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Holiday

Christmas Line 2010 Preview

I must pat myself on the back and say that I got an amazing amount of stuff done today.  I priced all of my ornaments, glittered two banners, put magnets on the back of about 30 letters, hand painted two banners, upholstered the French settee, painted four dining room chairs, repaired a small chest, made two mini sheet music wreath ornaments, fed my kids and changed diapers, organized toys, and played some X-Box.  Craziness.  I’ve had a lot of people ask me about my ornaments and Christmas decor, so I thought I would give everyone a preview.  My theme this year is sheet music and German glass glitter.  I designed and made every ornament and decoration you see, so I’ve been a busy girl.  My kitchen counter is covered with paper dust and hot glue strings and my entire house sparkles with glitter.  Such is my life.  Anyway, without further delay,

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Eco Natural Soap Giveaway!

I have another giveaway for you this week!  I recently learned about a new all-natural soap made by Alicia and Alan of Eco Natural Soap.  Now, let me say, I am not a “greenie” at all and I am only in favor of using an “eco” product if it works just as well or better than one that was cooked up in a lab.  I was skeptical of this soap.  If it’s not better than Dove, I’m not going to use it.  Well, I have to say…I’ve been using one of their soaps to wash my face every night for a few weeks and I absolutely love it.  The complexion bar, although it makes you smell a little like a Christmas tree, makes your skin feel amazing.  It can also diminish the appearance of age spots, cellulite and other imperfections in the skin. Of course, I have non of those, so I

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Grain Sack Pumpkins? Oh yeah.

Today, I have the privilege of being a guest on one of my favorite blogs, Dreamy Whites.  (I’ve been guesting a lot lately, haven’t I?)  Anyway, Maria is one of the sweetest people you’ll ever “meet” and she has an impeccable style sense and knows how to wield a camera.  If you have not been to her blog, you must check it out.  Maria asked me to share a fall decorating idea with her readers and I was happy to come up with something that’s “me” as well as “her.”  I decided to make a “grain sack” pumpkin.  Does that sound like “you”?  If so, click here for the full tutorial. This is grain sack pumpkin project is a great example that fall decor doesn’t have to be all about oranges and reds.   It can be in blues and whites, which is what I like!   To create these grain

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Fashioning a Nest

Nests are all the rage right now.  They are so symbolic of new life, protecting your family, and creating a comfortable environment.  Until now, I never really thought about the aspect that a nest is made entirely by the occupants and entirely out of found materials.  I’ve found nests before with gum wrappers tucked in.  When I was a little girl, my mom would trim my hair and we would throw my hair in the yard for the birds to use.  Our feathered friends don’t hire contractors or go to Lowes; they recycle with nature’s litter (and sometimes ours) and toil to make something they are pleased with.  It’s really remarkable.  In addition to all of these deeper subliminal messages, nest are just pretty.  They provide great texture and are a stylish way to bring the outdoors in.  Finding a wild nest is not the easiest thing and one certainly

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More Christmas Sales

I can’t believe I forgot to show you one of my best Christmas presents!  A few years ago the diamond fell out of my engagement ring.  We looked everywhere, but never found it.  It was only a quarter of a karat, but its worth was greater to me than any monetary value put on it.  We could not afford to replace it at the time, so I’ve just been wearing 2 wedding bands.  I’ve been looking longingly at rings since I lost my rock, but we’ve never found one that I liked that we could afford.  A couple of weeks ago, we found this beauty on sale.  Hello, bling!  Come to my finger.  I also hit Target yesterday and found some great Christmas decor that was now 75% off.  I loved these glittered leaves and bought every one that was left in the store (about 15.) I ended up paying

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More Bedding, After Christmas Sales and Goodwill Goodies

I have a lot of stuff to pack into this post, so hang on tight and stick with me.  First of all, I wanted to share the quilt I purchased with one of my Wal-Mart gift cards to use in my Master Bedroom Makeover.  I just bought the brown version of this light-weight quilt to go under the white duvet cover I purchased from Kohls yesterday. I bought a test pot of the Sea Salt to try a few swatches of color.  I am still debating.  Thanks for all of the suggestions and advice.  It helped alot and didn’t help at all at the same time, if that’s possible!  I’m still going back and forth, weighing my options. I hit some really great sales on the day after Christmas.  I dragged my mother-in-law out at 7:00 am to fight the crowds for the best stuff.  We were about the only

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Miss Mustardseed’s Christmas Haul

I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas! Mine was great! Although, I will say, it’s not as fun as experiencing Christmas as a kid, but it was fun to get to see my toddlers respond to all of the festivities. My family got me some great gifts, so I thought I would share some of my favorites with you. $150.00 in Hobby Lobby gift cards. Oh yeah….and I just spent $148 of it today. What could I do? It was burning a hole in my pocket. And I am so excited to show you all of the great stuff I bought on my day-after-Christmas shopping excursion. Some decorating books…I’ve been pouring over these the past 24 hours. Great inspiration in these books. As I’ve mentioned, I am a decorating book junkie, so these gave me my fix. Just the cover of this book makes me drool. My mom gave me

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A New Arrangement and an Early Christmas Gift

First of all, a Merry Christmas Eve to all of you! This year is the first that I am more excited about seeing Christmas through my kid’s eyes and and less concerned about what tags have my name on them. My oldest son is almost three and he is all about Christmas. Tomorrow is going to be full of noisy toys, batteries, 30 minutes of trying to get each toy free from the packaging, and lots of “that my fresent!” coming from my eldest, but I am looking forward to all of it! Anyway, I thought I would share a few small things with you. When my mom was here we worked at rearranging some pictures and accessories and this is one of my favorite updates. My living room was on the right track, but a little lacking in the details. My mom grabbed some of my red plates….”Ah, mom,

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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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May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

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