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Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint and a Funeral Parlor Table!

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I am so excited to share with you my first experience using Miss Mustard Seed (MMS) Milk Paint. Though I’ve been painting with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP) and my Homemade Chalk Paint for quite awhile now I had never tried MMS until this past summer. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to try it but just that it wasn’t available in a shop anywhere near my home.

So a couple of months ago when I went online . . . ONCE AGAIN . . . to see where MMS Milk Paint was available, and when I found it in a city less than twenty miles away, I hit the road!

This is the little side table that I wanted to try this fantastic new paint on. A friend picked it up from the junk pile at a funeral parlor. Can you believe they were going to throw this away? It was in really good shape and the color was okay but I really, really, really wanted to try MMS’s Kitchen Scale. That’s the name of a color in case you were wondering.

THIS is Kitchen Scale . . . beautiful color doncha’ think? Now while the color is amazing the most wonderful thing about MMS milk paint is that you NEVER KNOW how your painted piece is going to turn out. It is always a surprise and . . . YES . . . I love surprises! So I painted it on and waited as patiently as I could to see what would happen. Would it grab all the paint color and remain this beautiful clear blue color or would it do that funny thing that thing it is sometimes known to do, and begin to bubble and peel? Fortunately the paint began to bubble in several places. I say “fortunately” because that is exactly what I was hoping for!

Several places became chippy as you can see by the picture above, exposing the white paint beneath the blue. I LOVE this about this paint!

Once the first coat was dry I painted a second coat which caused a little more of the bubbling effect. Then I took a scraper to the chippy places and gently scraped off the excess paint, lightly sanded the chipped edges and then sealed it all with soft wax, which stops the chipping process. I love chippy furniture and with this paint there is no need to figure out where to use the sanding block to get the best distressed look. The paint does it for you.

The table top wasn’t a beautifully grained piece of wood so I decided to paint it with ASCP Old White and then applied a graphic that I purchased online using my favorite METHOD for transferring typography onto wood. I finished it off with clear wax with just a dab of dark wax added. I did use my sanding sponge on the top to distress the edges.

One final thing I added was the lion’s head pulls that I found at a local antique store. They were all slightly different colors so I spray painted them with Rustoleum’s Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.

I took this Funeral Parlor Table turned Sweet Frenchy Table to the Queen Bee French Flea Market last month and she sold right away. I was a wee bit sad but I didn’t really have room for any more furniture in my own home! This is a color I use in my home a LOT though so I may be repainting something I already have in the near future. Who knows, Mr. OTN may come home to another surprise. I think he loves surprises too!

I’ve used many different types of paints on the furniture I’ve painted and I tend to paint and even repaint a piece until I get it just PERFECT! Of course “perfect” to me is usually very unique and very, very imperfect. I’m so happy to have a new type of paint to use on future projects and I do believe I will be using MMS paints a LOT! What about you? Do you like surprises? Have you tried MMS Milk Paint? Do you have a favorite color? I’d love to hear about your experience 🙂

Blessings,

P.S. In case you were wondering, Marion (Miss Mustard Seed) is not paying me to write about her paint line. This post simply reflects my pure unadulterated love of MMS Milk Paint!

 

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:
UnderTheTableAndDreaming, TheDIYShowoff, TheTablescaper,LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SuburbsMama
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
IHeartNapTime, WeCallItJunkin’
Saturday:

FunkyJunkInteriors, ClassyClutter, SixSistersStuff, It’sOverflowing, BeDifferentActNormal, TooMuchTimeOnMyHands

 

DIY Junky Chicken Wire Cloche

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Have you ever been casually browsing through second-hand stores when you come across random items that, when grouped together, cause you to become over-the-top excited, as you realize in a “light bulb moment” just what they are destined to become?! The kind of excitement that causes you rush home and get right to work on that project in spite of all the other things around the house that are calling out for attention? That’s EXACTLY what happened on my last junkin’ trip when I came across the fabulous items I used to make these Junky Chicken Wire Cloches.The last time I paid a visit to The Second Hand Rose store owner Terry took me behind the locked gate into his back yard of broken and not so nice items. I couldn’t believe my great fortune! Here are just a few of the things I came home with that day. An acorn knob, an old faucet handle, two silver plated stands and a couple of pocket watches for Mr. OTN (these will not be a part of this junky project but I do see them in a future vignette).

2-Chicken Wire Cloche 004Add to these items a roll of chicken wire that was bouncing around in my garage (the remains of my Chicken Wire Message Board),

some decorative metal sheets (the remains of another project I haven’t yet posted about),

and a can of Rustoleum’s Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint, also on hand in my garage.

All of these items together cried out, “Junky Chicken Wire Cloche!” If you’re like me you get that, right? So here is the “how to” for making one of your own:

WARNING: Making a chicken wire cloche is simple but it can also be dangerous. I’d advise wearing gloves to avoid injury. That said, I didn’t wear gloves myself because I like to work au naturel so I can get the whole experience . . . OR . . . I was in too much of a hurry to go find the silly gloves!

