One of the cool things that’s come out of this milk paint line is having the opportunity to work with other entrepreneurs.  So many amazing business owners have partnered with me to manufacture, distribute, promote, retail and teach about the products in our line.  Many of the people who partnered with us have also been key in bringing new products to our customers.  One of those retailers is Christie of ReVived Vintage.

A few months ago, Jennylyn of Homestead House brought the idea of carrying a brush soap to me.  I liked the idea, because I usually use dish soap, which works fine, but it doesn’t really condition the brush. Jennylyn shared that, one of our Canadian MMSMP retailers, Christie had developed an all-natural brush soap that was pretty amazing.  She sent it to me.  I tested it out and agreed that it was pretty amazing stuff.  Now, we carry it in our line.

This soap contains no synthetics or detergent chemicals, no phosphates, ABS, LAS, fluorescents or artificial fragrance.  It’s made with natural, eco-friendly, certified sustainable, responsibly produced oils and fats that perfectly clean and condition paint brushes.  I have found that it works especially well on milk paint and natural brushes.

I generally take good care of my brushes, but in my multi-tasking, I will sometimes leave a brush on my worktable for a day or two.  It’ll be crusted with dried milk paint, which is not the easiest things to wash out.  I actually just found a brush yesterday that had been sitting in a box of supplies I used at my presentation in Virginia a week before Lucketts!  The bristles were rigid to say the least.  Anyway, the soap did wonders and it’s clean and supple again.

The soap is in a puck-shaped cake, which I like, because I can hold it in my hand and swirl the brush on it to make it sudsy.

(I wasn’t holding the soap in this picture, because I was using the shutter remote.)  I alternate between putting more soap on the brush and massaging it into the bristles to work the paint out.

This is the same brush, in the same washing session…

(I took that picture by putting the shutter remote in my teeth.  Clever girl, I tell you.)  As you can tell, all of the paint is entirely rinsed out, even though it’s a very saturated blue (Artissimo.)

Now that the brush is cleaned and hydrated, it needs to be reshaped…just like our own hair!  Shampoo, condition, blow dry and style.  In the case of a natural bristle brush the drying and styling is best done by wringing it dry and then wrapping it in paper (brown/craft paper works best, but you can use paper towels, too)…

…and tying or banding it to hold the paper tight around the bristles.

The paper will absorb extra moisture and help the bristles hold their shape.  Allow the brush to dry for several hours or overnight.

With proper cleaning and care, your brushes can last through many furniture makeovers over many years.

 Oh…and one more fun thing about having a new product…

…it’s a good excuse for a photo shoot!

Miss Mustard Seed’s Brush Soap is now available for purchase!  Check HERE to see if one of our 250 retail locations is near you.