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All Things Home

Ultimate Scallop Wicker Tray

Last week, I decided to play around a bit inside the house.  I’ve been spending a lot of time outside pulling weeds, hauling mulch, and planting and I haven’t been paying much attention to the interior.  Dust bunnies may have been involved.  Okay, they were.  They were involved.  But, I took a few hours to take care of the dust bunnies and things that needed to be addressed but I have learned that chores often lead to creative play.  In addition to running the vacuum, tidying up, and wiping down surfaces, I started fluffing, styling, and moving things around.  I had a few new goodies I purchased at Lucketts to play around with and I had a few photo shoots I needed to work on for clients, so it was a good time to make some small changes. One of the fun bits of styling I did was relocate this

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All Things Home

planting the espalier apple trees in terra cotta pots

Yesterday, I shared how we primed, painted, and installed the vintage-style trellises on our blank white wall of siding, and today, I want to share how I planted the espalier apple trees in large terra cotta pots and tied them to the trellises.  When I mentioned putting them in pots on my Instagram stories, I was asked several times why I opted for pots instead of putting them directly into the ground. Well, there are a few reasons for that… Number one, I’m not sure what kind of chemicals have been sprayed on this soil over the years.  We’ve had pest control treatments and I didn’t know I’d be planting edibles here, so I didn’t ask them to skip this area.  I would be a little nervous planting a fruit tree in questionable soil. Number two, I want to make sure they get enough light on this wall with the

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All Things Home

large vintage-style garden trellis tutorial & free plans

As I shared last week (in THIS POST), I decided I was overcomplicating the trellis idea for the garage wall.  I thought building one large trellis would be the way to go, but I realized two would balance out the windows on the other “wing” of the house and two trellises would be much easier to build than one.  They’d still be substantial (about 4 x 8′), but they would be smaller and lighter than the original idea and would be easy to install and remove for cleaning and painting over the years.  It would require less lumber and wouldn’t need footings.  I took measurements, sketched some ideas, and built two trellises last week.  I am over the moon about these trellises and, of course, I wanted to share detailed plans and a tutorial so you can build your own vintage-style trellis if you have a similar blank wall to

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Favorite Things

beautiful tools | copper watering can & mister

As I have shared many times over the years, I believe in having the tools you use every day be beautiful from dish brushes and bars of soap to brooms and scissors to pencils and grocery bags.  Functional items can, in most cases, also be lovely, aesthetically pleasing, and a delight to use.  They don’t have to be made of brightly-colored plastic that you want to hide in your cabinets.  Even the humblest of sponges or a pair of gardening clogs can be something you enjoy having in plain view.  For years, I have been using a plastic water bottle or whatever else I could find on hand to water my houseplants.  I finally decided to treat myself to a beautiful watering can that I wouldn’t mind sitting out on the counter or the shelf by the kitchen door.  After looking around at my options and thinking about it, I

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All Things Home

my gardening notebook

A couple of weeks ago, I stopped by a local nursery/garden center that is just a stone’s throw from my house.  I’ve driven by it often and wanted to stop in, but I knew I wasn’t ready for planting until after the roof was replaced and the exterior painting was done.  We finished priming and painting the front and “garage side” last fall, so I was ready to do some planting as soon as spring started to emerge. I knew I wouldn’t be able to tackle the landscape in the front of the house all at once, but I wanted to get a good start on the foundation bushes on the front of each “wing” of the house and get the beds in front of the porch prepped and tarped.  I’ll explain the area in front of the porch more as I share about the work I’m doing, but that

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a slice of life

what’s in my gardening books stack

I’m a book-stacker.  When I am interesting in a subject, I’ll pull books on that topic and make a stack on my studio counter.  If I feel like there are holes in my collection or some tempting new books are available, I’ll buy a few more to add to the stack.  I’ll then grab books from that stack to read when I have some free time or when I’m headed to an appointment or another place where I might be waiting.  The current stack on my studio counter follows a clear theme – gardening.  It’s full of some of my favorite gardening books that I’ve had for years along with some that I just opened a few days ago. If you know me, you know I like big books.  Helping me move isn’t fun because not only do I have lots of boxes of books, but I have lots of

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Decorating

decorating with shells in the garden

I have loved collecting shells since I was a little girl.  Anytime we went to the beach, my Oma and mom would take walks and collect lady’s ears, olive shells, whelks, sand dollars, and whatever caught their eye.  I remember shells drying on the deck railing of the beach house and we would spend a quiet evening or rainy afternoon making animal sculptures out of some of the found shells.  When we cleaned out my Oma and Opa’s attic after my Opa passed away, we found about 10 five-gallon buckets filled with shells she had collected over the years.  I kept some, but couldn’t possibly keep them all.  Also, searching for the shells and making memories while doing it is a big part of the appeal.  So, I’ve carried on the shell-collecting tradition whenever I’m at a beach that permits it.  (It is illegal to collect shells, rocks, sand, beach

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1970 home renovation

thrifted teak patio lounge chairs

When I shared the ironstone breadbox last week, I teased that I found something even better during my next outing to some thrift and antique stores.  What I found wasn’t as rare, but it’s something I’ve been hunting for and I scored big time. My mom and I have been enjoying going out together to check out some local antique, thrift, and second-hand stores lately and we’ve had such a good time!  We have both found some treasures and we simply enjoy spending time together now that we’re 40 minutes apart instead of 20 hours!  On this particular day, we hit an antique store (Memory Lane Antiques in Hagerstown) and then went to the Salvation Army, which is practically next door.  I hadn’t been to this thrift store, but I had heard good things about it and the parking lot is always full and hopping!  A swarm of locals is

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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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