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Decorating

Fall Decorating Update

 Last time we checked in on my fall decorating, I had plopped a pumpkin in a dough bowl and called it a day. A couple of days later, I went to the farmer’s market up the road for some apples and found the prettiest blue hubbard squash and a fresh kale plant.  Neither were very expensive, so I picked them up.  Then, on the way from my my shopping trip on Thursday, I passed a huge wagon overflowing with beautiful varieties of pumpkins, including the blue Cinderella’s, so I picked up two of those and some mini white pumpkins for $12. I mixed in some pine cones and dried artichokes from my basement to round things out. So, now I have an arrangement in the dough bowl… …and a vignette on the dresser in the family room…     (I love how it looks like these two are nestling up

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September 23, 2013 47 Comments
Antiques

Some of my finds | Light in the Basement

I went out yesterday to do some shopping for my online shop and the Chapel Market coming up soon in Pike Road, Alabama.  October 19, to be exact.  Anyway, here are some things I found… …some 1950’s horse ribbons… …a glass water bottle in a wooden crate (I’ve seen these made into killer lamps)… …a pretty piece of wood trim… …lots and lots of ironstone… …some flow blue plates and a “cow bowl”, which is exactly what it said on the tag… …a beautiful French chair (of course, I’m going to reupholster it)… (That’s just a tapestry-like fabric, by the way, not needle point, so don’t freak out.) The frame is very sturdy, though, and the wood is gorgeous… …this cane French chair… …oh, she’s a beauty.  Her seat is a little saggy, but we won’t hold that against her, will we?  (After all, we’ll all have saggy seats one

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September 21, 2013 62 Comments
Decorating

how I decorate for the seasons

I know as a home blogger, I’m supposed to crank out awesome new holiday projects weeks before each season starts.  Well, I honestly don’t do a lot to decorate for the seasons.  I like to throw out a few natural elements…like sea shells in the summer, a few eggs in the spring, some evergreen boughs and pine cones in the winter and I’ll buy a few pumpkins for fall.  So far, I bought one pumpkin at Wegman’s the other day and plopped it in a dough bowl.  Done. I’ll probably pick up a few more as I see ones that I like, but that’s really about it. I already had some feathers in an ironstone pitcher and those look fall-ish, so I moved them up to the living room to give them a more prominent place. The times when I do actually do a project, it’s almost always for an

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September 17, 2013 86 Comments
Antiques

Recent Antique Finds & Online Shop

Lately I’ve been spending most of my days at home…cleaning, purging, getting myself organized and ready to create new and exciting things.  I’ve been trying to get a handle on my e-mail, tidy up some things on my blog, the milk paint website and getting in the habit of looking at my calendar every day, so I’m not such a spazz all the time.  Basically, I’ve been a homebody. So, Thursday, I took a trip to one of my favorite antique stores to do some shopping and stopped by another used furniture store I frequent to pick up some pieces I bought from them through Craig’s List.  I don’t have a retail space any more, but I do have The Chapel Market coming up in October and I’m finally opening my online shop (now that my basement is ready for it!) Here are some pieces I picked up… I thought

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September 14, 2013 38 Comments
Antiques

Stop the World & Ironstone Mugs

It’s one of those times in my life when I wish I could just stop the world for about a week, so I can catch up on things that have been put on the back burner for days, weeks, months and even years.   I am on a tear to get things done. I have been organizing my way through the house and am making some real progress, so that’s been encouraging.  I’ve also been getting caught up on e-mail, insurance stuff, paperwork, cleaning my kitchen floor and other not-at-all fun things like that.  It’s slow, but steady, but I’m really ready to have my computer back (the drive died and is being replaced) and get to working on furniture painting and upholstery and creating things. Before that can happen, we do need to be able to…you know…find stuff…and walk in the workshop without having to high-step around and watch out for

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September 5, 2013 70 Comments
Photography

three elements of shooting in manual mode

Well, everyone liked the photography posts, so I’m going to throw in another one for those who are scared to start shooting in manual mode.  I want to explain what you gain when you do that and what you’re adjusting when you turn those dial.  Let me preface this (and all of my photography posts) with the disclaimer that I am not a super-duper-awesome-know-everything-professional-photographer.  I do get paid to take photographs, so I am “professional” in that sense, but it’s more by default.  I want to share my home, decorating, tutorials and ideas and the best way for me to do that is through pictures.  I’m sharing these things in the way I learned and understand them.  I’m sure pros would have a lot to add (and they are certainly welcome to in the comments), but I’m trying to explain it in non-technical terms.  You also have to remember that photography

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September 3, 2013 28 Comments
Decorating

Wax Puck Tutorial

I’m just getting in from enjoying the beautiful Collegiate Peaks in Colorado, so I’ve asked our MMS Milk Paint Primary Educator, Abbe Doll, to share a tutorial with you.  I haven’t had a chance to shoot or write a tutorial on using Wax Pucks, one of our new products, so Abbe, who is a machine, made one for me!  Enjoy! Let me just start by saying I love this little thing! It fits so perfectly in the palm of your hand and creates such fun effects. Here are some benefits of using the wax puck: You can create smooth, precise distressed lines on edges. If you want to expose color under color without sanding down to the wood, this allows you to control the amount of distressing you get It will allow you to expose or bring out the details of that great wear and tear of an old piece,

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August 27, 2013 No Comments
Hand Painted Furniture

waxpuckgallery

I’m just getting in from enjoying the beautiful Collegiate Peaks in Colorado, so I’ve asked our MMS Milk Paint Primary Educator, Abbe Doll, to share a tutorial with you.  I haven’t had a chance to shoot or write a tutorial on using Wax Pucks, one of our new products, so Abbe, who is a machine, made one for me!  Enjoy! Let me just start by saying I love this little thing! It fits so perfectly in the palm of your hand and creates such fun effects. Here are some benefits of using the wax puck: You can create smooth, precise distressed lines on edges. If you want to expose color under color without sanding down to the wood, this allows you to control the amount of distressing you get It will allow you to expose or bring out the details of that great wear and tear of an old piece,

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August 26, 2013 19 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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