Painting & Refinishing Archives | Page 12 of 16

Painting & Refinishing

Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

White Wax Tutorial

This summer has been a little nutty for me, so I haven’t had to chance to do as much painting as I would like. I’m really looking forward to school starting, so I can get back into a groove and get in my workshop a bit more often. Since I have been so swamped, one of my amazing retailers and our primary educator for MMS Milk Paint, Abbe Doll, has really stepped up to help me introduce the new colors and products in our line. Today, she’s going to show how to use the White Wax. It is available to purchase from our retailers right now, if you want to give it a try! Take it away, Abbe… White wax is here! It’s still has the buttery smooth finish we love about the Furniture Wax, but with a soft white pigment, that will give your finishes a soft, muted, white-washed

August 12, 2013 43 Comments

Furniture Makeovers

Painted Bar Stool Tutorial – Part 2

Welcome to part two of the painted bar stool tutorial. In case you missed it, or just for future reference, you can find part one HERE. In part two, I’m going to share how the do the distressing and finishing to achieve the final look… We’ll also chat about the kind of sand paper I use for distressing. So, I painted the bar stool in two coats of MMS Milk Paint in French Enamel (with the bonding agent added) and let it dry overnight. I didn’t have to let it dry that long, but that’s just how it worked out. You can start distressing once the paint is dry to the touch. I prefer to distress most pieces by hand. Sometimes I’ll hit a piece hard with the orbital sander, but it’s harder to control, especially on a piece with lots of corners and edges. The orbital sander is really best for

June 20, 2013 24 Comments

Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

Painted Bar Stool Tutorial – Part 1

I’m painting my kitchen bar stools one at a time, so my kids don’t freak out. They sit at them quite often during the day for meals, snacks, drinks, treats, coloring, playing with the iPad, etc. So, I’m working on number two and thought I would take some pictures along the way for a tutorial. The color I’m using is French Enamel in MMS Milk Paint. I started out by lightly sanding the stool with 100 grit sand paper. I wanted to take a bit of the shine off the finish and remove some of the dried oatmeal, yogurt and various other splats that have added a nice “texture” and “patina” to the chairs. Sanding to prep a piece to paint doesn’t have to be a big intricate ordeal. It’s just roughing up the surface to give it “tooth” for the paint to grip. It only took about 4-5

June 18, 2013 44 Comments

Paint Types – Pros & Cons

I decided it was time to update some of my “painting posts”, sharing the products and techniques I use now vs. a few year ago. I was looking through some of the posts highlighted on my side bar and they are ancient! It’s time for an update! So, what better place to start than paint? Here are the paints I use most, the pros & cons for each, and what I use them for. Of course, I have my biases (who doesn’t?), but I am going to try my best to be impartial and honest. I’m not going to link to or mention any specific products, so I can talk about the groups of paint generically. I have a HUGE paint shelf that is filled with different brands and kinds of paints, because there is not one magic paint that does everything. MILK PAINT (I’ll just put it out there

June 17, 2013 1 Comment

Hand Painted Furniture

brush gallery

June 16, 2013 59 Comments

Before and Afters

Antiquing Wax Tutorial

When I last showed the barrel-back French cane chair, it looked like this… In the picture, it has one coat of French Enamel Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint. I then applied a second coat, followed by a light wash of a mix of Shutter Gray, Eulalie’s Sky and Grain Sack. (Eulalie’s Sky is one of our new colors and will be available for purchase in a few weeks!) There were beautifully carved details on this chair, so I wanted to bring those out with some white acrylic paint. I use acrylic paint for decorative painting, because I like the body of it and the way it flows off the brush. I’ve used it for my decorative painting for years and it was my medium-of-choice when I first started out as a decorative painter and muralist. Once the paint was dry (or mostly dry…I can be a little impatient at

June 15, 2013 83 Comments

Painting & Refinishing

Topcoats Updated

I wrote a post a long time ago about the topcoats I used and it’s been hanging out in the painting section on my side bar ever since. A reader sent me an e-mail a couple of months ago asking me to update it. I went back and read the post and she was right! I hardly use any of the products anymore. The main reason for that is soft wax. I started using wax and I didn’t need to use other topcoats. I occasionally use something else, but wax has stolen my furniture-refinishing heart. Here’s a breakdown of the topcoats I use now and how I feel about the ones I used to use… Soft Wax – How it’s applied: Apply the wax in a thin coat with a wax brush, bushy paint brush or soft cloth. Work it into the surface until the wax is absorbed. Allow it to

January 24, 2013 87 Comments

Painting & Refinishing

How to remove paint – part 2

I hope no one started a stripping project and then got stuck in the middle of it without part two of my video! 🙂 I finally had the chance to edit it. In this video, I’m using Strypeeze, a biodegradable chemical paint remover, mineral spirits, and a putty knife. All are available from your local True Value Hardware or their online store. Enjoy part two… The top definitely wasn’t perfect underneath, but I think the imperfections just add to the character of the piece. You can see the part one of the video tutorial HERE and the finished dresser HERE. I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as my writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However,

December 10, 2012 No 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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