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All Things Home

Decorating

blue spruce in a bucket

I have mentioned it a couple of times already…I am really excited to decorate for Christmas this year!  It’s just like old times when the countdown would begin leading up to the day after Thanksgiving and I could finally haul out the bins and put the Christmas music on.  For the past few years, I’ve been burned out on Christmas decorating.  Decorating for retail spaces and freelance projects all throughout the year left me unenthusiastic about decorating my own home.  This year, I only had a few Christmas projects in April and have otherwise been able to enjoy the seasons in their proper time. Kriste has been talking about getting her Christmas tree this weekend and I snickered a bit.  Well, I went to Wegman’s with the family today and saw a cute, squat live blue spruce and I immediately plopped it in the cart.  Jeff looked over at me, palms to

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Decorating

time-saving tips for painting a room

I shared the other day that I painted three ceilings and one room in just a few hours…while the boys were at home…in my jammies.  Truth be told, I could’ve painted the living room and the hallway, too, but I was getting a little sick of looking at a roller!  So, several readers asked how I get things done so fast and I thought I would share my tricks. These tips will help you get a room painted faster, but before you plan a painting marathon, remember that I paint a lot!  When you do something a lot, you get better and quicker at it.  So, be patient with yourself if you’re a novice or a once-in-a-while painter. Here are my time-saving tips… 1.) Do as much prep work the day before as you can.  Take down the pictures, remove switch plates, curtain hardware, etc. and fill in the holes

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Favorite Finds

workbench & walls

When I attend antique markets as a vendor, I try to keep blinders on for the most part, so I don’t end up bringing home a van load of stuff!  I think Jeff would be less than pleased if I did that!  When I find I’m getting sidetracked, I try to remind myself that I’m there to sell, not to shop, but sometimes there is a special piece that just cannot be ignored!  Last year, I bought a chippy white dental cabinet that was perfect for an awkward spot in my living room.  This year, I wasn’t looking for anything specific, but I let Jeff know I might buy something if it really speaks to me, but I wasn’t going to search for it. I was one of the first vendors set up at The Chapel Market last weekend and one of my old blog friends (also a vendor), Linda from Coastal Charm, came

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Favorite Finds

get your beautyrest

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, there’s been a lot of shuffling going on in the guest room.  I hand painted a bed in a Bavarian style and started decorating the entire room around it.  Then, after I had it for only a few months, I sold it. Now, I like change and I’m fickle when it comes to decorating, but I’m not quite that fickle.  I really loved this bed and it was hard to sell it, but there was a good reason… I had the opportunity to partner with Beautyrest and get a luxurious, queen-sized mattress for our guest room – a Beautyrest Black mattress.  I selected the Kate model. Our guests have been sleeping on a low-end full sized mattress for about 12 years.  We’ve padded it with memory foam and did everything we could do to disguise the cheap quality, but there wasn’t anything we could do to

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Fall

autumn table & more glittered pumpkins

A couple of weeks ago, I showed a more traditional, spooky black & orange fall table with black glass glitter on pumpkins, crows, pinecones and a paper bat bunting.  In this setting, I wanted to show glittered pumpkins in a totally different way, so Kriste & I set up a rustic autumn table with a little glam element in the form of gold (14 Karat) and silver (Tiara) glass glittered pumpkins. Kriste took the lead on glittering these pumpkins and opted to glitter the stems and a “starburst” sort of pattern on the top of each pumpkin.  I think they turned out beautifully.  (The glitter is adhered with Elmer’s school glue.) We used live pumpkins, but this would be perfect for artificial pumpkins as well…probably even better since they can be used year after year.  We also decided to try one with a mix of 14 Karat & Tiara glitter, which looked lovely.

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Favorite Finds

transferware, a ring mold & more

We are back safe & sound from The Chapel Market, which is quite an accomplishment given our high-mileage van.  It’s very reliable, but it might’ve decided at 202,000 miles as it’s hauling a very heavy trailer, that we’ve asked too much of it.  It didn’t, though, and brought us there and back home again with a sigh of relief.  We’ve already decided that the time is near when we need to get a truck and an enclosed trailer to make these trips.  We currently do two shows a year (Lucketts Spring Market and The Chapel Market), but we would like to add in one more, I think. I’ll share pictures from this weekend as well as a recap of the day…what sold, what didn’t and what I bought.  In a nutshell, it was a great event and we’re already looking forward to next year. I spent most of the day hunkered

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Before and Afters

slipcovered ottoman

Last Friday I was working in the studio on some last minute pieces for the Chapel Market.  I usually leave the sewing projects until everything else is done, mainly because it’s not my favorite thing to do.  I’m just dragging my feet.  I finally pulled out the old ottoman that was waiting for a slipcover and started working on it. I decided to use a piece from a cutter quilt I’ve been holding onto for a while  It wasn’t quite large enough, so I supplemented with a piece of antique homespun linen I bought for $5.00 at an antique store. I also used the homespun to make the piping, sides and skirt.  It wasn’t a big piece, but I was able to make it go a long way by sewing pieces together. The patch-worked nature of the piece just seemed to work…mostly I think because I used a quilt and

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Favorite Finds

bunny pull-toy

I know…again with the kid’s stuff, but this bunny pull-toy was just too cute to pass up!  I got it at a good price, because it didn’t have its original paint and, unfortunately, someone who wasn’t very artistically inclined tried to paint a face and spots on him.  The eyes were big and black with Raggedy Anne styled lashes.  It was just a little overdone and took away from the beautiful shape and legs of the piece.  I can’t fault someone for trying, though! I decided to give the bunny a softer, less Tammy Faye Bakker look.  I painted the body in MMSMP Ironstone.  It took two coats to get nice coverage.  Then, I used Shutter Gray to paint the spots, ears and very simple oval eyes.  I left the cream paint on the wheels, because they had a pretty patina and I thought complimented the lighter shade of white

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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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