Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint Archives | Page 15 of 42

Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint

All Things Home

milk paint 101 | first coat & the ugly stage

Sorry that it’s been over a month since I last posted in the milk paint 101 series! I like blog series, because they help me focus my writing efforts, but I am still Marian and I still get distracted. So, let’s continue. But first, here are links to the first three parts of this series, in case you missed them… part 1 | what is milk paint? part 2 | how to mix milk paint part 3 | surface prep And now you’ve brushed on your first coat of milk paint and you’re pretty certain you’ve destroyed your piece of furniture. Because it looks something like this… I’ve talked about the ugly stage before. It’s just a thing with makeovers. It’s the part of the makeover when you have foil all over your head or when the entire contents of your closet are on your floor. It gets worse before it gets better. The key

January 13, 2016 21 Comments

a slice of life

Vintage Whites Market Recap

When much of a business is done online and from home, it’s easy to be a hermit. I’m a bit of a homebody and, while I’m an outgoing person, I just like staying home. I like being in my studio, creating. But, there are some opportunities that are worth the “disruption”. When I was invited to The Vintage Whites Market by the co-founders Jana and Vanessa, I knew immediately that I wanted to go. I was easily able to persuade Jeff, because it was in Colorado (and he loves Colorado.) So, we headed out last Thursday for Denver. Though the weather was cold and snowy (making it so we didn’t see mountains until we left on Sunday), the event and everything about it did not disappoint. Ruffles and twinkle lights for days… The venue was packed with creative people and pretty things. And I saw some familiar faces… …and a lot

January 12, 2016 34 Comments

Furniture Makeovers

Farmhouse White is HERE

I am so pumped today to announce that Farmhouse White, the color I’ve been in love with for months, is finally available!! My retailers are able to order the paint today and it will be hitting stores as soon as they receive their orders. This is not a required color for our retailers to carry, so make sure to call ahead for availability. You can your nearest local or online retailer HERE. So, what’s the big deal with this color? I’ve been using it a lot lately and, in my opinion, it really is the perfect white. Not too warm, not too cool, not too “off” white and there’s another bonus… Farmhouse White addresses the chief issue when using white – coverage. Whites, in general, require more than one coat of paint and I wrote about that HERE. When I first tested out this custom-mixed color, I immediately noticed how much better

January 11, 2016 23 Comments

Furniture Makeovers

beeswax, lavender wax & typos

I’ve mentioned Farmhouse White, the new MMSMP color we’re launching in January of 2016, a few times, but we also have some other new products coming out. One that’s been in the works for a long time is the 100% Beeswax finish… I tested it out years ago, before we launched the paint line, but I wanted to start very small, so we just launched with two waxes and the hemp oil as finish options. Now that we’ve grown beyond all expectations, we’re constantly considering, testing and developing new products we can add to the line. But we don’t want to add more just to add more. We want to add products that complement the line and brand well and ones that will address the requests of our retailers and customers. It was all of these considerations that brought me to revisit the 100% Beeswax finish. So, the #1 question is, “How

December 23, 2015 45 Comments

All Things Home

milk painted ornaments

I spent most of my day wrapping presents and working on some cleaning to get ready to host Christmas. I’m sure many of you were doing the same. I have also been insanely motivated to purge and organize. I’m not sure what has kicked into me, but I have been in a mood. A get-rid-of-80%-of-everything-and-organize-the-rest kind of mood. Usually this mood hits me in January, but it is, very inconveniently, hitting just a few days before Christmas! So, I’ve been purging and sorting my way through sections of my house and studio. I’m ready to take on any shelf, drawer, closet or cubby that doesn’t contain useful items stored in a tidy fashion. I’ve bought bins and labels and I’m eye-balling things that I’m going to sell, donate or pitch. I’ll finally quit holding myself back after Christmas, but for now, I need to push aside this distraction and focus on the

December 22, 2015 28 Comments

Furniture Makeovers

DSC_7299

I knew Vanessa’s kitchen before I knew Vanessa, which is not that uncommon in the blog/Instagram/Pinterest world we all inhabit. You might recognize this little gem… Yep. That’s Vanessa’s kitchen. So, I’ve been stalking the Vintage Whites feed on Instagram and pinning from the Vintage Whites blog for a while. Leaving hearts and comments on occasion, but mostly silently stalking. Then, just a couple of weeks ago, I received an e-mail from Jana & Vanessa, the creative minds behind the Vintage Whites Market. They wanted to know if I would like to be a special guest at the market coming up in Loveland, Co. Well, I have to find a way to make that one happen. I asked Jeff about it, knowing I had an ace up my sleeve – Colorado. He didn’t stand a chance. He probably didn’t hear a word I said except Colorado and he gave his approval. His grandparents

December 21, 2015 24 Comments

Before and Afters

painted primitive cabinet

Does this cabinet look at all familiar? How about now…? I bought it to sell at the Market on Chapel Hill and I originally didn’t paint it, because it had a pretty patina. But it didn’t sell and it felt like a bit of a black hole, so I decided to lighten it up with paint. The outside is painted in MMS Milk Paint Farmhouse White and the interior is Shutter Gray. (Can you tell which colors are my favorite these days?) I think this piece was once the top of a hutch, but it’s all on its own, now. I put it on top of the counter-height farm table I found for a great deal a couple of weeks ago and the pairing seems to work. I liked it unpainted, but I love it so much more painted. You can really see the character of the boards and the wearing

December 11, 2015 10 Comments

All Things Home

the most popular horse in blogland

You know when you’re out shopping and you find a little gem? Something that screams out at you to buy it. It speaks to you. Well, I was rummaging around in the somewhat ransacked Christmas section of TJ Maxx and I spotted this sweet wooden horse, just one, with a red bridle and saddle and the sweetest shape. I think it was $25. I grabbed it up without hesitation and immediately imagined it painted with milk paint. And then, as I was perusing Instagram, I realized that just about everyone else in the blog/Instagram world felt the same way about this horse and they bought it, too. It would seem it’s the poster child for Christmas 2015. And my little gem was feeling more like the mass-produced, trendy horse it actually was. Because it was everywhere!! I clung to the hope that my plan to paint it would make it my

December 10, 2015 20 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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