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Antiques

Traveling, Brushes & Country Living

I have no idea how people work in jobs where they have to travel all the time.  I supposed they get used to it and get good at it – find the best places to eat, where to charge a laptop and iPad, where to rest, and how to get comfortable in an airplane seat.  Most of my trips are going to be spaced out, but I have one scheduled this week right on the heels of my Colorado trip.  On Tuesday, I’m heading out to Petaluma near San Francisco, California to teach a couple of workshops with my Milk Paint retailer out there, Gracefully Worn.   I haven’t been to California since I was four, so I’m really looking forward to it.  I’m also so thrilled that I get to meet some of my blog friends like Maria from Dreamy Whites. The details of my trip to Petaluma, local

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December 10, 2012 No Comments
Antiques

new kitchen rug

 I love it when I find the perfect thing after I’ve been hunting for it for weeks (sometimes months or years.)  Actually, it’s sweet when I find the perfect thing right away, but I do need to practice my patience, so this was a good opportunity to do that.  Anyway, I was shopping for basic staples at Target and, as those of you who love Target know, it’s difficult to leave Target with just the basic staples.  I always wander into the home section just to check things out.  I may be shopping for bananas and I know bananas aren’t with the lamps, but I can’t help myself.   While looking around the kitchen section, I found this great green & white rug.  It was exactly the kind of rug I’ve been looking for to use on my new white Carrara-ish kitchen tiles.  The rugs I had in my kitchen

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November 11, 2012 1 Comment
Antiques

stuff I bought & dorking out

This is a dangerous profession.  Well, not dangerous like Alaskan crab fishing or building skyscrapers, but dangerous for someone who loves antiques and is surrounded by beautiful ones regularly.  I do sell most of the things I buy, but there are some pieces I have to keep.  I have rules for myself, though.  I have to have a perfect place for it and I have to sell other things in order to keep something.  That way, I’m always making money (or breaking even) and I have the chance to “trade up.”  (And I don’t have storage units full of French chairs that are discovered when I shuffle off.) Anyway, I’ve been having a hard time finding the perfect display piece for my space.  I’ve been borrowing one from Suzanne for a few weeks, but I really needed to find something permanent.  My neighbor vendor brought in this piece on Thursday and

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November 5, 2012 No Comments
Antiques

the 1840’s hutch

Alright, alright!  I kept it.  I did!!  I just wasn’t sure I wanted to sell it, yet, so I sold some other things instead.  I may just need to love this piece for a while and then I’ll be ready to let it go or I may never be ready.    We’ll see.  I love the warm wood of the piece…   …and this glass.  Oh my word.  It’s the original glass and the bubbles and waves are amazing.  I think the glass is the reason I’m so in love.  Some girls get swoony over diamonds…just give me a sheet of 100+ year old glass and I’m happy.   While I’m keeping this piece, I have decided to sell some of my other furniture.  The mirrored armoire in my office and some of my French chairs are on the chopping block.  Ah….the life of an antique dealer.

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October 16, 2012 No Comments
Antiques

Friday Finds

  I know it sounds funny to say, but I really needed to go shopping.  I wasn’t seeking retail therapy, but I needed cool stuff to sell in my space.  I’ve lately been so busy with milk paint stuff and everything else that I haven’t had the time to shop as much as I need to in order to keep my space stocked.  So, I set out on a shopping trip with my mother-in-law yesterday and found some great stuff…   …a great fan…   …some wooden gingerbread work from a house…   …and this amazing wire skirt form with the original measuring tapes.   I found several other smalls, which is mainly what I needed to buy, but I also unexpectedly scored some great pieces of furniture.  I bought an empire dresser with original glass knobs, an antique wardrobe and I was having heart palpitations over an 1840 step-back

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October 7, 2012 No Comments
Antiques

What I found in Maine…

Last week, I had the pleasure of spending some time in the beautiful state of Maine.  My husband and I have been talking about family vacations and we’ve talked about making a point to visit some of the national parks, but that’s all we did.  Talk about it in “some day” terms.  We finally just did it.  And it was so great. We visited Acadia, which was beautiful…   …and saw our boys enjoy nature and each other (most of the time)…   …and I had a chance to slow down and appreciate simple things like colorful buoys lined up against faded wood shingles, the smell of sea salt and my toes in the sand.     Aside from a couple of hoodies, I didn’t buy much (although I did rubberneck at some antique shops…)  I did bring home three big bags of shells collected from the private beaches around

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October 4, 2012 No Comments
Antiques

I spy…

I don’t really know why certain things catch my eye.  I’ll be walking through an antique store and just see it.  Something that is interesting or has a special patina about it.  I just know it when I find it.  One thing that’s been catching my eye lately is…binoculars and opera glasses.  I guess that’s two things, but they’re kind of the same, right?     I keep them on a shelf in my home office and pull them out occasionally for photo shoots.     I think I like them for the same reasons I like cameras, typewriters and fans.  They’re something that were meant to be utilitarian, but now they just look cool.     What’s caught your eye lately?

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September 28, 2012 No Comments
Antiques

Where to buy grain sacks…

I received a ton of comments over the weekend asking where I buy my grain sacks, so I thought I would share.  Unfortunately, I don’t have one magic hookup, but I get them here and there as I find them.   I’ve bought a bunch from Pete, my fellow vendor at Lucketts.  He doesn’t always have grain sacks, but he has them pretty regularly.  The nice thing about buying from Pete is he buys grain sacks that aren’t in pristine condition.  That means they’re not expensive (about $25-$30/each.)  It does mean you might have to wash them or work around some stains or patches, but I’m fine with that. I’ve bought a few grain sacks at antique fairs, but those were quite a splurge at $65/each.  They were in amazing condition, though, with very cool embroidery.     Another source has been some of my readers living in Poland and

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September 11, 2012 No Comments

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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