he/she curates a bunch of paperback novels, that’s not going to appeal to me.  But, I saw on their website that Rock Top Bookshop & Bindery specializes in books on history, war, cooking, gardening, design, architecture, art,

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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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