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All Things Home

fall & thanksgiving inspiration

The new issue of Cottages and Bungalows has hit newsstands, so I thought I would share a few pictures from my DIY Essentials column.  (Table settings are one of my favorites to photograph…) This month’s issue shares a tutorial on how to make an over sized chalkboard with a chunky frame.   (The piece is now for sale at Lucketts.  I wanted to keep it, but it didn’t fit my requirement of having a perfect place for it.  Bummer.)    I also have several new Thanksgiving/Fall galleries and tutorials available on HGTV.com, including a fall arrangement gallery…   …stenciled napkins… (Thanks so much to Laura of Maison de Stencils for making this custom stencil for me!) hand painted plates… custom trimmed table cloth…   and ideas for a Kid’s Thanksgiving Table.  I hope these projects and pictures get those wheels turning for fall decor.  Tomorrow, Mini and I are going down to

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October 12, 2011 38 Comments

busy busy

I’m in a tight spot again.  It’s that time of year.  Last year at this time, I thought, “I need to remember this and gear up early next year.”  But that’s easier said than done and here I am.  Mini Mustard Seed and I are glittering and gluing just about every spare minute.  Today we turned our attention to shopping.  I need stuff to fill my entire room at Lucketts to the brim, so we set out today to hit an antique mall I’ve never been to.  Success.  We found four shopping carts full of stuff and a great old farm table.  We found some of my favorites…a fan, scales, ironstone… …and wire baskets, galvanized bins and cool architectural pieces.  (I have really cool plans for that wagon.) …and I also found a lot of one specific thing I was looking for…  …silver.  I want my entire room to sparkle

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October 11, 2011 55 Comments

2011 Ornaments

Mini Mustard Seed and I have been working hard to get lots of ornaments made for the Lucketts Holiday Open House (Nov. 4, 5 and 6.)  I’ve lost count of how many we have made, but it’s certainly in the hundreds.    That’s going to continue this week, but I’m also going to have to do some shopping, painting and upholstery work to get ready.  I’ve also had to do a lot of online ordering…clay tags, pillows, stockings, runners, ten pounds of glitter, ten yards of hemp fabric…  whew!  I also just spoke to a local tree farm today about getting a live tree at the end of October. They thought I was a little nutty, but they said they would give me a saw and I could take my pick.  Here’s a sneak peek of a couple of new ornaments in the line this year…  Of course I’ll have some

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October 9, 2011 64 Comments

Christmas & Halloween

Oh, yes I did. I’m writing about Christmas and Halloween in one post on October 2.   Welcome to my world.  As I’m getting ready for the Christmas open house at The Old Lucketts Store, it made me think of some of my favorite tutorials from last year.  Everyone went nuts over this ruffled linen Christmas tree skirt I made for HGTV.com.  Well, the tutorial is finally live, so you can make one on your own.  And the best news?  It’s no sew.  That’s right.  No sewing…at all…ever.  You can check out the full tutorial here.  To keep it budget friendly, linen can be purchased for $5.00/yard online.  You can also use a white cotton sheet to reduce the price even further.  I sell a lot of piece I make for HGTV.com after I turn the article in, but I kept this one for myself.  …and in case you’re wondering…yes, I

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October 2, 2011 69 Comments

pumpkins

…because sometimes it’s fun to just take some pictures. 

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September 25, 2011 34 Comments

the most frequently asked question

I get a lot of e-mail and comments asking questions, but the most common one I receive is, “Where did you get your curtains?”  Since I originally posted about them over a year ago (Has it been that long?), I decided to share the tutorial on how to make them again. When I was looking for a fabric about 18 months ago, I wanted a large-scaled paisley print in blue and white.  Well, I didn’t find it, but I found this Waverly print and thought it would read the way I wanted it to.  It was even better and, a year later, I still love them.  They have been the backdrop of many photo shoots and have become a bit of a trademark of my style.      Here is the original tutorial I shared last July… Don’t be scared if you’re new to sewing.  If you can cut, measure,

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September 5, 2011 41 Comments

Miss Mustard Seed’s Wuslu Pick of the Month & a Giveaway

One thing I have thoroughly enjoyed about blogging is meeting amazing, resourceful and creative women who have started their own businesses.  I have met some all-around awesome entrepreneurs.  One that I had the pleasure of meeting last week was Yasmin (and her sister, Nadia) of Wuslu.  We met for dinner in Frederick, MD and I was fascinated to learn their story.  I’m going to share it with you one day, because it’s so inspiring.  At dinner, we kicked around a bunch of ideas and one thing we came up with was Miss Mustard Seed’s pick of the month.  If you’re not familiar with Wuslu, it’s an online home decor shop that offers only one item each day.  Because the item is bought in a high volume, it’s less expensive and the savings are passed on to you.  Brilliant, right?  So, each day they have a hand picked item up for sale

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September 2, 2011 390 Comments

monogram tea towel pillow

Some of you may have spotted the new Martha Stewart line by Plaid available at Michael’s.  It’s been quite the buzz on the blogs lately.  Several bloggers, including myself, were asked to try out the new products and tools and boy, did we get a big box of goodies to try. Here’s what I made… …a hand painted monogram pillow out of an antique linen tea towel.  (This towel was not in pristine condition, so don’t fret.)  I used the fabric medium and mixed it with equal parts paint.  This hand sponge applicator is ideal for stenciling, so I put it to good use on this project.  A tip when stenciling fabric – make sure to put something under the area you’re painting, so it doesn’t bleed through.  I usually use tin foil.  I then selected my stencils and punched them out.  These are from the Serif Stencil Set.  Using a

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September 1, 2011 29 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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