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DIY sewing scissors case & hemming linen towels

As I shared in Monday’s post, I’m taking the time to work through small projects as I come across specific materials I purchased with the intention of making them.  I think that’s one of the problems with being someone who likes projects – we’re always collecting materials, tools, and supplies for the next project.  Or 15 projects.  While I had the ironing board out and was already working on measuring, cutting, and sewing for the rice & lavender hot/cold packs, I decided to hem some linen towels and make a case for my embroidery scissors out of some scraps. I purchased a couple of yards of THIS linen toweling when I was ordering some linen fabric for other projects with the intention of making some more kitchen dish towels.  (They have all sorts of patterns and colors, too.)  I washed and cut the fabric, but never hemmed it to finish

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All Things Home

how to make a rice & lavender hot/cold pack

A part of cleaning, organizing, and purging is dealing with materials that were purchased with intention.  I buy them because I intend to do something with them.  When I was cleaning out my cleaning supplies, I found the materials for two projects that have been languishing in a closet for too long.  Some of the supplies were purchased to make beeswax food wraps and some were intended for a rice & lavender-filled hot/cold pack.  Last week, I made the hot-cold pack and I thought I would share how to make it.  The nice thing about this project is it’s super quick and simple and it made me wonder why I waited so long! How to Make a Rice & Lavender Hot/Cold Pack | Printable Instructions   How to Make a Rice & Lavender Hot/Cold Pack | Required Materials & Tools 4 lbs rice dried lavender (I used about 1-2 cups,

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All Things Home

easy crochet cat (or dog) bed tutorial & pattern

Shortly after we brought our kitties home from adoption day at our local pet store, I crocheted them each a cat bed.  They weren’t interested in the beds at first, much to my dismay, but then I would find them snuggled together in them regularly.  They are now a staple in front of the fireplace and in sunny spots around the house.  I have received so many requests for a tutorial, but the yarn I used was discontinued.  I have tried four other yarns over the past year and either they were discontinued before I could buy more to make a tutorial or I didn’t like them!  Anyway, I finally found a yarn that was a winner and it’s still available.  So, here is the easy crochet cat (or dog) bed video tutorial and pattern.  Finally! The yarn I finally landed on was Bernat Big Blanket yarn in the color

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All Things Home

five upholstery tips for beginners

I get a lot of questions about upholstery, so I thought I would write a post consolidating some of the advice that I’ve shared in various posts and tutorials into one place.  Before I share some upholstery tips for beginners, let me share how I started. My first upholstery job (and I use that phrase loosely) was a ratty hand-me-down sofa that was given to me in college.  One of my classmates was moving out of his apartment and offered his sofa to us.  It was a small, gold, midcentury loveseat that had probably been passed around from one college apartment to the next for years.  It had good bones, but the fabric looked like a sofa that had been passed around from one college apartment to the next for years!  So, I bought some lightweight cotton fabric (a blue & green plaid) and tucked it into the seams with

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All Things Home

crochet vs. knitting

As I shared last week, I learned to knit over the Christmas break.  I’ve been wanting to learn for a while, so I bought a couple of knitting books and supplemented them with YouTube tutorials when I needed to see someone perform a particular stitch.  I haven’t knitted anything particularly useful, but have been making squares and rectangles to practice stitches, work on my tension, learn to “see” the stitches, and to play with different types of yarn and needle sizes.  I’ve been asked by a lot of people who are interested in learning one or the other to share a comparison, so that’s what this post is all about – crochet vs. knitting!  I will share a separate post with beginner knitting resources I’ve found to be most helpful. crochet vs. knitting – which one is easiest? I think this question is a tough one and I’ve had readers

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All Things Home

top ten posts of 2020

Well, hello there and Happy New Year!  Oh man, I just love the time between Christmas and New Year’s Day.  We did a lot of hanging out, playing games, watching movies, working on puzzles, and I had plenty of unhurried time to read some of my books, sketch and paint in the studio, and I even learned how to knit!  The boys are back in school today and it’s time for me to get back to work.  I did squeeze in a little planning this weekend, so I could be ready to hit the ground running.   Before we get into 2021 and exciting things to come, I’ll be sharing a few favorites and highlights from 2020 throughout the month of January.  Let’s kick that off with the top ten posts of 2020! These are the top ten posts of 2020 based on the number of views the posts received in

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All Things Home

Hand-Painted Ceramic Christmas Ornaments

I know that I’m slipping this one in at the last minute, but I wanted to share one more Christmas craft!  You can scrape together the materials for this year or hunt and peck at some after Christmas sales for ribbon and unfinished ceramic ornaments to have some handmade gifts and decorations in the hopper for next year!  Here is a tutorial for hand-painted Christmas ornaments using Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint with acrylic and gouache accents… This hand-painted ceramic ornament tutorial was easier to show in a video as opposed to pictures and words alone, so here is a short video tutorial showing how I painted the first one… I actually filmed four of the ornaments that I painted, but my hands were out of the frame!  That’s happened to me a lot lately, so I really need to pay better attention to that. Anyway, here are the materials

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All Things Home

Gift-Wrapping Ideas with Walmart

Disclosure: This gift-wrapping ideas post is sponsored by .  As always, all opinions expressed are honest and my own. As I shared a couple of weeks ago, I’m feeling extra crafty this year!  I know it’s because we’re home more than usual and creating things not only brings me joy, but it’s a great stress-reliever.  I put on some good Christmas music and I don’t worry about time or what’s happening in the world.  For an hour or two, I can just “be where my hands are” and focus on what I’m making. A few days ago, I decided to use some of that quiet, creative time to wrap some pretty packages for my family and I thought I should share those Christmas gift-wrapping ideas with you!  I ended up with some really cute packages and they were all pretty quick and easy. Before I started on this project, I

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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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