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Art Supplies
Art Supplies

Feels Like Home | Giveaway for the Artist

I have another giveaway for you in celebration of my new book, !  It’ll be coming out in just over two weeks!!  I’m am so excited that we’re nearing the launch date as this book has been in the works for almost three years.  I finished writing it almost a year ago, so I have been waiting for a long time! If you haven’t preordered the book, yet, you can preorder it from any one of these retailers…  |||  | And claim your preorder bonuses HERE and find instructions on claiming your preorder bonuses HERE if you need some help.  The preorder bonuses include an original art download, a bonus chapter: Feels Like Home the Renter’s Guide, and five video workshops and enhanced tutorials from the book. Today, I am having a bonus giveaway because my friend, Julia of , wanted to join in on the celebratory giveaways and she sent

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September 24, 2021 362 Comments
Art Supplies

antique watercolor palettes

Calls with my friend Julia in the UK have become a pretty regular weekly thing.  She’ll give me a call or text pictures of some of the latest treasures she found for me.  We’ll also just chat about life and family between talks about antique watercolor palettes and other fun art supplies.  We are definitely two peas in a pod when it comes to things we love and she’s gracious enough to sell me pieces she loves, too.  In one of our recent conversations, as I told her to add something else to my pile for the next box she sends across the pond, she said, “There can’t be much more that you need, right?” I laughed, “First of all, I don’t need any of this!” Art supplies and books have become my vice over the past couple of years and, honestly, there are worse vices to have.  I’m sure

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September 21, 2021 14 Comments
Art Supplies

back-to-school supplies for mom

Back-to-school is such an exciting time.  We make sure the pants are not high-waters, everyone gets a new pair of shoes, and we get to go shopping for pens, pencils, notebooks, and hand sanitizer.  But, we also need to take a minute to acknowledge that it’s such a hard time for moms.  The house is so quiet and clean and there isn’t anything to do but sit around and be sad until your kids come bounding home from school, ready to eat a snack the size of a meal.  It’s just a really rough time and moms deserve some consolation goodies to fill up that quiet, clean hole her kids leave in the house all day. When we get the boys’ supplies ready for back-to-school, we take an inventory of things we already have and then shop for the things that aren’t crossed off the list.  Moms are exempt from

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September 14, 2021 30 Comments
Art Supplies

refinishing a vintage paint palette

I spent much of last week working on some freelance writing projects, so I didn’t have a chance to make more progress on the basement family room makeover.  I am planning to install the chair rail this week, though, and get some more painting done.  This is a slow and steady project, but I do want to keep some forward momentum going!  Since I don’t have an update on the basement, I thought I would share a little project I worked on a couple of weeks ago – refinishing a vintage paint palette. I realize this is sort of a niche thing and not everyone has a vintage paint palette sitting around that they want to refinish and use, but refinishing wood is refinishing wood.  This would work for a cutting board, a tabletop, a dresser… anything that is wood. I purchased this palette off of Etsy because I loved

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August 17, 2021 8 Comments
Art Supplies

creative play | customizing sketchbooks with fabric

I know I’ve already done a post on customizing sketchbooks (you can find that post here), but I spent a little bit of my creative playtime last week addressing something that bugged me about another style of sketchbook I use.  If you don’t have a sketchbook, I bet you keep some kind of book…a fitness journal, a diary, a scrapbook, a recipe book, a photo album.  You can definitely take this idea and use it for the kind of book(s) you keep. I love .  They have thick off-white paper, they lay flat, and they come in several great sizes for sketching and designing.  Buuuuuuut, they have a bright red spine!  I really don’t have anything against red, but it’s not my color and it really jumps out against my cool blues, greens, and whites. ranger notebook/sketchbook portrait | | landscape And you can see it through a cutout in

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July 15, 2021 10 Comments
All Things Home

how to clean & hydrate old wood | diy furniture cleaner

Several years ago, I wrote a post about how to clean and hydrate old wood and it was one of my most popular posts for years!  I decided it was time to do a refresher post on this DIY, homemade natural furniture cleaner and write an updated post that answered a lot of the questions asked on that original post.  I’ve also been using this recipe and technique for years, so I can speak to its efficacy and longevity. First of all, this DIY Furniture Cleaner will work on any old wood that has lost its luster and shine as long as the mixture can penetrate the finish.  If the piece has a thick polyurethane topcoat, the mixture will just sit on top and won’t be very effective.  If the wood is raw or the finish has worn away/evaporated, this DIY Furniture Cleaner will polish it up beautifully.  It is

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July 12, 2021 26 Comments
Art Supplies

vintage watercolor box giveaway

As I was thoroughly organizing the studio through February and March, I came to the conclusion that one person can only use so many antique and vintage art boxes!  Don’t get me wrong, I am perfectly willing to extensively explore and discover the true limits of the number of art boxes one person can own, but I wanted to spread the love around to those who might want to explore that territory, too.  I currently have two antique oil paint boxes, five watercolor boxes (two English Victorian and three mid-century French), a drafting box, two pastel boxes, and several smaller boxes for pencils, nibs, etc.  What can I say?  I love art supplies and pretty containers.  I will offer no other excuses or clarifiers. The fact is, though, it is important to me to use things I have.  It’s okay if using them means displaying them, admiring them, or actually

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July 1, 2021 517 Comments
Art Supplies

antique drafting box

Before I get into today’s post, the winner of the Feels Like Home Giveaway is Joanne B. (Joanne81931)!  I loved reading through all of your comments about what feels like home to you.  Seriously, it was a pleasure and they all made me smile.  Lots of references to family, pets, coffee, books, and comfy chairs by the fire.  I will be having more giveaways as we get closer to the book launch date. About the same time I found the Victorian Reeves watercolor box, I found this beautiful box of drafting/architect’s tools and I decided to spend my birthday money on both.  After learning lessons about buying things on impulse, I let both sit in my digital shopping cart for a couple of days.  Would I use these?  Would I love them more than something I already have?  The answer to both was yes and I had butterflies in my

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April 21, 2021 12 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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