3-Chicken Wire Cloche 005Once you’ve measured the diameter of your base make your piece of chicken wire just a little bit smaller to fit inside the base, then crimp the edges of the wire over to hold the shape (acrylic nails are a great tool for this step). Snip off any excess with wire cutters.

When all the ends of the wire are secured you’ll end up with a really tall tube of chicken wire. Once you decide how tall you’d like your cloche to be you’ll start scrunching the wire together at that point. It is helpful to have a big pair of pliers to aid in the scrunching. When completely scrunched (fun word) cut your chicken wire with a sharp pair of wire cutters. You can see that this piece of wire actually made two cloches.

Next, you can add any kind of top you’d like . . . a doorknob, a cabinet pull, an old piece of jewelry, etc. I attached the cloche topper I used here by using my pliers to scrunch the chicken wire around it. It held pretty tight just as it was but I added a piece of flexible wire to secure it fully.

This is the acorn topper . . .

. . . and this is the old faucet topper.

After attaching the decorative tops I taped them off and sprayed the chicken wire with the oil rubbed bronze spray paint. I also cut a circle out of the decorative metal to make a “floor” for the cloche and spray painted that at the same time.

That’s pretty much it. Fill your cloche with some fun things from around the house and there you have it.

2-Chicken wire cloches 004

1-Chicken wire cloches 003

1-Chicken Wire Cloche 005

I must admit I am a bit smitten with cloches. I have one on my coffee table that I change with the seasons, and I did a whole post on Christmas Cloches last year. If you’d like you can view that HERE. Do you use cloches in your home decor? What do you like to fill them with? Hmmm . . . perhaps the pocket watches I found on this junking trip will be a part of my New Year’s display. Happy clocheing to you!

Blessings,

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:
UnderTheTableAndDreaming, TheDIYShowoff, TheTablescaper,LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SuburbsMama
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:

Fabulous Tickled Pink Friday Features . . . I’m so Inspired!

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I am so happy to be participating in the Tickled Pink Times Two Fridays party again this week. Holly at 504 Main and Meegan at What Meegan Makes throw the best party, so I was honored when Holly asked me if I’d like to pick a few of my favorite features from last week. Are you kidding? I am THRILLED by the opportunity!!! But guess what? It’s harder than you’d think. There were so many great links and, since I’m the kinda gal that wants to make everyone happy (yeah, I’m working on that), it was a really tough decision. I ended up choosing three very different types of links.

First off is the Faux Leather Sign shared by Amber over at Domestic Bliss Squared. Hilary and Jessica asked her to create a Fall themed sign for their Fall Festival of Guest Posters. Isn’t this great? She shares the complete tutorial too! After you check out her sign at Domestic Bliss Squared, please be sure to head over to Dimples and Pigtails to read Amber’s inspiring story.

My next pick is from Karen at Redoux Interiors. She shows us the amazing patina she’s achieved on a plain wooden table, with the use of special paints. I already have the perfect picture frame that I’m going to try this on. You’ll definitely want to visit this site if you are interested in making old things new. Karen is not only amazingly talented at furniture re-dos but she is very real and very funny!

Finally, since it is Fall and time for comfort foods, I chose Cathy’s (Lemon Tree Dwelling) Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Corn. Doesn’t this look delicious? Dark chocolate, popcorn and salted caramel . . . three of my favorite treats all rolled into one. I can’t wait to try it!

I hope you are as inspired as I am. Thank you Holly and Meegan for letting me share in the fun this week!

Blessings,

Tickled Pink Fridays Link Party

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I am so excited to be co-hosting the Tickled Pink Fridays link party this week! Holly’s (504 Main) and Meegan’s (What Meegan Makes) blogs are FILLED with ideas for the home . . . crafts, cooking, home organizing tips . . . believe me, you’ll be inspired. The weekly link party is one of my favorite Friday places. If you haven’t yet linked up please do!

NOW FOR TICKLED PINK x2!
A craft…a recipe…a tip…a party…a short story…a poem…a fashion find…a favorite product…your favorite post…whatever makes your blog fabulous!
That is what this party is all about!
Grab a button HERE!
504 Main
Tickled Pink at 504 Main
Let’s make this fun and be social!
Please visit the person linked before you…Pretty Please!
1. Link up…whatever makes your blog fabulous. Family Friendly please. Guess what? Your post does not have to be PINK!! We reserve the right to remove posts that are offensive or do not adhere to the rules, without any discussion, at my discretion.
2. PLEASE LINK TO A POST URL, ****NOT YOUR MAIN URL****
3. Pretty please…add the Tickled Pink button or TEXT link back to the post* {people need to know what the heck they are doing!}.
4. