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Antiques

Copper & Tin Giveaway

    There are times when I’m browsing through an antique store and someone asks me what I’m looking for.  My response is almost always, “Well, I don’t know.  I’ll know it when I see it.”  I find that my method of shopping has shifted from wanting to get as many things as I could for my money to wanting to get something that really speaks to me or makes a statement in my home.  So, when I received an e-mail from Carrie of Copper & Tin and I checked out her Etsy shop, I knew I wanted to work with this proprietress.  So many pieces in her shop spoke to me.  These are the three that spoke the loudest… …a “for rent” sign…   …a paint brush…  …and an ironstone mold…     Here are some of the pieces currently in her shop that I love…      

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March 2, 2013 627 Comments
Before and Afters

Grain Sack Chair

I’m still plowing through my list of freelance articles (all 30 of them), so today I worked on a tutorial showing how to reupholster a small armchair.  See that yellow French chair under the window?  That was my subject.    It took a couple of hours to get her all stripped down and ready for a nice new look.  I decided to leave the wood frame as it was.  It was a pretty, dark wood and there really wasn’t a reason to paint it.  (See…I do leave some things alone!  Well, I did reupholster the chair, but you know what I mean.)  …and here it is in all of its grain sack glory…      …with a little surprise on the sides and back…         The full tutorial will be available on HGTV.com in a while and I’ll link to it when it’s live.  I also still

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February 27, 2013 89 Comments
home improvement

Installing the tile back splash

I woke up today, ready to get to work on the tile.  I had the tile saw (borrowed from a friend), the tile, the supplies and my dad lined up to help.  The morning was cold, but sunny.  So, I started to get everything set up and it started to sleet.  Okay.  No biggie.  We have to use the saw outside, but I’ll just set up a canopy tent.  By the time I gathered the saw horses and brought the canopy to the deck, it was like a blizzard outside.  Uh-uh.  I am tiling my back splash today and that is that.     My dad and I got a nice cozy setup on the deck and got started.  (Yes, that’s a kiddie pool on the deck that has one big ice cube in it.)  I got about 2/3 of the way through the project and realized I was woefully

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February 20, 2013 53 Comments
home improvement

Some things about a planked ceiling…

I did the plank ceiling A.) because we had some sloppy drywall and a strange textured ceiling, B.) because I was hired to write a tutorial on how to install a planked ceiling and C.) because I love the look.  I know a lot of you have questions about the installation, but you’ll have to wait for the tutorial to get most of those answered.  I will definitely link to it when it’s live.  I did want to share some things now, though, that I won’t be sharing in the tutorial.  These are some things that are good to know when deciding if a planked ceiling is right for you.     1.) This is the kind of project that looks bad when only the first few rows are done.  All of the imperfections are really obvious.  By imperfections, I mean gaps, boards that are warped, knots in the wood

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February 16, 2013 68 Comments
Antiques

awesome mail day

I learned pretty early on that I’m in the right profession for a person who loves getting packages in the mail.  A part of it is that I live in a rural area, so it makes sense to order things online instead of driving all over the place hunting for something.  That’s probably how I get most of the supplies for my articles and non-antique items that I sold at Lucketts.  I also get “blogger mail”, which is stuff people want me to review, nice things people make for me or sweet thank you gifts.  Well, today was an epic mail day with a little bit of everything. I got new tile for my kitchen back splash….   …mini herringbone marble tile.  Sigh.  Yes, I know.  It’s actually Oriental White tile, which is a lot like Carrera, but it’s whiter and has a touch of beige veins in addition to

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February 6, 2013 67 Comments
Before and Afters

chandeliers, boxwood, fluff & stuff

This post is a little blog buffet of a bit of this and that of my day.  Enjoy the randomness…   As I’ve mentioned the past few days, I have a lot of big projects coming up for freelance tutorials.  Some of those projects are tied to others.  (Remember the “decorating is like dominoes” thing?)  For example, two of the tutorials I’m making are on installing a plank ceiling and crown molding, so I’m going to remove the ceiling fan, move the junction box and hang the new chandelier as a part of that project.  So, today, I worked on getting the chandelier ready and while I was working on one chandelier, I might as well work on the other one, right?   This small chandelier above my vanity had sleeves that were too short and they were shiny plastic.  Two things that weren’t working for me.  I bought new

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February 5, 2013 101 Comments
Photography

tutorial on making tutorials

I currently have a huge to-do list of tutorials to make for HGTV.com, so I thought while I was in the middle of making all of these tutorials, I would share some tips with you on making a tutorial.  A tutorial on making tutorials, if you will.   Good tutorials to be exact. 1.) Pick a good project.  Try to show how to make something that’s totally original, a hack of something really expensive or take the mystery out of a project that seems complicated.  Tutorials like these will get the most views, pins, comments, thank yous, etc. 2.) Do your research and know what you’re talking about.  I’m going to admit that I have sometimes figured things out as I’m making the tutorial (and I really wish I could go back and redo some of those), but I usually do a lot of research and practice what I’m going

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February 2, 2013 33 Comments
Antiques

the new bed

My new bed was delivered yesterday!!  For those of you who have ordered lots of pieces of furniture and had them delivered, this might not be very exciting to you, but it was thrilling for me.  I usually dig my pieces out of the back corner of some barn and have to put a great deal of work into it before it’s ready to use, so this is a different experience for me. The delivery guys even came early, so I didn’t have to run to the door at every thump during the “2 hour window.”  After they set it up, I rounded the corner into my room and saw my new bed, my dream bed.      It looks even better in person than it did in the catalog.  To make the day even sweeter, my new bedding was delivered yesterday, too.  I’ll tell you about that down the

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January 30, 2013 120 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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