Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint Archives | Page 25 of 42

Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint

Artistic Endeavors

back in the studio…

It was so nice to be back in my studio today after being away for several days. I just love having the creative space to work…it’s rejuvenating and fun and seems so full of possibility. I’m still a little fuzzy-headed from my cold, but I was able to get some good things done today. The light was really soft and pretty today when I arrived, so I carried some new products across the parking lot to the old white and gray building to snap some pictures. The soft colors, chippy paint and old texture are just perfect for me! I was shooting pictures of our new topcoat, Tough Coat… …and of our new sample size bags. I photographed them with the quart size, so you can see the difference. It’s so cute and small. The Tough Coat is available for our retailers to order and the sample sized bags

September 24, 2014 37 Comments

miss mustard seed goes to toronto

It’s been a whirl-wind of a few days and I feel like I haven’t “talked” to you in forever! I wrote all of the posts you’ve been reading over the past few days before I left, so it feels like I’ve been totally neglecting my blog. I’m so glad I took that time to prepare those posts, though, because it was a packed trip and my internet access was fairly limited (I had to pay for wifi at the hotel, if you can believe that!) I traveled up to Toronto to attend the Toronto Fall Home Show as a vendor and speaker. It was a bit out of my comfort zone, but my milk paint line is made in Toronto and I’ve never been there before! I also still get e-mails here and there asking if the paint is available in Canada. Of course it is! That’s where it’s made!

September 23, 2014 56 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

the perfect place for a gift…

Today I was getting ready for my trip to Toronto. It suddenly occurred to me yesterday that even though I’m driving about the distance I would to visit family in Raleigh, I am going to another country! I needed to call my bank and cell phone provider and get everything lined up, so my credit card isn’t turned off for suspected fraud and I can call Jeff. I also tried on outfits, did laundry, checked and double-checked my list and the usual things one does before heading out of town. I’m bringing some things from my house to populate the booth at the Home Show, so it looks very “me” to my readers. I also had to bring things for demos, etc. We’re packed pretty close to the hilt and my mom and I will be putting our van over 200,000 miles on this trip, so we’d appreciate prayers that we

September 16, 2014 41 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

hand painted empire buffet | take two

I showed yesterday how I styled the hand painted empire buffet as a piece for a nursery or kid’s room. In this post, I’m going to show the piece styled as a buffet… Kriste and I grabbed what we had around the studio…pieces in the studio “prop stash”, things waiting for tags for the Chapel Market and things that are listed in the online shop. I’m learning how much of a “prop stash” I had at my house and I need to bring some things over to the studio! When the famous “cow head” from my kitchen came available again on Decor Steals, I bought one. I knew I would want to put one in my studio space, since it’s become such an icon of my style. (Yes, I ordered a boxwood wreath, too.) We needed something on the wall in this arrangement and this was perfect. Kriste and Leslie (the

September 10, 2014 12 Comments

Before and Afters

hand painted buffet makeover

I have always loved sharing my furniture makeovers here and I know they are what put my blog on the map, so to speak. Now that I have this new space to work in, I’m more inspired than ever to work on pieces in my stash and it feels good. I started working on this empire buffet a few days ago. I shared the refinishing, painting and waxing process HERE. And here’s the end result… I envisioned the piece being very light, with a faded quality. I don’t know why I saw it that way when it started out so dark and heavy, but that’s how I pictured it! I was planning to use the original knobs, but the brass piece that held the glass looked really dark against the pale gray milk paint and “bleached” top. I used some new glass knobs that disappear a bit more and allowed the hand

September 9, 2014 61 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

Artistic Endeavors

empire buffet project

Last week I started to get pieces ready for the Chapel Market (on October 25 in Pike Road, AL). I have a pretty nice stash and a plan in my head and now that I have space to work, I’m ready to go! I want my space at Chapel Market to have a cohesive theme this year. Last year, I brought mostly leftovers from the Lucketts Spring Market, so it wasn’t as pulled together as I wanted. It still looked like me, but wasn’t cohesive. I’m planning to work on photo shoots for the second MMSMP look book while I’m working on pieces to sell, so they are going to have a shared theme. And the theme is… French Blue | Farmhouse White I’ve used this theme before for curated collections, but I had to revisit it for a look book. Those who are familiar with me and my style are

September 7, 2014 25 Comments

Before and Afters

Kriste's new cabinet

I did my first photo shoot today in my new studio. To say it was exciting would be an understatement. Every time I enter the space, I smile and feel lifted and occasionally want to clap my hands like a toddler who just learned a new word or basic life skill. It’s exciting at that deep level that makes me feel like I’m going to burst. I felt that way already and then I styled and shot my first furniture makeover in the space. Then the joy went to a new level. I love my new space. I feel so free, unleashed, motivated, driven, focused and like the sky’s the limit…more than I have felt in several months. I don’t think I realized how limited I felt in my house and how much I needed a space. I bet a lot of you saw that more than I did, but I just got

September 4, 2014 43 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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