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All Things Home

milk paint 101 | mixing milk paint

In part one of this series, we talked about what milk paint is.   Now, we’re going to get into mixing, which I think is the most intimidating part for most people. First of all, we’re not use to mixing paint, right?  It usually comes in a bottle or can and it’s already a liquid.  Just dip in your brush and go.  I must admit that the convenience of that is nice. The reason milk paint doesn’t come that way, is that it is perishable once it’s mixed, so it’s sold in powdered form. I think some people are nervous about mixing the paint because it is an unknown.  And most of us are a little apprehensive when we stray from what we’re used to.   There’s also an assumption that this needs to be exact or everything will be ruined. So, let me first put you at ease. If you can

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All Things Home

milk paint 101 | what is milk paint?

I’ve written a lot of posts about milk paint.  In fact, we have an entire blog just dedicated to all things MMS Milk Paint.  I could talk about it a lot more than I do, but I never want my readers to feel like this blog is a milk paint commercial.  But when I asked you what you wanted from my blog, I was surprised to learn that many of you wanted to hear more about milk paint. I mention it a lot, but I realized that it’s almost in passing, so if you don’t know anything about milk paint, me simply saying that I painted something in milk paint, distressed it and applied hemp oil might not mean much.  I’m glossing over the details that would be helpful for someone trying to replicate the looks I’m achieving. So, I’ve decided to write a series to those who are brand new

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All Things Home

book page dresser tutorial

Remember the dresser that was being a total jerk? Well, he has improved upon acquaintance.  He’s a bit of a Mr. Darcy and I dare say that he is now dashing and (almost) ready to sweep someone off their feet.  This dresser is sort of like that… Here’s a simple video tutorial on how I did it… The dresser is painted in MMS Milk Paint in Marzipan. The top was stripped to the bare wood and finished with Hemp Oil to hydrate the wood and protect it. The hardware was so pretty, but it was a little fussy for what I envisioned, so I removed the backplate and just used the clapper pulls.   This allows the book pages to be the real star. This book was from the 1870’s and the patina on the pages is so pretty. It was a pretty tattered book and I bought it for just

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All Things Home

Milk Paint on walls & Kriste bought a house

So, Kriste bought a house!!  Our little girl is growing up so fast. She and her husband, David, closed on a sweet 1920’s craftsman bungalow just over a week ago.  Not a bad first house at all!  It has lots of charm and lots of potential as well.  (It even has a studio space for Kriste!) And this girl has been dreaming about that potential.  Here are a couple of detailed sketches she made for each room…     You can click HERE to see all of her sketches and “mood boards”. Literally hours after they closed (maybe even minutes), Kriste and I were in her bedroom, paint rollers in hand.  (A girl after my own heart.  That’s exactly what I did when we bought our first house!) Kriste asked if we could use MMS Milk Paint for her walls.  Of course we can!  Now, I’ve never done it, but

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All Things Home

zinc-top table gets a second chance

I brought this amazing zinc-topped table a few weeks ago to sell at the Market on Chapel Hill.  I didn’t have time to fix it up the way I wanted to, though, so I was sort of glad when it didn’t sell.  It was great as is, but needed a little TLC. And when it comes to furniture, TLC is something I can (and often do) do. Here’s how the piece looked when I brought it to the market… (If you get seasick, you might want to have a barf-bag handy.  Yes.  I just wrote barf-bag.) The front, left leg is an inch shorter than the other legs.  To say the table was wonky was a bit of an understatement. The floors in our studio are so un-level, though, that I didn’t notice it until the day before we packed it. Here was my quick fix… …a stack of sticky

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All Things Home

Painting with White

When I see someone who doesn’t know what color to paint something, they almost always default to white.  It’s neutral.  It’s easy. Right? I will admit that it is hard to go wrong with white.  I love white and mix a lot of different whites in my home.  All three of the whites from the MMS Milk Paint line are represented. Ironstone on the dining table base and chairs… Linen on the jelly cupboard… …and Grain Sack on the 1800’s marble-topped dresser and Gustavian sofa frame to point out a few. So, I’m a fan. But, white is actually one of the hardest colors to paint with.   It doesn’t matter what kind of paint it is, white just doesn’t cover as well and almost always requires more coats.  This is especially true with milk paint, since it’s thinner than modern paints.   Here are some tips and tricks I’ve

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All Things Home

cleaning & sealing chipping antique pieces

Remember that awesome “cubby” I found a few weeks ago?  I spotted it when I was out shopping once, but I passed it up, because it was a little pricey.  I kept thinking about it, though, and decided if it was still there the next time I stopped in, I would buy it. Well, it was still there and I snapped it up.  (It’s so funny that I get so excited about buying things I’m just going to turn around and sell!) The only problem with this piece is that it was shedding paint everywhere.  If you would just breath near it, flakes would fall off.  I love the “chippy look”, but I don’t want actual chips of paint littering the floor. So, I have a standard way I deal with pieces like this… Before I get into the process, please check the EPA website for safely dealing with lead-based paint

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All Things Home

Megan’s office makeover | the chalkboard wall

We are so, so close to finishing Megan’s office!  Megan and her husband, JT, came to pick up the furniture from my studio over the weekend.  Moving that wardrobe was quite a job and it was even a little nail-biting seeing if they could get it in the space, but they were able to and it will provide loads of closed-door storage. They also picked up the rug, curtains, armchair, accessories, etc., so they could put them in the room.  (Do you see the adorable antique trashcan that Carrie from Copper & Tin gifted to Megan?)  Kriste and I drove down today to check out the space and work on a few things before the final reveal. If you ever paint a chalkboard wall (or anything in chalkboard paint, for that matter), you should season the surface.  This accomplishes a few things.  First of all, it takes the edge off the black

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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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