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Holiday
All Things Home

green, blue, & white Christmas table

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Walmart.  All words and opinions are, as always, my own. Do you remember my green & white tablescape for summer?  Well, I think it’s important for pieces I buy to be versatile, so I wanted to show how many of these same pieces bought from Walmart Home can transition and work just as well for a Christmas tablescape!  So, don’t just shop the Christmas section online or in the store.  Look all through home, crafts, kitchenware, etc.  Roam around and see what inspires you and make those low prices stretch even further. First of all, I added some that remind me of a Christmas sweater.  I ordered these pillows from the holiday section of Walmart.com and was so pleased with the size and quality for the $12 price (and it comes in a variety of colors!)  With a zipper closure and feather-filled insert, these

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November 27, 2019 37 Comments
All Things Home

farmhouse christmas blog tour 2019

If you’re hopping over from Love Grows Wild, then welcome!  If you’re a regular here, you’re most welcome, too! Sooo, when I said yes to participating in this year’s Farmhouse Christmas Blog Tour organized by Sheila of Maison De Cinq, I had no idea I would be just a few weeks out from major shoulder and bicep surgery.  Because my arm is still a noodle and I can’t lift anything at all, it may come to no surprise to you that I have not decorated for Christmas, yet.  I have started thinking about it if that counts! Really, if I didn’t have my current physical limitations, I think I would have my decor out, but I’m not as independent this year and I can’t just pull out the bins when the mood strikes.  We had our first snow followed by January-like temperatures and I am feeling that mood.  I’m for

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November 19, 2019 24 Comments
a slice of life

apples, gifts & cozy white cottage giveaway

While I’ve been healing from my surgery, people have been so generous to us.  We’ve been brought meals and I’ve received notes, cards, and gift cards to get takeout.  It’s all been such a blessing.  It’s just an arm, but it was major surgery and requires lots of time and rest in the first few weeks.  I’ve still just been working part-time, but I’ve been up and about more…going on short walks, out to run errands, to church, to small group, and to the climbing gym to watch the boys lead climb for the first time. My mom left on Saturday and it was hard to let her go.  She’s been a tremendous help!  She’s taken care of Sebastian, ran me to appointments and on errands.  She did dishes, cooked, picked the boys up from school, and helped me blow dry & style my hair.  Friday, she spent the day

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October 28, 2019 952 Comments
All Things Home

decorating a mantel for fall in the living room

Disclosure: This post on decorating a mantel for fall is sponsored by Walmart.  As always, all words and opinions expressed are honest and my own. I have resigned to the fact that decorating for fall isn’t going to be a priority this year.  Each year, I think I’ll just put out a couple of pumpkins or something, but each year, I’m wooed by the cool temperatures, the crunching of the leaves, and the piles of heirloom pumpkins at the market.  But this year, I have bigger fish to fry.  I have to recover and heal from shoulder surgery. Not wanting to ignore fall altogether, I decided to add a few simple touches to our main living area by decorating our mantel for fall before I’ll be in a sling for a few weeks… The mantel is the obvious focal point of the room, so I dressed it up with a

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October 3, 2019 21 Comments
a slice of life

tips on decorating cakes with flowers

Before we chat about flowers and cakes, two things…  The winner of the mini landscapes is Ann Stuart Cassell!  Congrats!  And yes, for those asking, I will do more of those minis and have more giveaways in the future. Second, a new The Creative Exponent podcast is available – Episode 5: Don’t Wait for Perfect.  You can listen to it HERE. As soon as I put the in my shopping cart, I envisioned a four-layer naked cake decorated with flower sitting on top.  I have long loved that look, specifically done by Courtney of French Country Cottage.  She just has a knack with flowers.  And cakes. I initially started thinking through my cake pans, figuring out how I would make this cake and then I remember the time I baked 5 dozen mini cupcakes the night before the Lucketts Spring Market and realized I should just hire this out to

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August 20, 2019 15 Comments
All Things Home

green & white summer tablescape

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by .  All opinions and ideas expressed in this post are, as always, honest and my own. Last week, I shared a tutorial for some mini landscape “place cards” and here is the tablescape that goes along with them!  I was challenged by to show vintage style using some of their home products and, given that Walmart hasn’t been my go-to place for vintage style, I had to do a bit of recon before I accepted that challenge! Well, I browsed around Walmart Home and was pleasantly surprised with the wide array of vintage-style pieces that could be found both in the store and online.  I zeroed in on these beautiful .  They definitely “speak vintage” and happened to match my dining room as well as dishes I already owned perfectly.  I have a “dish” thing and I love it when I can integrate new

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August 19, 2019 85 Comments
All Things Home

how to dry annabelle hydrangeas

I have been patiently waiting until my Annabelle hydrangeas were just right, so I could cut off the blooms and dry them.  I did this last year and I have been so pleased with how long the dried flowers have lasted!  I cut them almost a year ago and they still make a nice bouquet.  So, for those who have asked, this is how to dry hydrangeas.  I’m specifically working with the Annabelle variety. how to dry hydrangeas | when to cut them Wait until the blooms turned pale green and are a bit dry to the touch.  They don’t feel completely crispy and have not started to brown, but they are not as soft as they were when they were white and freshly bloomed.  These are definitely ready to cut and probably could’ve been cut a few days sooner to minimize the brown/dried petals. how to dry hydrangeas |

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August 15, 2019 23 Comments
All Things Home

mini landscape “place cards” & a giveaway

While the boys were at the climbing lessons, I mingled around the nearby , looking for inspiration and pieces to use in an upcoming post about a summer table setting.  I found beautiful as a great launching point, but I wanted to add a whimsical element to the table beyond fruit, flowers, and a pretty cake for the pedestal.  This particular Walmart has a pretty robust art supply section and, of course, I meandered through there to see if any new art supplies caught my eye.  I found some mini stretched canvases and cute wooden stands and the wheels started turning.  What about painting mini landscape “place cards” as a little takeaway for guests? I put them in the cart and couldn’t wait to get started on them the next day. are the mini canvases I purchased for the landscape place cards  They are about 2 x 2″. I wanted

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August 12, 2019 605 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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