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Decorating

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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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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All Things Home

parsons chair slipcovers

The time has come to make some slipcovers for the parsons’ chairs at either end of our kitchen table.  Well, technically, they are sort of hybrid mini-wing/parsons’ chairs.  I lucked out when I bought them in that they were listed as a pair even though the price was just for one.  So, I got two for the price of one!  ( is the chair, but it’s out of stock and the price on the listing is double what I paid for two, but it might help you find something similar.) Anyway, I knew when I bought them that the light, linen-ish upholstery would be toast.  There was just no way with two pre-teen boys that they were going to stay pristine.  They are their favorite chairs, so they have taken a beating with drips and spills.  To make matters worse, my youngest son likes to have his insulin pods changed

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All Things Home

cow/calf pair

A couple of weeks ago, I painted a cow-calf pair.  If you follow me on Instagram, you would’ve seen some of the process as well as the final painting shared on the grid.  For those who don’t follow me there, here is the underpainting… …and then the finished work… I didn’t have plans to keep it when I first started this one.  I’m pretty good at selling my works.  It’s partly a hobby, but painting was absorbed as a part of my business pretty early on, so I try not to get too attached.  I paint with the intention of selling.  But I was in love with this one as soon as I rolled my chair back and viewed the painting in its entirety.  I was so excited that I had an antique gilded frame that fit it, so I tried it on before the painting was even dry.  It

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All Things Home

office shutters

I was combing through some photos taken earlier this year while I was working on cleaning up my hard drive and making backups and I realized I had pictures of a project that I never shared!  I took the picture right before my mom visited in March, so there were more exciting things to write about, like the guest room makeover and the picture frame molding in the living room.  This project wasn’t as dramatic, so the pictures remained unedited and the project was never shared. I did share that we installed plantation shutters in the large window of my office… This window faces the street, so it felt like a fishbowl and some sort of window treatment was required for privacy.  But, we left the small window, which faces the side of the neighbor’s house, untreated. I wanted a shutter on that window, too, though, so the windows looked

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a slice of life

Maison

I will admit to being a bit of a book junky.  You would think, then, that I love frequenting the local library.  But, the books I read are typically for reference, so I want to be able to make notes in them and fill them with sticky bookmarks.  I want to be able to revisit them again and again.  So, one of my favorite places to hang out is the local Barnes & Nobel.  A trip there is almost always included in an afternoon out of the house or when Jeff & I are on a date night.  And I often come home with a bag heavy with a book or two and maybe a magazine. In our most recent trip, I came across a delightful book I had never heard of – Maison.  My interest was immediately piqued because it was a collaboration between a watercolor artist and an

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All Things Home

july 2019 garden update

Well, things in the garden are finally blooming and looking much better after a harsh winter and a late spring.  A couple of weeks ago, I wasn’t sure that this garden was ever going to fully wake up, but the cycle of the season is carefully built into each plant and they know what to do even if I don’t. The petunias and vinca vine in the concrete urn are starting to spill over, just as I hoped they would and the hostas are filling in nicely around them.  I can see I might need to split them again in a year or so, which is fine with me since I have some other places I’d like to plant them. My Annabelle hydrangeas are blooming and beautiful!  I was nervous about them, since I just planted them last year and the winter was so cold, but they are doing great. 

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All Things Home

red, wildflowers, & blue

For the past few weeks, I’ve noticed pretty wildflowers along some of the paths I take on my morning walk.  I’ve picked one or two to put in a small vase or handleless cup, but a couple of days ago, I decided to pick a small bouquet.  It was completely impractical, carrying a bouquet of delicate flowers while Sebastian and I were trying to get some exercise, but I found joy in the simplicity of noticing and gathering.  It brought me back to the days when I would bring home bouquets made of buttercups, dandelions, and grass to my mom. When I got home, I loosely arranged the flowers in a marmalade crock and was inspired to put together a little vignette on the table.  I generally don’t buy decor for holidays except for pumpkins in fall and things for Christmas.  I prefer to use what I have that speaks

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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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