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All Things Home

All Things Home

how to make a custom shower curtain

As I shared in boy’s bathroom refresh, I made a custom shower curtain out of a curtain panel from Calvin’s former room in our PA house.  And, as promised, I’m sharing how I did it! This is one of those sewing projects where you just need to sew a semi-straight line and you’ll be okay. For this project, I used decorator-width fabric, which was 56″ prior to hemming and a , which is 54 x 78″.  This is taller than a standard shower curtain, filling the visual vertical space better (in my opinion.)  It is narrower than a traditional shower curtain, though, so I will make two. One tip – it’s nice to use a fabric for this project that looks good from both sides.  That way, you don’t have to look at the “backside” of the fabric and/or you don’t have to make a liner. Start off by hemming

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All Things Home

boys’ bathroom refresh

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by . As always, all opinions and words are honest and my own. Believe it or not, there are rooms in this house that have been furnished, but are otherwise untouched.  I haven’t painted the trim or walls or intentionally decorated them.  One of those rooms was the boys’ bathroom.  And, it was probably the worst room in the house.  The paint had been slopped on the walls, getting it on all the tub, floor, and all of the fixtures.  The faucets were crusted from 13 years of running without a water softener and the light fixtures were rusted. With some paint, repurposing, new fixtures, and a few new accessories, this bathroom feels like a completely new space.  The best compliment I received was when Marshall looked over my shoulder while I was editing the photos and asked who that bathroom belonged to.  (He hadn’t

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All Things Home

French Market Basket

I love French market baskets and have bought several over the years, but most of them have been sold.  I have kept three for myself, though.  I like to use them on top of tall pieces of furniture to fill the space visually, add some texture, and provide some storage for rarely-used bulky items. Before setting out for Gold Rush, I had a fleeting thought that I would buy another one if I found one at a good price.  Well, wouldn’t you know…Cheri and I came across an entire stack of them.  They were $55/each, which is a good price for this style of basket. I ended up picking a basket with a pretty weave and wood runners along the bottom to put on top of the wardrobe in the sewing room.  It’s a perfect place to stash extra pillow forms. I haven’t shown this piece in a while, but

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All Things Home

antique jelly cupboard

This antique punched-tin pie safe has always been one of those pieces I just didn’t want to let go.  I purchased it a few years ago from an antique store in Maryland with the intention to sell it, but I decided to keep it for myself.  I put it in the family room in our last house and we stored movies and games inside.  When we moved to Minnesota, I wasn’t sure where I would put this piece or how it would work in our new house, but I just wasn’t ready to let go. We hauled it over 1,000 miles and, as I suspected, I struggled with where to put it in our new house.  Not only did I struggle with where to put it, but I struggled with how these tall ceilings and new finishes made the piece look grubby instead of chipping and charming.  It just didn’t

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All Things Home

the melodeon

You caught a glimpse of the melodeon I purchased from the old schoolhouse/music hall in yesterday’s post, but it was buried under a bunch of stuff.  Here is where it ended up in our house and how it looks after a good cleaning and polishing with some MMS Milk Paint Hemp Oil. I have been looking for something to go under the master bedroom window since we moved here and I haven’t found anything that hit the nail on the head.  I had a $50 thrift store desk there for a while, but it was more of a place-holder than anything else.  I moved that desk into the sewing room and put the melodeon in its place. (I wrapped some fabric around the seat cushion for now, but I’m going to fix the seat and upholster it.) The style of this piece fits much better with the French wardrobe and

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All Things Home

the old schoolhouse/music hall

Before I share about the old schoolhouse/music hall I visited during Gold Rush, I wanted to let everyone know I listed a bunch of paintings for sale on Daily Paint Works.  This latest sale includes eight 5 x 7s from my “Out the Window” series, a calf, a country church, and I finally felt like I could let go of one of my sepia-toned rabbits. These paintings are sold auction-style, so I don’t have to set the prices and so everyone has time to place a bid if they are interested in owning an original painting.  You can bid on the animals HERE and the landscapes (including the church) HERE. Thanks to everyone who bids and buys!  It means a lot to me that you support this new venture into the world of fine art. As Cheri and I were making our way around the town of Oronoco to check

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All Things Home

Gold Rush | Aug 2019

Last Friday, my friend Cheri and I hit Gold Rush Days in Oronoco, MN.  It’s a huge antique event that takes over the entire sleepy town.  I’ve gone the past two years and found some fun things, but for some reason, I wasn’t enthusiastic about going this year.  I’ve been busy, I was certain it would be hot and humid, and I wasn’t optimistic that I would find anything I was looking for.  Great attitude, right?  I couldn’t believe I was feeling that way about antiquing!  Jeff encouraged me to go, though. I almost bailed, but I didn’t and I can’t tell you how glad I am that I went.  It was the best Gold Rush, yet!  (You can read about previous years HERE.) Right off the bat, Cheri and I were making a beeline to a couple of vendors.  I spotted a bunch of gilded frames leaned up against

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a slice of life

tips on decorating cakes with flowers

Before we chat about flowers and cakes, two things…  The winner of the mini landscapes is Ann Stuart Cassell!  Congrats!  And yes, for those asking, I will do more of those minis and have more giveaways in the future. Second, a new The Creative Exponent podcast is available – Episode 5: Don’t Wait for Perfect.  You can listen to it HERE. As soon as I put the in my shopping cart, I envisioned a four-layer naked cake decorated with flower sitting on top.  I have long loved that look, specifically done by Courtney of French Country Cottage.  She just has a knack with flowers.  And cakes. I initially started thinking through my cake pans, figuring out how I would make this cake and then I remember the time I baked 5 dozen mini cupcakes the night before the Lucketts Spring Market and realized I should just hire this out to

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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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