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I show in my latest “Boxwood Dresser” how Milk Paint can look when the bonding agent is added and it’s not distressed. As you can see, a beautiful finish can be achieved (without using a separate primer coat!) Here’s how… More videos to come…
When I was a newlywed, I traded my mom my rollerblades for her sewing machine. I wanted to learn to sew and make things for my house. And she wanted to…well…rollerblade. I don’t know if she ever took up rollerblading around the neighborhood, but it was a great trade for me. Today, I helped her hem 12 premade drapes for her family room and that trade paid off for her as well. Hemming can be really easy when you’ve made the curtains. You can make sure all of the fabric is square at the corners and the measurements are uniform. When working with premade panels, it’s a gamble. These panels were not square and uniform, so we had a tough time figuring out how to get an even hem. We ended up creating a system that worked like a charm. All we used was a measuring tape, Frog Tape and
German Glass Glitter makes almost anything better. Well, except maybe not cheesecake. Yes. I can say with certainty that German Glass Glitter would not improve cheesecake one bit, but it makes a lot of cheap, plastic things look better. Take this crown… It started out as a $2.00 tiara from the birthday party section at Target. I want to use the crown as a decorative piece, something a little whimsical and sweet for the holidays, so I plucked off the combs, so it would sit flat. They pop off pretty easily. I then removed the purple jewels, again, just popping them off with my fingers. Your fingers can get pretty raw after repeating the jewel-popping and comb-plucking on four crowns, so I suppose gloves or pliers might be of use when doing a ton of these. Ah. It already looks better…
I know it sounds funny to say, but I really needed to go shopping. I wasn’t seeking retail therapy, but I needed cool stuff to sell in my space. I’ve lately been so busy with milk paint stuff and everything else that I haven’t had the time to shop as much as I need to in order to keep my space stocked. So, I set out on a shopping trip with my mother-in-law yesterday and found some great stuff… …a great fan… …some wooden gingerbread work from a house… …and this amazing wire skirt form with the original measuring tapes. I found several other smalls, which is mainly what I needed to buy, but I also unexpectedly scored some great pieces of furniture. I bought an empire dresser with original glass knobs, an antique wardrobe and I was having heart palpitations over an 1840 step-back
Last week, I had the pleasure of spending some time in the beautiful state of Maine. My husband and I have been talking about family vacations and we’ve talked about making a point to visit some of the national parks, but that’s all we did. Talk about it in “some day” terms. We finally just did it. And it was so great. We visited Acadia, which was beautiful… …and saw our boys enjoy nature and each other (most of the time)… …and I had a chance to slow down and appreciate simple things like colorful buoys lined up against faded wood shingles, the smell of sea salt and my toes in the sand. Aside from a couple of hoodies, I didn’t buy much (although I did rubberneck at some antique shops…) I did bring home three big bags of shells collected from the private beaches around
I don’t really know why certain things catch my eye. I’ll be walking through an antique store and just see it. Something that is interesting or has a special patina about it. I just know it when I find it. One thing that’s been catching my eye lately is…binoculars and opera glasses. I guess that’s two things, but they’re kind of the same, right? I keep them on a shelf in my home office and pull them out occasionally for photo shoots. I think I like them for the same reasons I like cameras, typewriters and fans. They’re something that were meant to be utilitarian, but now they just look cool. What’s caught your eye lately?
This week seems to be all about me being in front of the camera. I’m making video tutorials for my milk paint line, videos for the enhanced e-book version of my book (coming out in November), AND I have a camera crew coming to my house tomorrow to do some filming for a special project. I’m still sporting the curly hair and it’s been a little unruly on camera, but I’m going with it! (Actually, I think you’ll have to wait for the next video to see the curls. I’m wearing pigtails in this one.) Anyway, it’s been a bit of a change for me to wear lipstick in my workshop. So, in this video I share tips on mixing milk paint with a blender. I think one of the toughest things for people to get used to when using milk paint for the first time is the texture. When
I’m still working on all of my video tutorials for the Milk Paint website. Actually, this will be an ongoing project as I share new techniques and creative ways to use Milk Paint and the companion products, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Today I’m sharing about Hemp Oil, the top coat sold with my line as an alternative to wax. So, what is Hemp Oil? It’s an all natural oil that contains no VOCs and no petrochemicals. It can be used on raw wood to seal and protect it, on old wood to revive it or on porous painted surfaces as a topcoat. I used it on the interiors of the drawers on my Linen dresser… It’s so easy to apply. You just dampen a clean cloth with the hemp oil and rub it on. That’s it. You don’t have to worry about streaks or brushstrokes or
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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