'Chippy Dressing Table'

I love it when I find a great piece of furniture - one that is:
A. Old and in great condition
B. Has all the original hardware
&
C. Has a great shape or design that makes it stand out.
 This piece had all of the above criteria, it's defining features for me are the original hardware and those cute 'heart cut outs' on the mirror supports.

The mirror is beveled and has a few age marks (which I love) with this in mind I decided this piece was going to get a Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint make-over with no bonding agent I wanted it to chip away to it's hearts content - First of all I gave it a good wipe down with sugar soap - I use this in a spray version - it's easy to use - just spray on wipe wipe with a sponge - I lot of grime came off .

I used the colour 'Grainsack',  just 2 coats gave me the exact look I was after and it 'chipped' like a 'good'un' Once the paint was dry I gently sanded with a fine sanding sponge, and then finished with a coat of Polyvine Dead Flat decorators varnish.

I'm really pleased with this piece - the finish is really smooth,  I was very tempted to keep it, but I really don't have the room for it, so I whisked her off to Lovingly Made, where she is for sale in their Vintage Shop.

I styled the photo's with my bunch of 'Special Lavender' - I bought this bunch 2 years ago, at Mayfield Lavender Farm in Surrey - when my daughter Laura told me she was expecting a baby and I was going to become a grandmother! I now have the most beautiful Grandaughter - Lilah Jayne and very fond memories of that special sunny day, surrounded by Lavender having just been given the most wonderful news, a truly wonderful moment!

CJ

Linking to:

http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

Mixing Milk Paint Colours

I was given this old chest of drawers - which was in desperate need of some TLC - it had several layers of old oil based paint - a lot of dirt & grime and very stiff drawers - I could barely pull them in or out!

That being said it was a good shape and the wood was solid with no splits or gouges plus I do like a challenge!.  I sanded the top and drawer fronts, the rest I cleaned thoroughly with sugar soap and A LOT of elbow grease.
For the drawer fronts I custom mixed 3 parts Grainsack 1 part Eulalies Sky and a little Trophy to give it a little more 'muted' tone, the base sides and top were just straight Grainsack - I love the way I got some natural crackle on the top - just gives it that 'old, used look'.  After finishing the entire piece with MMS Hemp Oil, I added a little MMS Antiquing Wax in strategic places to give a little more aged effect.

I recycle the handles from an old piece of furniture I was given - I love this style of handle - not very pretty but rustic and vintage - all in all I'm really pleased with the transformation - and as if by magic the drawers seem to work fine now - I think she was just after some attention!

I have a few more ideas of MMS colours I would like to mix together which of course I will share with you when I find the perfect projects.
CJ 

Time for another Coffee Table

This coffee table is HUGE! it's 3ft square and really heavy the wood on the top is nearly 2 inches thick!
I had to sand down the top which was no problem and didn't take long at all - but there were marks and a lot of wax on there, which soon disappeared once I got cracking with the sander!

I removed the top from the base as I find this much easier for painting and for Laura to work on the graphics. - a good tip is to always number parts when you take out screws - I use chalk to mark the numbers - it's easy to see and can be rubbed off easily when you have finished your piece.

As this table had so much wax on it I decided to use Autentico Chalk Paint again - I had plenty left after my last project Autnentico Chalk Paint to the Rescue  and I knew it would soak up and cover over the old wax residue.

Laura has done a fabulous job on the graphic - yet again! she is so clever and has such a steady hand - it looks amazing! We used The Graphics Fairy as usual.
I have projects stacking up now and will post as soon as they are done.
CJ

Potty with Pots - Milk Paint Workshop - 20 May, 10am - 1pm

Come along to the Potty with Pots workshop at Lovingly Made, near East Grinstead, and learn how to turn these...

Into these...

There are lots of different looks you can achieve with Milk Paint, and a few other magical products, to achieve crackled effects, naturally aged & distressed or a flat opaque finish to name but a few!  I'll show you how you can transform those old pots in no time at all!

