We’re back home from visiting family for Thanksgiving.  We unpacked and put up the Christmas tree the day we got home so we had lots of time to enjoy the lights and ambience through the season.  I also set up a tree in the dining room, which is exciting to see against the backdrop of […] The post dining room mural | for now appeared first on Miss Mustard Seed ..read more

Four things – Thanksgiving edition!  I hope you’re enjoying friends, family, good food, and a grateful heart today.  I decided to take a few minutes before we’re off-to-the-races on the festivities to share my weekly four things.  Revisiting watercolor, learning more about one of the great polymaths, a quote that makes you thankful for the […] The post Four Things | nine (Thanksgiving edition) appeared first on Miss Mustard Seed ..read more

I was a little behind last year and by the time I shared some of my favorite Christmas decor ornaments, swags, and faux greenery, they were sold out!  So, I decided to get ahead and post them just before Thanksgiving (and while most items are on sale.)  Many of these items are ones I’ve used […] The post 2024 Christmas decorating guide appeared first on Miss Mustard Seed ..read more

It’s that time of year!  The time to start (or continue) elfing for our friends and family.  I’ll be honest and share that I’ve done a bit of elfing for myself when I’ve come across can’t-pass-up deals for some of my favorite things.  As I’ve done in previous years, I’ve put together a few different […] The post 2024 Christmas gift guides appeared first on Miss Mustard Seed ..read more

Last week, I made a final push to get the dining room mural to a place I could call it “done for now” and put the room back together.  The best part was hanging up the new curtains custom-made for the room by Neutral Curtains.  (As a disclosure, I partnered with Neutral Curtains for an […] The post dining room makeover | the new velvet curtains appeared first on Miss Mustard Seed ..read more

This week on four things – Dreamy handpainted walls and historic patterns, a feel-good story, the best apples in the world, and plugging away on home projects.  Enjoy! what I’m reading I purchased A Year in the French Style and received it just in time for a dentist appointment for my 6-month cleaning.  I don’t […] The post four things | eight appeared first on Miss Mustard Seed ..read more

When we decided to go to Hilton Head Island for our anniversary trip, the first thing I looked into was the shelling.  It is one of my favorite things to do while at the beach, so I wanted to find out where the shelling hotspots were.  In my initial research online, most forum posts didn’t […] The post Hilton Head Island | Shelling Tips appeared first on Miss Mustard Seed ..read more

I started working on the dining room mural when there were still nail holes in the walls that needed to be patched.  I was doing so well with taking each step of the makeover in its proper turn.  I painted the ceiling first, installed the molding, caulked the seams, and painted the trim and wainscoting.  […] The post when the wrong order is the right order appeared first on Miss Mustard Seed ..read more

As I’ve shared the process of working on the dining room landscape mural, several people have commented on the “paint-by-number” look. (Not in a negative way, but pointing out the departure in style from my oil paintings.)  I thought I would share more details about this look’s inspiration and how I landed on it.  While […] The post woodblock scenic wallpaper appeared first on Miss Mustard Seed ..read more

Four things for this week – a book about artists’ paint palettes (oh, yes), a story of ingenuity and a successful failure, doing things afraid, and dining room mural progress.  Enjoy… what I’m reading As soon as I caught a whiff of this book coming out, I preordered it.  The Artist’s Palette seemed to be […] The post four things | seven appeared first on Miss Mustard Seed ..read more