Painting & Refinishing Archives | Page 10 of 16

Painting & Refinishing

All Things Home

making a new table look old…

Before we get into the process of making a new table look old… I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! We spent a much needed Saturday at home. Between sickness and traveling over the past few weeks, we were all behind on our chores, laundry, cleaning, mowing, etc., so we took a day to take care of those things. Picking up toys turned into organizing the basement and picking out toys to give to younger boys. That turned into hours of great playtime with toys that had been buried and forgotten. So, it was a balance of work and fun and a great lesson on the joys of being able to actually find your stuff! Sunday was a bit more restful and involved church, some light yard work (the day was gorgeous), errands and dinner out with my parents. It was a nice break from the frenzy-that-is-my-life in the weeks

April 27, 2015 32 Comments

All Things Home

how I hand painted the Mora dresser

I shared this hand painted dresser last week and, as promised, I’m now sharing more detail on the hand painted design. First of all, I’m always asked if my hand painted designs are stencils. No, they are hand painted. I know that will immediately lose some folks when I say that, because a lot of people don’t feel comfortable with hand painting. I get that. The kind of hand painting I do is simple strokes, repeated over and over again until it makes an overall design. When you see it up close, you can see how simple and even a little messy it is. I have learned that the less I overthink it, the better it looks. I always start out by chalking out the rough design. That way, I know the design is going to look the way I want it to before I put a drop of paint

January 26, 2015 23 Comments

All Things Home

distressing painted furniture | tips & techniques

I’ve shared a lot of tips about distressing furniture through the years, but I decided I would tackle the subject again. I took pictures of the process as I worked on the Marzipan dresser I revealed yesterday for that very reason. So, here’s how the dresser looked once it was painted. It has two coats of MMSMP Marzipan with some Ironstone (white) painted on the trim, handles and carved details. Because I’m going to distress, I wasn’t too concerned with the white paint being perfect or completely opaque. It actually looks a little sloppy at this stage. Distressing serves a few purposes, then. It hides the imperfections in the painting, but it also brings out the details of the piece and adds a sense of age to the fresh coat of paint. I’m going to start with the basics…what is distressing? It’s more than just roughing up a piece. It’s about removing

January 15, 2015 26 Comments

Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

tough coat 101 video

We introduced the Tough Coat a few months ago as part of the MMS Milk Paint line. It was a product that was many months in the making. You see, I’m a pretty tough sell when it comes to adding new products to the line. I have to really love them, use them and being okay with them sporting my name. I never planned on carrying a water based poly product, because my preference is for oils and waxes. When I first started furniture painting, I used water based poly and was usually disappointed with the finish. It got so much better when I found smooth applicator pads and even better when I started using my sprayer. I never imagined going back once I started using waxes and oils, though. Then, I had to deal with this piece… I painted it with one coat of milk paint that almost all

December 17, 2014 14 Comments

Decorating

time-saving tips for painting a room

I shared the other day that I painted three ceilings and one room in just a few hours…while the boys were at home…in my jammies. Truth be told, I could’ve painted the living room and the hallway, too, but I was getting a little sick of looking at a roller! So, several readers asked how I get things done so fast and I thought I would share my tricks. These tips will help you get a room painted faster, but before you plan a painting marathon, remember that I paint a lot! When you do something a lot, you get better and quicker at it. So, be patient with yourself if you’re a novice or a once-in-a-while painter. Here are my time-saving tips… 1.) Do as much prep work the day before as you can. Take down the pictures, remove switch plates, curtain hardware, etc. and fill in the holes

November 3, 2014 27 Comments

Hand Painted Furniture

empire buffet project | white waxing

I spent some more time today on the empire buffet. If you missed what this piece looked like before and how it got to this stage, check out PART ONE. So, we last left the piece with the top stripped off the finish and the body painted in one coat of Shutter Gray MMS Milk Paint with the bonding agent added in. Since milk paint is thinner than most modern paints, the coverage can be streaky in the first coat if the paint color your using is drastically different than the surface you’re painting. In this case, I was painting a really dark wood with a medium gray paint, so it wasn’t going to cover in one coat. This is the stage where some people lose heart… As with most multi-step furniture painting projects, it looks worse before it looks better. I’ve said it many times; do not give up

September 8, 2014 47 Comments

Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

Mixing Milk Paint Video Tutorial

I made several videos on using milk paint when I first launched the line, but they could use some updating. First of all, it was just me in my basement with a camera on a tripod. While I think there’s something approachable and real about those, you can’t always clearly see what I’m doing and that’s the whole point of a video tutorial! I was also very loosey-goosey about my instructions. That’s just how I am, but I know a lot of people need specifics and, when it comes to using milk paint for the first time, specifics are very helpful. So, we’re in the process of remaking our videos (and we’ll get to the slipcover videos and new upholster videos soon, too!) We now have a camera man, Jeff, a beefy camera, mics, lighting and a second camera to capture overhead detail shots. We also have Kriste. As crafty

August 10, 2014 22 Comments

Guest Room

Painted Guest Room Bed |

The weather has been amazing over the weekend! Just a couple of sunny days in the 40’s and 50’s and I’m ready to throw open the windows and go out for a hike. There’s still a lot of snow on the ground, though, so I had to settle for a walk instead of a hike. It’s given me the shot of energy I need to finish home and work projects. I was moving furniture around and cleaning out closets. That’s what warmer temperatures and sunshine does for me, so I’m ready for Spring. Bring it. So, here’s where we left the bed yesterday. It’s fully painted, but the paint looks pretty bright and a little flat…definitely not like it was painted a couple hundred years ago like the inspiration bed. It’s the distressing and antiquing that’s going to bring this piece to life. For distressing, I didn’t want to take

February 23, 2014 92 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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