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All Things Home

All Things Home

This post was brought to you by the letter P…

Remember that linen tea towel I started cross-stitching back in June?  When I was at the beach?  Well, I finished it when I sat outside for a few hours, watching my boys at football camp, but I just got around to ironing the “hoop impression” out of it this week.  Yeah, that pretty much sums up what happens to things in my world when they just aren’t a priority.  Here’s the P cross-stitch pattern I created based on an antique monogram I found.  I was at the beach (without a printer, graph paper, etc), so I had to improvise with my pattern… I stitched the monogram on an antique linen tea towel that already had a simple border stitched on it.  I love it when half the work is already done for me! I was a little sloppy on this one!  I worked on it when I wasn’t giving it

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All Things Home

red & white grain sack chair

As I said last week, some things from our guest room will be coming up for sale, since we’re converting the guest room into a room for our youngest son.  It’s a little bitter sweet for me, since that room has always been one of my “pretty rooms”, but I’m so happy that both of my boys will have their own space.  My room was my haven when I was a little girl and I would play in there for hours.  If I had a mini-fridge and a microwave, my parents may have never seen me. One of the pieces I am selling is this French chair upholstered in antique grain sacks… I stripped this piece and painted the frame years ago and actually had it professionally upholstered.  There was a season when I was selling at Lucketts and just couldn’t keep up with the rate my stuff was selling, so I

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All Things Home

settee makeover | part one

Do you remember this settee I showed a few weeks ago? Well, it’s all stripped down to the bones now. I tell you what, I have never seen a sofa give up so much change.  We got at least a dollar out of this one when the final count was over. So, now that this one is stripped, I am feeling very intimidated. I know I managed to do a sofa with over forty tufts, but that gap in the padding has me a little stumped.  There were a few channels there, on each side, but I’m not sure I want to do channels there again. So I’m debating between doing one smooth back with two seams on each side or upholster the back, arms, and corners in sections.  Hmm.  Decisions, decisions. I feel like once I get working on it, I’ll have a better idea of what I want to do.

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All Things Home

dear reader | to the one who keeps making the same decorating mistakes

Dear Reader (to the one who keeps making the same decorating mistakes), We should start a club.  We’ll call it the “I have not learned my lesson” club or the “Oops, I did it again” club.  (Hey!  We have a theme song if we call it that.) We can have meetings and everything. “Hello.  My name is Marian.” Psst.  This is where you say, “Hi, Marian.” “I just had to repaint my walls for the third time, because I have not learned my lesson.  I know I should buy test pots and paint a swatch to make sure I like the color first, but I feel like swatches are for weenies and I’m not scared of color and I want my walls painted yesterday, so I’m going to buy $75 worth of paint and spend an entire day painting a room that I’ll hate by dinner time.” I imagine a

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All Things Home

How to Apply Antiquing Wax

I am always in a blue & white mood.  I have to work to step away from that color palette, but sometimes it just needs to be done!  I’ve been feeling a red piece coming on for a while now and this antique Eastlake-style oak dresser seemed like a good candidate.  And red wear antiquing wax so well, so I thought I would do an updated tutorial on how to apply antiquing wax. I painted it in Tricycle, which is the red in the MMS Milk Paint line.  It really is the perfect red. While we’re talking about reds…  If you’ve ever mixed Tricycle, you know it seems like it’s never going to come together!  Those red pigments resist the water and just float on top, but they will eventually soak up the water and you’ll get a nice mix. I painted it in two coats in order to get

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All Things Home

dear reader | to the one with a “stuff problem”

Dear reader, A few minutes after I put my sons to bed a few weeks ago, I heard the sound of feet on the steps. “Mommy?”  My oldest son had crept out of bed with something on his mind.  I walked around the corner to the bottom of the steps.  “What is it, buddy?” Earlier in the evening, we talked with him about buying a new bike.  He had outgrown the one he had in ability and size.  I thought he would be dreaming of the new bike, but instead, he was distressed about the fate of his old one. As we got into the conversation a bit further, with a frog in his throat and tears welling up, my tender-hearted nine year old confessed, “It’s just sometimes hard for me to let go of things that I’ve had for a long time and I really enjoyed.” His moment of raw emotion

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All Things Home

A & M cross-stitch patterns & Country Cottage magazine

I finally finished my “P” tea towel I started when I was at the beach.  I’ll take pictures as soon as I hire the “embroidery hoop ring” out of it!  I’ve had grand plans to get all sorts of cross-stitching done, but I just haven’t had the time.  I hope to get back to it, though!  I had a milk paint workshop today and even mentioned the idea of having a “stitching circle” workshop where I would provide the antique linen towels, patterns and floss and we can stitch and fellowship and, hopefully, take home a beautiful monogrammed towel. Maybe I’ll put that on the calendar!  I did say it would be “BYOM” (bring your own magnifier)! Anyway, today I’m sharing the patterns for the “A” and “M” stitched on the bolster pillow that’s on the bed in our master bedroom… Here is how the “A” looks on the pillow (which

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All Things Home

deconstructed chair

There is a small furniture trend that you may or may not have tuned into – deconstructed upholstery. Personally, I’m a fan.  Not in every single case and definitely not for every room, but for just the right old piece, it’s a way to honor the makers of it – to put the hand-tied springs, basted burlap, and wood frame on full display, in all of its half-dressed glory. photo via I’ve been wanting to create this deconstructed look on a piece, but hadn’t met the right one, yet. Well, that changed on Monday, when Kriste was stripping this pretty chair.  I looked at the muslin and burlap and realized I really liked it.  I said something to the effect of, “Stop right there!” The muslin is a little too far gone on this piece, sadly, but I am planning to clean up the back and the frame and reupholster the front

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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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