Welcome to the second installment of the workshop series brought to you by Mustard Seed Creations and Funky Junky Interiors!  Before I start, remember that Funky Junk Donna is guiding you through the great purge this week to make your workspace usable. You’ll find out the pitfalls of the “shuffle” technique and how to deal if you have mild hoarding habits. This is not glamorous work, but it must be done to have a space to create. Alright, everyone, do you have your supplies ready? If you missed the suggested supply list for the Decorative Painting 101 series, click here to check it out.  We’re going to dive in and start working on strokes.  The first stroke you’re going to learn is known as the comma stroke.  Excuse my nails…I was staining my vanity this morning and despite wearing latex gloves, I got stain under my nails. You can use this

First of all, make sure you check out my giveaway that is going on through Wednesday.  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment.  For those of you who are really in love, there are some additional things you can do to increase your chances.  Good luck! One of the reasons I chose Irish Cream for the wall color in my master bedroom is so I could paint some of the furniture and accessories in fun colors.  I’ve taken the “neutral furniture with colored walls approach” for a few years and I am ready for a change.  I had a pair of lamps on my dresser that my aunt gave me and they wanted to be aqua.  How could I say no? They originally had a brass finish and she had sprayed them a…well, it might’ve been black, but it kind of looked like a very dark greenish color. 

First of all, it was a very good day for me.  I sold a large piece of furniture at the shop, I delivered a completed gold leafed frame to a client and I got an exciting phone call from an interior designer who loves my work and is interested in some of my furniture and some custom work.  It was also in the balmy 40’s, so I was able to do some spraying.  I am bubbling over, so I just had to share.  Anyway, if you checked in with me yesterday, you saw my latest finds.  Remember the antique mirror and small frames…? The mirror was $12.97 from Goodwill.  I hung it over the vanity in my bedroom.  The dark frame works much better against the light walls than the round frameless mirror I had there.  The frames have been sitting in a closet for years.  I can’t believe I forgot

Welcome to the workshop series brought to you by Mustard Seed Creations and Funky Junky Interiors!  Are your spongy brains ready to soak in some DIY goodness? Donna is currently leading you through getting your work area set up and getting organized and I’ll guide you through the world of decorative painting.  Come on, ladies, be brave.   Decorative Painting is not fine art and it’s much easier than you think.  Today, we’re only going to cover what you need to get started.  You can shop, right?  OK, you can do this.  Take a deep breath and head to your local Wal-Mart craft section.  In my case, that’s not so local, but it’s worth the 30 minute drive.  I want you to start out with some cheap brushes that will work well for you.  Nice artist brushes can get very expensive and there’s no need to spend a lot of money when you’re

As promised, I am going to share my secrets of how I made my Antique German Grain Sacks.  I am so pleased with how these turned out, but I am afraid that some of you might be mad at me when I reveal how I did it.  Do not dismay, I have some alternatives… First of all, I used the fabric that I purchased from Wal-Mart for $2.47/yard called Osnaburg.  It’s a nubby, natural fabric with a loose weave and is an inexpensive substitution for linen or hemp. Cut a piece to your desired size.  If you’re going to want this to be washable, wash it first!  This is cotton, so it will shrink.  I’m going to frame this piece, so I just ironed it out and cut it to the size of my frame.  Back the fabric with a plastic bag to protect your work surface from any paint that bleeds

This is definitely an ugly picture post, so stick with me, here.  I have had a lot of questions about my spray booth, so I thought I would finally dish the details.  I am very fortunate to have a large workshop space in my basement, so I can have a pretty large spray booth.  The size can easily be adjusted to fit in a garage, shed, or smaller basement.  My hubby is going to make me a proper spray room, but that’s not going to happen until the spring.  Until that happens, this is and has been a great solution. The booth is basically three walls of heavy plastic that were cut to size and hung from the ceiling using 1×2’s and a nail gun.  The plastic was rolled around the 1×2, which was then stapled to the ceiling joists.  I rolled the excess plastic at the bottom in 4×4’s

Yay!  I finally got the other part of my new bedding.  A chocolate brown matelasse quilt and shams from Wal-Mart (ordered online.)  This is where the title of my post comes in.  I think it should be illegal to make bedding that is full SLASH queen.  Is it a full size or queen size?  Because there is a difference.  Any couple who sleeps in a queen bed and then has to spend a night squished together in a full knows there is a size difference.  It is my experience that a full/queen size normally means it’s a full size.  You’ll have about a 2″ overhang on a queen bed, which just doesn’t cut it for me.  So, when ordering this quilt, I took a chance and ordered a king.  It was a good move and fits the bed perfectly.  It is a gamble, though, because sometimes a queen bed in

Those of you who read my blog regularly know that I have been on a decorating frenzie since early December.  I can’t stop myself.  I wonder if there’s some kind of 12 step program.  “Hello, my name is Miss Mustard Seed and I can’t stop decorating.”  I love this stuff anyway, but there’s something motivating and inspiring about knowing I’m going to share it on a blog.  Anyway, my kitchen is my latest victim…um, project.  I did not wake up this morning with that plan, but I decided it was time to wage war on my counters.  Since starting Mustard Seed Creations over a year ago, my counters have suffered from the projects, paper work, and electronics that I haul out of my office.  I was also growing tired of the accessory arrangements, so this is what the frenzie produced. I collected my utencils, olive oil bottle, salt crock, and some other things onto a