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All Things Home

Something For Me

As most of you know, I have been a busy girl making things for Lucketts, for my new booth, for clients and writing tutorials for HGTV.com, so my poor house has been neglected.  I’m ashamed to say that there were a few weeks where I hardly cleaned the place.  (I did clean my bathrooms, but the dust, the carpets and the floors were a disgrace!)  I finally got caught up with my cleaning and I mopped the floors, shampooed the carpets and cleaned every room head to toe.  Now, I’m feeling the itch for some “me” time.  Some girls want to go shoe shopping, read a novel or get a message.  I want to work on my house.  I still have a huge business to-do list, but I snuck about an hour of time for myself and finally made a cover for the pillow form that’s been sitting on my

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September 19, 2010 20 Comments

A Star Burst & A Trumeau

  I have two new mirrors in my house, now.  One found and one made.   Some free antique spindles, a $1.00 craft mirror, hot glue and a scrap piece of hard board came together to make a chic star burst mirror.  This is my kind of craft.  I have enough of these old spindles to make one more, so I’ll do a full tutorial on this.  I had to make sure it wouldn’t look lame, first.  It was super simple and could easily be reproduce with chop sticks, dowel rods, paint brush handles…lots of things.  These spindles came out of the Gettysburg sewing factory and they are supposed to be used like this… …but, I don’t have any more of the “hubs”, so this was a good way to transform them into something else.  I love the varying lengths and patina on the wood.  Among all of the other things I’m

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September 18, 2010 43 Comments
Antiques

Ironstone 101

I have received a lot of questions lately about ironstone, what it is, and how to identify it. I am certainly not an expert, but I have been collecting ironstone for about ten years now and I have a pretty large collection (I’ve lost count), so I know it when I see it. I remember reading a magazine years ago, drooling over the ironstone collections in some of the featured homes.  I loved how beautiful and simple it was and immediately added it to my “to collect” list right away.  I found a pitcher several months later and the collection has grown from there.  I’ve been fickle about other things I hunt for when shopping, but never about ironstone.  It’s been a constant over the years. Pieces of ironstone can be found for only a few dollars (or a dime, like this past weekend), but pieces that are very old and in perfect

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September 15, 2010 91 Comments

I’m a girl. What can I say?

Today was a great shopping day…and I love those.  I’m a girl.  What can I say?  It started out early.  My MIL and youngest boy set out to one of my favorite bi-annual community yard sales.  Right off the bat, I spotted a house that had loads of antiques for sale.  Most of it was a little too expensive for me (for resale purposes), but I did buy a few old books, a huge frame, and a folding wooden chair.  All for $4.00.  Then, we were off and running.  We had walked through most of the neighborhood and I hadn’t bought another thing (except puzzles for my 3 1/2 year old, cookies for the boy and a brownie for me.)  This day was going to be a bummer.  Then, I spotted a Frenchy chest of drawers with great hardware (and stickers and a nasty paint job.)  It was very sturdy, solid

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September 11, 2010 49 Comments

Book Bundles & Birds

I decided to share another very cheap and easy home decor project today.  I love the look of old books and I’ve been fortunate enough to find some cool ones on my thrifting excursions, but what if you can’t find any old books?  No problem.  Run (or drive) to your local thrift store and pick up a stack of hard back books.  I bought mine at Goodwill for $.97/each.  Try to find books that have yellowed pages and a bit of age to them.  Most of the books I found were from the 1980’s. Using an exacto knife, cut the bound pages from the spine and remove the cover.  Bundle the books together using twine and use for display.  (Just a tip – Don’t do this to your husband’s civil war book collection on a day you’re mad at him.) These neutral book bundles are a great way to decorate a book

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September 6, 2010 32 Comments

Recreating Costume Jewelry

This project is super simple.  Like, “embarrassing that I’m even showing you how to make them” simple, but I’m going to insult your craftiness and post a tutorial, anyway.  I love vintage costume jewelry, but I’m not about to don my rhinestone clip-ons and mink shrug for a day of furniture refinishing.  (That image made me laugh.)  But, I find it a sad thing to leave them sitting in a jewelry box.  Why not use the clips for something else?  Clip-on magnets is what came to mind.  Gather broaches, clip-ons, belt buckles, pins and any other pretty sparkly thing you can glue a magnet to.  I purchased mine from a great yard sale for a quarter each.  Buy a roll of magnet from a craft store and cut the magnet to size.  I purchased mine at AC Moore for under $1.00.  Use some super glue or Gorilla Glue to adhere the

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September 5, 2010 27 Comments

Goodwill Luck & Getting Organized

I hit the right Goodwill at the right moment on the right day.  The Goodwill store in Westminster, MD is big and always has a lot of cool stuff, but it can be a little pricey sometimes.  Today, they were overloaded with furniture and almost every employee looked like a college student who didn’t care about fetching a high price on something “old.”  So, I scored a bunch of really great things for a song.  I got this chair… …a vintage wooden rocking horse (that I’m going to paint to look more sophisticated)… …a ratty, but not stinky, ottoman… …and an amazing antique china cabinet, which I have not snapped a photo of, yet.  I also got some silver and three Pyrex bowls.  It was a jackpot for someone like me.  We also hit Lowes and I found a couple of goodies there as well.  I needed some more drop cloths to make

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September 4, 2010 36 Comments

Oyster Sign

I don’t think I’ve ever had an oyster, but the thought of one in my mouth just doesn’t do it for me.  I may not like oysters, but that didn’t stop me from thinking “fresh oysters” would look cool on a sign.  I loved this old piece of barn wood with the original red paint on it.  It’s probably over 100 years old and was a perfect “canvas” for one of my hand painted “antique” signs.  I know I’ve promised a tutorial on my process for making my signs and I will hold to that.  I am too busy with Lucketts and some other very exciting projects I have in the works.  Anyway, this sign is also coming with me to Lucketts and I hope it finds a good buyer who will give it a good home.  I also made another lamp shade out of upholstery webbing.  Here’s a sneak peak

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August 25, 2010 28 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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