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cross-stitch patterns | B & I

Before I get to the cross-stitch patterns, I wanted to share that I actually scheduled some milk paint workshops at the studio! I get asked about it a lot, so I finally pinned myself down and put some on the calendar. Friday, July 15, 2016, is a Milk Paint 101 Workshop from 10:00 am – 12:30 pm. In the past, my 101 workshops have been learning to use the products on sample boards, but I’ve mixed it up, so we’ll work on three small projects for you to take and use in your home or give as gifts. Slots are available to purchase HERE. Saturday, July 16, 2016, is a BYOF (bring your own furniture) Workshop from 10:00 am – 3:30 pm. These are so much fun, because you can bring a piece to paint and we’ll work on it together. You learn while you finish a piece. You can purchase a

June 26, 2016 28 Comments

All Things Home

cross-stitching on linen

I have fallen in love with an old-school craft…cross-stitching. I know it has a reputation for being dated, but that has a lot more to do with the patterns and the cross-stitch kits available than it does the craft itself. So, this renewed interest in needlework came about when I noticed that my favorite antique textiles were those that were monogrammed. And then I noticed that most of those monograms were simple cross-stitching, using the natural “grid” pattern in linen to make the X’s. And then I had the thought that I usually have before tackling a DIY project… “I can do that!” So, I did… …and the results looked so authentic that it had me giddy with excitement to stitch some more. I have been looking around at various cross-stitch letters online to find the style that will look original on antique linen. I found a “P” that I liked and

June 17, 2016 70 Comments

All Things Home

indigo dyed napkins

A few of you spotted (and asked about) the blue napkins I used in my table arrangement last week… …so, this post is all about them. These napkins are actually antique linen napkins from my Oma. They look quite lovely in the picture below, but they were actually a very yellowy-cream that I never cared for… The color was so off that I never used them. I always went to prettier white and cream linen napkins. They are so pretty, aside from the color, and it was a shame they weren’t being used, so when I was working on an indigo dying project for a freelance client, I decided to “throw them in the pool”. (As an aside, I was slightly insane and accepted six freelance tutorials that had to be completed in two weeks, just before Lucketts! It definitely put the pressure on, but it was worth squeezing them

May 30, 2016 52 Comments

All Things Home

milk painted ornaments

I spent most of my day wrapping presents and working on some cleaning to get ready to host Christmas. I’m sure many of you were doing the same. I have also been insanely motivated to purge and organize. I’m not sure what has kicked into me, but I have been in a mood. A get-rid-of-80%-of-everything-and-organize-the-rest kind of mood. Usually this mood hits me in January, but it is, very inconveniently, hitting just a few days before Christmas! So, I’ve been purging and sorting my way through sections of my house and studio. I’m ready to take on any shelf, drawer, closet or cubby that doesn’t contain useful items stored in a tidy fashion. I’ve bought bins and labels and I’m eye-balling things that I’m going to sell, donate or pitch. I’ll finally quit holding myself back after Christmas, but for now, I need to push aside this distraction and focus on the

December 22, 2015 28 Comments

All Things Home

teacup & pedestal advent wreath

Last year, I made an advent wreath out of an ironstone ring mold. I was planning to do the same this year, but my ring mold was at the studio when I was in the heat of the decorating moment, so I shifted gears. (Of course, I could’ve hopped in the car and made the two-minute drive to the studio to get it, but that seems like too much of a disruption to someone who is in the thick of a creative moment.) I tend to thrive on decorating MacGyver-style, anyway. Well, sometimes. Some of my best ideas have happened on the fly. But then again, sometimes I get impatient and force things and it’s a disaster. And the worst part is that I know it’s a disaster even as I’m doing it. Like the time I thought it was a good idea to hot-glue exterior velvet ribbon to the

December 4, 2015 43 Comments

All Things Home

aging terra cotta pots

There are some people who like things shiny and new. They want to be the first person to own something. They like the smell of a car with 32 miles on it. They want their furniture to be delivered, tags still attached. I am just not one of those people. Unless we’re talking about electronics, mattresses or toilets, I want things in my home that have the patina that only comes with time. Or a bit of trickery. I have a few antique terra cotta pots and, while I’d love to fill my whole potting bench with them, that would get too expensive. So, I have some new ones mixed in. Can you tell which one is the new one? Yeah. It’s pretty clear and the new ones were bugging me a bit. While I had the Ironstone (white) MMS Milk Paint out to paint the sides of the potting bench, I decided

August 20, 2015 16 Comments

All Things Home

how to gold leaf a frame

When I was out shopping for the upcoming Lucketts Spring Market last week, I was looking for artwork for my living room as well. I was really hoping for a pair of charming paintings, but I didn’t have any luck. I did find two vintage Currier & Ives prints, though. They were sweet farmhouse scenes and I thought they would work well with a new frame and mat. The frames they were in looked a little dated and didn’t showcase the prints very well. I had a couple of black resin frames I bought on clearance a few years ago that were the perfect size. The black looked too dark for the prints (and my room), so I decided to gold leaf them. This is what the frames looked like before. They were a bit dusty, so I cleaned them off to get them ready for the sizing. When applying

April 14, 2015 22 Comments

crafts

cinnamon ornaments

I’ve been wanting to make cinnamon ornaments for our tree for a couple of weeks and there just never seemed to be a good time to take over the kitchen counters with the endeavor. We had a dusting of snow this morning and I had a relatively open day, so I decided to dive on in. There are a lot of different variations on this recipe, but this is the one I settled on… Start with two cups of ground cinnamon… Dump it in a large bowl and add 1/2 cup of smooth applesauce. Mix the two ingredients with a spoon (or spoonula). I thought maybe I did something wrong, because it looked “mealy”, but I pressed onward… …and added one cup of all-purpose white glue. The “dough” started to come together more, but it was pretty thick and sticky. I pressed it into a ball with my hands and dumped it

December 12, 2014 6 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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crafts

cross-stitch patterns | B & I

cross-stitching on linen

indigo dyed napkins

milk painted ornaments

teacup & pedestal advent wreath

aging terra cotta pots

how to gold leaf a frame

cinnamon ornaments

next art sale

May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

Now Available for Preorder

Move Slow & Make Things

From the Studio

Artful pieces for your home and everyday life.

From the Studio and Home

Shop the Feed

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