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Artists’ Guild Notepads

As I’ve been bouncing around the house, alternating between studio work and decorating the house for Christmas, I came upon a stack of the notepads I had ordered and intended to list for sale earlier this year!  You know, when you have an idea in mind, you stick the thing in a closet, and then you forget about it?  Well, that’s precisely what happened here.  I got sidetracked, and the notepads were a casualty of having my fingers in too many pies. Instead of letting them languish in the closet, I decided to bring them out, finally list them on the website, and make them available for Christmas gifts or for those who are always in *need* of just one more good notepad. You can shop the notepad HERE.  (As a quick note, my eCommerce software is showing $30 as the default for shipping for one notepad.  Shipping is free. 

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December 9, 2025 4 Comments
All Things Home

copper mold candle centerpiece | Christmas decorating

I was working on decorating for Christmas – draping garland on the tree, putting fresh batteries into the LED tree candles, topping cabinets with greenery – and I got sidetracked, as I often do.  My collection of copper bundt pans hanging from the potrack in my kitchen caught my eye.  Oh yeah, I’ve always wanted to make a Christmas centerpiece out of one of those.  That thought sent me on the rabbit trail of making this copper mold candle centerpiece… antique copper bundt pan | Norfolk pine | LED real wax candles | Miss Mustard Seed wrapping paper | brass sleigh bells  | faux juniper I looked for the best candidate and decided on an antique copper mold I bought in Italy a few years ago.  (It measures 9″ at the widest point, the rim.)  If you don’t have one on hand, you can find vintage and antique real copper

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December 8, 2025 30 Comments
All Things Home

Christmas momentum

When I’m in the early stages of thinking about decorating for Christmas, before I pull out the bins or lights, faux greens, and ornaments, I usually feel pretty resolved that I’m going to keep things simple. As you may notice if you visit my blog regularly, I’m always busy with something.  When Thanksgiving is over, and the calendar turns to December, I’m already looking forward to the post-Christmas slow-down.  The glorious lost week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, when I clear the calendar completely, say no to almost everything, and reserve that time for myself, my family, and rest.  We binge-watch our favorite series, chip away at a puzzle, eat leftovers, and stay in our jammies all day.  Just thinking about that week makes me want to take the ramp-up to Christmas gently. And, in all honesty, I’ve spent over fifteen years decorating and making things for Christmas as

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December 3, 2025 15 Comments
crafts

homemade christmas gifts

I’ve loved making and giving homemade gifts since I was little.  As you may have guessed, my favorite medium was always paint, but I have made a lot of other things over the years, as I learned new crafts. Homemade gifts are not flashy or trendy, but they are meaningful, thoughtful, and show that time was put into a gift, which feels like a rarity in this age of one-click shopping. I have shared loads of projects on this blog over the years, so I thought I would gather a few that make wonderful gifts.   customized notebook A couple of years ago, I shared how I customize inexpensive (or just boring) notebooks and sketchbooks with fabrics, papers, and ribbons.  While that’s a perfect project for creative play, it’s also great to make for someone as a gift.  The best part is you can select elements that are perfectly suited

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December 1, 2025 3 Comments
All Things Home

New Society6 Papers, Prints & More

Surface design is something I’ve played with on and off for a few years and this year, I decided to lean into that interest and create some new patterns for wrapping papers as well as other available products on Society6.  While only one is specifically designed for Winter/Christmas, I feel like these designs work well year-round, including for Christmas.  (Products are up to 50% off at Society6 for their Black Friday event.) I love Society6’s wrapping paper.  It comes in five sheets that are generously-sized, so they will cover most mid-sized and small gifts.  The paper is thick, but not too thick, has a matte finish, and a grid on the back so you can make straight cuts.  I only wish you could also order it on rolls for larger presents, but it is very high quality and definitely a favorite. I’m so excited about the polka-dots (in green &

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November 28, 2025 7 Comments
All Things Home

salt-dough season | traditional salt-dough ornament recipe

One of my favorite holiday projects over all my years of Christmas crafting is making things with salt dough.  It started with an impulsive purchase from an Instagram ad.  I bought two wooden cookie molds, not really even sure what I was going to do with them.  I just thought they were pretty and had good crafting potential.  After languishing in my tin with cookie cutters and piping tips, inspiration hit.  What if I used those pretty molds with humble salt dough?  I hadn’t even thought of salt dough since my elementary years, but it seemed like it might be an idea worth trying.  It’s cheap and easy to make and has the potential to be elevated with beautiful molds.  I made them and they turned out even better than I expected.  Since then, I’ve made several variations, shared my favorite sources for molds, and even made faux “gingerbread houses”

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November 17, 2025 9 Comments
All Things Home

my favorite realistic faux evergreens

I really loved my Christmas decorating last year, so I will probably do something very similar this year.  It felt classic and beautiful, and looking back over the pictures makes me excited to pull out the bins and deck the halls.  Well, almost.  But, while I’m thinking about it and while you might be planning and shopping, and before everything Christmas is sold out, I wanted to share my favorite realistic faux evergreens for Christmas and winter decorating. Years ago, I purged any artificial greens we had and only used live greenery and trees for several years.  But after a couple of trees dried out and died before Christmas (ugh), and we then moved to a house with forced-air heat (that dried live greens to a crisp), I was forced to revisit them.  While I don’t love storing more Christmas decor in more bins, it is nice to make the

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November 13, 2025 5 Comments
All Things Home

tucking in the garden for winter

This is our fourth fall in this house, and I think we have finally figured out how to best deal with the leaves from the six large maple trees on our property.  The first fall, we had just moved in and were completely overwhelmed by them.  Our amazing neighbors jumped in and used their two riding mowers to help us out.  Since then, Jeff (primarily) and I have been trying to figure out a system to stay on top of the leaves while also making the most of their benefit to the garden. The first couple of years, we treated them as refuse and took them to the grass and leaf pile at the dump.  As I’ve been reading more about gardening, though, I learned we were throwing away a valuable resource, especially if the leaves are shredded.  Jeff’s dad gave us an old Chipper Vac, so they are even

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November 10, 2025 7 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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