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Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint

Hand Painted Furniture

Antiquing & Waxing Video Tutorial

I had a chance to finish the footboard and rails of the “Bavarian” style bed I’ve been working on for our guest bedroom.  You can check out part 1 and part 2 to see how the bed got to this stage.  I’m excited to get it set up in the guest room and take some pictures of it in natural lighting, but here are some I snapped in the workshop.  And to show you the process I used on this piece, Jeff and I made an antiquing wax tutorial… Jeff was a busy guy today.  Not only did he make the video, but he made great progress on the trim in the family room… Tonight all of the boys were at Awana, so that’s my night to get a few extra hours of work in (or sometimes just enjoy a movie and a quiet house).  Tonight, I filled and primed

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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

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Hand Painted Furniture

Painted Guest Room Bed |

 Remember the guest bed I bought a few months ago?  My mom and I found it at an antique store for $100.  It needed a bit of gluing, but only on the decorative parts.  The bed is very solid…  …and I was totally in love with the curved footboard. Since 2002, I’ve been holding onto a magazine with a picture of this bed in it…  I’ve always wanted to replicate it if I ever found the right bed.  I knew I could paint the $100 bed in a similar fashion to finally have my own version of the bed in the magazine for my guest room. I started out by painting it in one coat of MMSMP French Enamel with the Bonding Agent added. Once the French Enamel was dry I started to add the other colors…Apron Strings, Mustard Seed Yellow and Linen. It was a little scary at first,

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Kitchen

painting the last bar stool…finally

Back in June of 2013 I painted the bar stools at my kitchen counter…well, two of them, anyway.  I don’t recall why I didn’t get to the third one, but I’m sure I just got busy with other things and the idea of painting one bar stool seemed a bit boring.  You can see the stools peeking up over the bar in this picture… I was getting the itch to paint some furniture and finish projects that have been abandoned, so I finally got the chair done.  I wanted it to match the other two, obviously, so I painted it in French Enamel. In my photo shoots, I use vintage brushes, ironstone mugs, silver spoons and grain sack fabric as drop cloths, but in reality, I use plastic cups and wooden stir sticks and real drop cloths. A nice thing about milk paint is that you can use it inside

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Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

Talking about color…

I get a lot of questions about the milk paint colors in my line.  There are only 18 of them, but it can still be hard to tell online if a color is the color that’s perfect for your project. Is Typewriter black or charcoal or blue? Is Shutter Gray more blue or more gray?   Is Mustard Seed Yellow too mustardy?  Or not enough? So, I’ve added some new collages (for most colors) and descriptions to the MMSMP website.  And Jeff and I just made this video of me describing the colors in the line to help clear things up even further… Pastel-ish?  (Man, I really needed a haircut before that video.  I got one last week, but I’m a little shaggy in this one.  Oh well!) Do you notice my grain sack apron?  Ann of On Sutton Place made it for me to wear in my photos and

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Before and Afters

stool gallery

Some days I just need to paint.  It’s therapeutic for me and it makes me feel a sense of accomplishment.  With a two hour school delay, I didn’t have a lot of time to get things done today, so I picked a small project I’ve been wanting to work on – painting this little stool. It’s in our master bathroom, so I decided to use MMSMP Artissimo. It’s a deep navy blue.  A yummy color, in my opinion. Now, I painted a lot of chairs and stools before I realized that I should start with the piece upside down.  That eliminates a lot of the awkward reaching and neck strain and paint on your forearms.  Maybe you’re smarter than I am and figured that out on your first try! I decided to apply the paint without prepping the piece at all.  I had a pretty good feeling it would adhere

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Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

Applying Wax to the Rocking Horse – Video Tutorial

Well, we finally got the camera and lights out and started making some video!  We shot this one on waxing last week and short some more today on mixing milk paint and the colors in the MMSMP line.  I can’t even say how nice it is to have someone working the camera and taking care of the editing for me!  Jeff has taken up that role and has been soaking up all he can about using the equipment we have and making quality videos.  We both have a lot we still want to learn, but this is our first video together, so if this is our starting point, we feel like we’re going to get to a pretty good place! So, the video today is showing how I waxed this rocking horse I painted a couple of weeks ago…   The horse is painted in MMSMP Grain Sack over Trophy

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Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

Making Videos, Milk Paint Pictures & More

I feel like I’m back.  Since Thanksgiving, it’s been one thing after the other and I’ve been craving a normal week and some kind of routine.  When both boys were little, I was used to working on things in bits and pieces and I had a system all worked out to be efficient.  Now that they are older, I really depend on the time when they are at school and have trouble getting into a groove when they are home a lot.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s sweet time, but…you know what I’m saying.   It’s tough to get into a work groove.  So, after the holidays and snow days and my son’s diagnosis and all of that stuff, I finally feel like my creativity is waking up.  I feel energetic again and ready to dive into projects. I started by making a to-do list, so I could be focused.

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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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