Hope to see you there.
CJ

Quick Coffee Table Makeover with 'Kitchen Scale' Milk Paint

I have had this little coffee table hanging around for ages - I knew it would be a very quick job to turn around once the wobbly leg was fixed - and in  fact once I actually got around to it fixing the leg was easy and I managed to do it in-between other jobs one Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago.

So with lovely new strong legs - I set to work with my favorite Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint colout - 'Kitchen Scale' it's such a great colour - not too bright and has that lovely vintage muted tone, I would describe the colour as a soft 'Teal'  shade.

Kitchen Scale really looks great against dark wood when it has that great 'chippy' affect - it really does  look like its been around for years and has chipped and faded over time.

When painting anything with legs - tables or chairs - I always turn them upside down for the first  coat - by doing this  - once you turn it back upright you can easily see if you have missed any bits - and cover those with your next coat.

I have found these amazing sanding pads on eBay - they are 'super' fine, and great for rounded surfaces like legs - so much better than a stiff sheet of sand paper as they gently fold around the surface giving a really even finish - using them leaves the paint so smooth.  

and for my next little tip!... - I then dust off the sanded paint dust using these 'micro fibre' cloths - they are 'cheap as chips' and really clean away all the dust so quickly - leaving it beautifully clear ready for the Hemp Oil! 

Lots more Milk Paint projects in the pipeline!
CJ

Brilliance in Blogging Shortlist!!!

I have just found out that I have been shortlisted for the BiB awards - Brilliance in Blogging, in the 'Style' category! I am gobsmacked, shocked and honored to say the least!
I have been writing my blog for 3 years now and sharing my vintage inspired furniture make overs and up cycling projects has been, and still is something I really love.  I hope I have inspired my readers to 'have a go' themselves - it is so rewarding to see something evolve from an ugly drab piece of furniture into a piece of furniture you love, and to give it a new lease of life, and I hope my detailed descriptions and photos of before, during and after show what can be achieved with a little imagination, elbow grease & paint!
If you would like to vote for me please follow the link here - Juniper & Roses is shortlisted in the 'Style' category which is No.12 - only one vote each!
Thank you so much to everyone who has already voted, I really appreciate your support.
CJ

Autentico Chalk Paint to the Rescue!

For the last 2 years the only paint I have used for my furniture re-cycling projects has been Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint - which I absolutely adore - I love the versatility of milk paint, and although I have had the odd issue, all the results have always turned out well in the end.  However this 'baby' caused me some problems - I used filler where the veneer was missing and that worked fine with the Milk Paint, but the overall finish on the veneer was so rough despite sanding and using hemp oil I just wasn't getting the finish I wanted. 

There was no other option than to go for a lovely thick chalk paint to cover the bad finish on this chest of drawers, so I went to see my friend Elaine at  Vintage Attic Living  in Sevenoaks (I must do a post about her gorgeous shop sometime!) she is a new Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint Retailer, and also stocks Autentico Chalk Paint, I have only ever used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and I wanted to try the Autentico so I could compare the 2 chalk paints - Conclusion: I prefer Autentico! It was fun to use chalk paint again and although I did need 3 coats in the end to get the finish I wanted, I didn't find it so 'gloopy' as ASCP.  The shade I chose was 'Stone' which is a lovely beigey/grey.  after a gentle sand with fine  sand paper, I finished it with hemp oil, which gave it a lovely satin finish, and is so much easier to use than furniture wax!

Whilst visiting Vintage Attic Living, I bought some lovely napkins to make some decoupaged knobs for this chest of drawers, it's years since I tried decoupage and I was pleased with the results, I turned these ordinary pine knobs into something interesting and a little 'different' First of all I painted them with Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in the shade 'Linen' as I wanted to match the background coulour of the paper napkin and it also made a great contrast with the main colour of the chest of drawers.  I then used Modge Podge to stick the cut out sections of the napkin to the top of the knobs, and finished the whole knob with a couple of coats of Polyvine Decorators Varnish with a 'Dead Flat' finish.

Going back to using Chalk Paint has not affected my love of Milk Paint, it's just made me realise I have many options and each re-cycling project is totally different, assessing the existing finish that you are about to paint over before starting is very important.  This will definitely NOT be a one off, I will be using Atentico Chalk Paint again!

CJ