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All Things Home

Christmas room tour | family room

As a part of the Just a Girl “One Room Tour”, I’m sharing my family room all decorated for Christmas. If you’re coming from Decor Chick or Just a Girl for the first time, welcome.  (And, of course, my regulars are always welcome!) I decided to share my family room today, because it’s the room we spend most of our time in.  It’s where we play and do homework and watch TV.  In fact, I’m sitting on our family room sofa as I write this post…on my usual side, leaned up against my usual pillow. This is probably my least favorite room to photograph, though. The living and dining rooms get amazing light and they totally spoil me when it comes to photography.  This room faces north and it is just a tough one to shoot without bringing in lights and scrims and all of that gear that I would rather

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December 10, 2015 19 Comments
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the most popular horse in blogland

You know when you’re out shopping and you find a little gem?  Something that screams out at you to buy it.  It speaks to you. Well, I was rummaging around in the somewhat ransacked Christmas section of TJ Maxx and I spotted this sweet wooden horse, just one, with a red bridle and saddle and the sweetest shape.  I think it was $25.  I grabbed it up without hesitation and immediately imagined it painted with milk paint.   And then, as I was perusing Instagram, I realized that just about everyone else in the blog/Instagram world felt the same way about this horse and they bought it, too.  It would seem it’s the poster child for Christmas 2015. And my little gem was feeling more like the mass-produced, trendy horse it actually was.  Because it was everywhere!! I clung to the hope that my plan to paint it would make it my

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December 10, 2015 20 Comments
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ten minute Christmas decorating | pretty packages

As I’ve been decorating for Christmas this year, I’ve shared that I’m all about keeping it simple.  Pretty things, fresh greenery, a few traditional touches and that’s about it.  I don’t want to have bins and bins of Christmas decor. One touch that I do like to add each year is a few fake presents.  Empty boxes that I wrap just to look pretty. I started doing this years ago when I didn’t have very much money for decorating.  I had empty boxes, wrapping paper and ribbon, so I could wrap a stack of boxes and set up a pretty arrangement on the cheap.  I also think that adding a few presents under the tree adds a little life before the real presents are put out on Christmas eve. I have a really hard time finding Christmas wrapping paper I like.  The blue & white paper selection is usually pretty thin,

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December 9, 2015 25 Comments
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slipcover series | part 3

Welcome to part three in this updated version of my slipcover series. In part one, I covered how to make custom piping and in part two, I show how I cut my fabric pieces to get ready for pinning and sewing. And now we’re going to start pinning and sewing.  This is where people start getting nervous, but we’re going to take it section-by-section and you’ll be surprised how it all comes together to make a slipcover. Really.  If you can sew a reasonably straight line, you can do this. Pin fitting is the best way for me to make a slipcover.  Basically, I use the chair as my model, my dress form, and I pin the slipcover to it, inside out.  There’s no templates or patterns, so it’s a lot more straight forward.  This makes for a nice, tight fitting slipcover. Here’s how… Up next, we’ll start pinning and sewing

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December 8, 2015 14 Comments
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dressing a chandelier for Christmas with fresh greenery

Some of you noticed the greenery hanging from my chandelier in the pictures I shared of my teacup & pedestal advent wreath and asked to see more and for me to share how I do it.  So, that’s what I’m doing today!  Here is how I dress a chandelier with fresh greenery for Christmas. Here’s a better look at the chandelier dressed for Christmas in the dining room… I’ve been dressing my chandeliers for Christmas like this for a few years now and it’s always the no-brainer in my holiday decor.  It just looks so pretty and festive… …and it’s so easy. I decided to shoot a quick video showing how I dress a chandelier with fresh greenery for Christmas.  While I use fresh greenery in this video, you can use the same technique with artificial greens.  Start the same way (with a garland) and then tuck picks into the garland

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December 7, 2015 28 Comments
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Raleigh flea market & antique finds

Last Saturday, when I was in Raleigh visiting Jeff’s family for Thanksgiving, I spent the better part of the day shopping local with a great group of ladies.  We met up at the Raleigh Flea Market, hit a few antique stores and lunched at a local soup & sandwich shop. This is the second time I’ve done a meet-up like this in Raleigh and it was such a special day.  I loved getting to connect with other women who enjoy decorating and antiques as I do.  We were an eclectic mix, but we all had that common ground.  And not only did I get to connect with them, but they connected with each other. And we all found stuff that “spoke” to us. I found this cool stool for $25 right off the bat.  Of course, I’m going to make a cover for the seat. A photo posted by Marian aka Miss Mustard

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December 5, 2015 41 Comments
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teacup & pedestal advent wreath

Last year, I made an advent wreath out of an ironstone ring mold.  I was planning to do the same this year, but my ring mold was at the studio when I was in the heat of the decorating moment, so I shifted gears.  (Of course, I could’ve hopped in the car and made the two-minute drive to the studio to get it, but that seems like too much of a disruption to someone who is in the thick of a creative moment.) I tend to thrive on decorating MacGyver-style, anyway.  Well, sometimes.  Some of my best ideas have happened on the fly.  But then again, sometimes I get impatient and force things and it’s a disaster.  And the worst part is that I know it’s a disaster even as I’m doing it.  Like the time I thought it was a good idea to hot-glue exterior velvet ribbon to the

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December 4, 2015 43 Comments
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trading horses again

Remember my rocking horse?  The one I bought from Restoration Hardware and then painted with MMS Milk Paint to make it look chippy and old?   Well, in typical Marian fashion, I sold it. I wasn’t planning to, but a client asked if I could custom paint the same horse for her.  I agreed to the job and we tried to schedule a time for her to drop her horse off at the studio.  As we tried to schedule and reschedule, it occurred to me that it would save her a trip if I just gave her my painted horse, since she wanted hers to look exactly the same, and I could take the unpainted one and paint it again. Are you tracking with me? So, when I was in Virginia for the Holiday Expo, we met and traded horses. An interesting thing…  I really don’t mind buying and selling pieces, but

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December 3, 2015 55 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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