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favorite things | ironstone molds

When I shared the ironstone mold I purchased at the flea market over Mother’s Day weekend, I received a few questions about ironstone molds, so I thought I would share more about them.  My collection started a few years ago with, of course, my love for anything ironstone.  That love even led me into buying an ironstone spitoon, which I wouldn’t do again because #1 what do you use that for and #2…ick.  Anyway, I came across an ironstone mold and at first debated buying it.  It had a beautiful design on the inside, but it looked a little clumsy and plain on the outside.  And what would I do with it?  Pitchers and bowls and plates and the like can all be used for something (even if they are mostly used for display.) The one I was debating, though, was a good size to plop a plant in or

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May 22, 2019 43 Comments
All Things Home

repairing a broken stool

I was going to call this post “how to fix loose stools”, but I realized that sounded like an Immodium commercial or something and came up with a different name.  You’re welcome for that. Anyway, moving past the potty humor, I have a thing for antique stools.  They are multi-functional and, since they are hard-working pieces, they are typically worn to perfection.  They are very soulful pieces of furniture in my view. Often times, though, the rungs that connect the legs on stools (and chairs) loosen over time, especially if they’ve been stored in a garage or attic where extreme temperatures can loosen the glue. Fixing this issue is so simple, though!  Just get some wood glue… …and brush it onto the end of the lose rung and the recess it fits into. Push it back in… …and wipe away the excess glue.  In my experience, most of the chairs

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May 20, 2019 16 Comments
All Things Home

a little “spring cleaning” for my indoor plants

Just a quick bit of business first…  We were having some technical glitches with the Personal Retreat Guide for Creatives yesterday, but it’s working now.  If you were having that trouble, you can click HERE, enter your e-mail, click subscribe, and then you’ll get an e-mail to download the guide.  Sorry about that! I noticed last week that some of my house plants were looking a little sad.  It wasn’t that they were unhealthy, but they needed to be cleaned up a little…trimmed, have the dead leaves shaken out, etc.  So, I took a little bit of time to give them a little “spring cleaning”. Both of my indoor gardenia plants were holding onto a bunch of dried out and dead leaves inside their living foliage, so I took each one of them out on the deck and pick them all out.  I was nervous they would look naked after

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May 17, 2019 29 Comments
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gold rush purchases

Saturday was Jeff’s birthday and he went out for a special father-son breakfast for some time with our youngest before we spent time together as a family.  On their way home, he saw that there was an antique market happening at the Rochester Fair Grounds.  And, believe it or not, he called and told me about it (no. 1) and then (no. 2) he actually suggested we go there together as a family.  Now, Jeff has always been supportive of my antique habit (unless it involves moving something huge), but he’s not usually one to suggest going to an event, especially with the kids and especially on his birthday. After I checked to make sure he wasn’t joking or ill, I gave an enthusiastic yes. So, we all went to the antique market, which is a small offshoot of the Gold Rush Days that happens in Oronoco and Rochester in

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May 13, 2019 36 Comments
All Things Home

new pulls for my desk

I just can’t leave well enough alone.  That quality is what actually led me into decorating in the first place, so I am thankful for it, but it does mean I’m always looking for ways to customize and/or improve something even when they are perfectly fine as is. Well, one thing I wanted to customize as soon as it was delivered to my house was .  I love the shape, finish, and style of it, but I didn’t like the hardware.  Fortunately, that’s a relatively quick and inexpensive thing to change.  So, I did! Here is what it looked like before… …and here is what it looks like with the new hardware… I chose antiqued brass bin-cup pulls because they still work with the mission-style of the desk, but they look a little softer and less rustic than the original pulls. I bought THIS 10-pack of pulls from Amazon for

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May 9, 2019 74 Comments
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studio closet reveal

The studio closet is finally finished!  I cannot express how awesome it is to have all of that functional storage in this space now.  It was one of my goals this year to make my workspaces more functional and that has been accomplished in my studio and home office. Previous Posts: If you missed any previous posts in the studio closet series, including plans and some process pictures of how the closet was built, you can find them here… studio closet: framing and shelves studio closet progress: building the doors studio closet progress: straightening warped doors with turnbuckles studio closet progress: building the 3rd door & adding catches So, this weekend, while everyone else in my family was occupied, I took some time to prime and paint the closet.  I used Smart Prime by Zinsser as the primer and then Benjamin Moore’s Aura in White Dove in an eggshell finish

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May 7, 2019 69 Comments
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why there is a Christmas wreath on my door in April

I learned last spring that one can get away with having Christmas greenery and lights up on a porch until April in Minnesota. Since there is still snow on the ground, it just works and seems acceptable. (On Instagram, a reader and I dubbed the snow pattern on this door “snowmbre”.  Get it?  Snow…ombre?  Moving on.) But, the live greenery was starting to look sad just before Junk Bonanza, so I took a bit of time to take it down. Just before I did that, though, Jeff pointed out that there was a bird’s nest in the wreath.  I hadn’t noticed it, because it’s built in the top, left, inside corner of the wreath.  It’s really nestled in there and you can’t see it when you’re looking head-on at the door.  He told me we needed to remove the nest, so we don’t have birds pooping all over the door

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May 3, 2019 51 Comments
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linen shades & art sale

First off, the winner of the Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint birthday giveaway is Traci (butterflyoct)!  Congrats! Almost a year ago, I made some linen shades to filter light in my studio.  And that project turned into having the shades reproduced and sold on Decor Steals.  Well, they are back today! I hung one in my kitchen to show what they look like… They are made out of a pretty, off-white, linen-ish fabric that offers some privacy and filters light without blocking it out entirely.  They are made to hang on a tension rod, so they are easy to put up (and take down.) And the ties can be styled in a variety of ways.  Here is a video showing some options… I am asked about those shades almost every time I show them, I’m happy Decor Steals brought back this ready-made option. You can click HERE to purchase them.  Also, I

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May 2, 2019 19 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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