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All Things Home

Decorating

an early present & a song

As usual, I was probably doing what no one else in the US was doing two days before Christmas…I was mulching my front yard.  I have a special photo shoot coming up in January and, while they’re not coming because of my gardening ability, I want the front of my house to look decent.  We divided and conquered and all four of us accomplished a lot today.  I even took some time to make a rather pathetic gingerbread house with my boys.  It tasted good and we had fun, so that’s what counts. Tomorrow is for wrapping, cooking and spending some time just hanging out, getting ready for Christmas.  I did get an early Christmas present, though.  My parents have been talking about moving up to PA to be closer to us and the grand kids for a few months and yesterday, they put a contract on a house about 8

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Decorating

Family Room Decorations

I’m still working on my Christmas decor, but here is what I’m up to in my family room…   It’s a bit more casual than the living and dining rooms, but it still has a predominantly blue and green color scheme.  I swapped out the brown and cream, though, for red and white, so it’s a bit more playful.             We ripped out our fireplace recently to make way for a flat screen TV, so we hung our stockings on a pair of shutters that flank a window.        I haven’t gotten much done the past couple of days, because we have been watching my boy’s Christmas plays and spending some time with my parents, but we’re getting down to business tomorrow.  My mom and I are going to knock out a big shopping list, my dad is going to put drywall over a doorway and

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Decorating

Living Room Decorations

I spent most of the day yesterday working on the decorations in my living room and it was so fun how it all came together.  I’m using mostly things I bought last year, found in my yard and craft room or had leftover from my retail space.  There’s something in the process of repurposing items that I find enjoyable.  It’s that ah-ha moment…”Oh, I can use this ribbon I’ve had for years and put it over this sheet music and tuck in a feather from my friend’s farm and a piece of greenery snipped from my yard!  That will look great!”  I had a lot of those moments as I pulled out sheet music banners Mini and I had made to use at Lucketts and when I ripped apart an old artificial wreath to give it a new look with fresh greens, rolled sheet music, feathers and glittered leaves.  It’s

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Holiday

Everyone Starts Somewhere

I’ve been asked on a few occasions to share pictures of the ornaments I painted when I first started my business three years ago. I always felt a little embarrassed to show them, so I haven’t.   They’re not really my style, but I decided to keep the ones I didn’t sell.  I knew they were a part of the history of my business and great reminders that often times success comes out of failures and things don’t always go as planned.  I also painted each one of these by hand at a time when I really needed a creative outlet.  I stayed up late into the night and painted these over my kitchen counter while the rest of my family slept.  I would sneak some time with them while my then 1 1/2 year old was playing and my four month old was at my ankles.  These are certainly not the best things I ever made,

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Decorating

everyone starts somewhere

I’ve been asked on a few occasions to share pictures of the ornaments I painted when I first started my business three years ago. I always felt a little embarrassed to show them, so I haven’t.   They’re not really my style, but I decided to keep the ones I didn’t sell.  I knew they were a part of the history of my business and great reminders that oftentimes success comes out of failures and things don’t always go as planned.  I also painted each one of these by hand at a time when I really needed a creative outlet.  I stayed up late into the night and painted these over my kitchen counter while the rest of my family slept.  I would sneak some time with them while my then 1 1/2-year-old was playing and my four-month-old was at my ankles. These are certainly not the best things I ever

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Decorating

It’s finally Christmas

After cramming fall and spring into one week, I’m finally getting ready for Christmas.  We put our “family” tree up today and I started decking out the dining room and entry hall.  The “pretty” tree is in it’s place, but I still need to put the lights on and decorate it.  I know the blog world has been showing off their Christmas decor for weeks, now, so I’m a little late.  I hope you’re not too sick of Christmas at this point!  If you’re not, here’s what I’ve done so far…                          I can’t wait to get more of it done.  I’m really getting into the spirit, now!  

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Decorating

{the last days of fall}

I’ve enjoyed looking over all of the Christmas link parties, but it’s still fall in the Mustard Seed household. Our Christmas decor will be up from late December through early February. That’s just how it is in this business.  I’m happy to say, though, that I only have two more freelance writing projects to finish for fall and then I am done.  I can pitch the pumpkins and bring out the evergreens.  Here’s a peak at a couple of the projects that I did for HGTV.com for fall of 2012…       …and I took a few shots of these cute little pumpkins and some glitter leaves.  One of my readers sent these brass leaves to me and they look gorgeous glittered.   (Thanks Perry family!)     I’m going to use them for Christmas as well. Tomorrow I’m going to do a photo shoot for the Spring.  HA!  Wish me luck trying

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Decorating

trim & a tree skirt

The project that won’t ever end (I seem to have a lot of those, don’t I?), is finally coming close to an end. This past week, I put in the trim around the baseboards and bead board. If you’ve ever put trim in an old house, you understand my pain. The floor is not level, the walls aren’t plum and it’s a nightmare to get things looking like they’re at least kind of straight. The floors are almost an inch off from left to right and from front to back, so putting in a squared off piece of bead board was tough. I ended up with a sizable gap where the bead board is supposed to fit snugly against the baseboard. Instead of trying to cut the piece at the exact angle, I decided to leave the gap and put some trim over it. Trim, caulk and paint can make

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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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