Mellow Yellow Milk Paint

I have had this little table hanging around for a while now, in fact so long it felt like an 'old friend' sitting in the corner.  It needed a little bit of 'leg tightening' and a couple of  the casters needed some oil and a serious talking to! but they soon gave in and were swivelling nicely.

I decided on Mustard Seed Yellow Milk Paint, for this piece, its a beautiful 'buttery custardy' shade of yellow, and gives a real feel of an old country kitchen, I just painted it straight onto the wood without any bonding agent as I wanted as much chipping as possible, however the wood was dry and old and very absorbent so it did not chip as much as I wanted it to. 

This is what it looked like after one coat.

After giving it 2 coats of Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint, I gave it a quick coat of Hemp Oil, and the next day I lightly rubbed in some Miss Mustard Seed Antiquing Wax. I love this product, it just gives such a soft aged look, its easy to use, blends in so easily and smells really nice - yes can you believe it? - no smelly fumes that you get with other brands, its such a fabulous product.

Just a quick little makeover, I can't believe I left it so long before getting around to it!

Lots more Milk Paint projects on the way
Bye for now
CJ

Typography Graphic on Milk Paint

The beauty of Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint is it's versatility, although my favourite look is an aged, distressed and 'chippy' look, with this little 3 drawer unit I wanted to create something dramatic out of a very plain piece of furniture.  

It was really solid, all the drawers were 'perfect runners' obviously the knobs had to go!

When searching for inspiration I always leave the piece in a very prominent place where I will see it lots, it works every time, sometimes sooner than others - with this piece it was quite quickly that I honed in on the very flat front and that the drawers fitted so snugly, it was perfect for adding a graphic - so I went straight over to the Graphics Fairy where I found this beauty! I wanted to fill as much of the front of the unit as possible for the biggest impact.

I painted the top and the back rail in 'Typewriter' using the bonding agent as I had decided I wanted a smooth and 'non-distressed' finish. 1st coat with Bonding Agent - 2nd coat without Bonding Agent, once it was dry I used the Hemp Oil to finish it and I gave it a couple more coats of Hemp Oil, leaving it to sink in each time, Hemp Oil is such a wonderful product it really brings a richness to the Milk Paint, and at the same time giving it a lovely durable finish.

The main body of the unit I painted in the colour 'Linen' this is a really lovely creamy white colour, again I used the Bonding Agent, and I gave it 2 top coats after the initial coat using the Bonding Agent. I left it a couple of days before handing over to my daughter Laura to work her magic on the graphic, which she did using the overhead projector method.

I 'ummed and ahhed'  over which knobs to use, trying crystal and pain black, but in the end I plumped for the small 30mm wooden ones which I painted in Linen to match the base colour, this I thought would not detract from the graphic.

I was so pleased with the finished piece, and even more pleased when I sold it on the 1st day of the Antiques Fair!

  

Lots more projects on the way.

Bye for now.

CJ

'Typewriter' Milk Paint - Architects Desk

This Architects Plans desk was donated to me as it was being thrown out! it was very well used, but I love the long narrow draws with the old brass labels, and knew I could really bring it back to life.  I left it in my conservatory for about three weeks, undecided what to do with it - should I paint it? should I leave it as it is?

I eventually had my moment of inspiration and made the decision to paint it, as it is quite a masculine piece of furniture I decided on Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint - 'Typewriter' which is a lovely soft black, I used the bonding Agent as I didn't want to have any chipping or distressing, I sanded the top and the draw pulls and simply oiled them with hemp oil.

This is a huge piece of furniture, and I was really pleased how it turned out, it sold at the Ardingly Antiques fair to a lady who is an artist, so I am really pleased that it will be used to store her pieces of art work.

Oh...and this is Alfie, he is our very lovable dog and was determined to be in this picture!
I will be posting my other Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint projects over the next few days.
Bye for now.
CJ

Ardingly Antiques Fair July 2013

It's been a hectic week, after my first ever stall at an Antiques fair, - I'm still trying to get my head around saying that!  Anyway I absolutely loved it, and I was overwhelmed with the very positive response for Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint -  bearing in mind that the brand is unheard of in the UK. (but not for much longer)

Below is my friend Sheelagh - who is such an amazing friend, and I can't thank her enough for the help and support she has given me.  She made the bunting for my stall - yards of it! and it is absolutely beautiful, she even enclosed a penny in each pendant to make it hang right - now that is  what I call a true friend! she worked so hard helping us setting up the stall, and chatting to people about Milk Paint - thank you so much Sheelagh, I must also say a big thank you to my wonderful husband who has supported me and helped me over the last few months and drove the van with all the furniture and paint in.  He really enjoyed the 2 days too.

We were so lucky the sun shone constantly for both days, and we met some really lovely people.  Can't wait to do it again!
Bye for now
CJ

Almost There - A few Pics of What I'm taking to Ardingly

 I feel like I have been in total uproar for weeks, but finally everything is coming together and I'm almost ready for Ardingly.  Here's just a few  pictures of some of the pieces I have been working on, of course they are all painted in Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint!.
French Graphic from the Graphics Fairy 3 drawer chest in Linen & Typewriter. 

Architects Desk - Typewriter and lots of Hemp Oil.

 French Enamel and Antiquing Wax.

French Graphic from the Graphics Fairy, with Boxwood.

Plywood bunting in each colour for my display Shelves.

 Display Cabinet, Kitchen Scale - Wax Puck, and Grainsack interior.

I will post more about these items and others, once Ardingly Antiques & Collectors Fair is over.
Bye for noe.
CJ

'Stop Press' - Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint at Ardingly Antiques Fair July 23 & 24

I have been 'super busy' over the last few weeks, painting as many pieces of furniture I can to take to Ardingly International Antiques & Collectors Fair on 23/24 July.  I will be showcasing Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint, and the complimentary products in the range.
Please come and see me if you are at the show, I would love to meet you and tell you about this wonderful new range.
You will find us in the shopping arcade.
I hope to post some pics this week of the pieces I will be taking  - all items will be on sale at the show.

Hope to see you there.
Bye for now
CJ

Shades of Grey

Another Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint project - This time I used Shutter Gray and Grain Sack and then mixed the 2 colours together to make a lovely '3 shades of grey' for this pretty nest of tables.  I have also used the Miss Mustard Seed Antiquing Wax, which is such a fabulous product, its so easy to blend and not at all as harsh as other brands used for giving an antique finish.
Here's the before pic:

  

I thought I would add these 2 pictures of the first coat of Grain Sack, the lighter colours in the MMSMP do require an extra coat, and I have found it better if you mix slightly less water, so about a 1/1 mixture seems to work well. I did use the bonding agent as well for the first coat as the surface was quite shiny.

 

Lots more Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint projects on the way.

Bye for now.

CJ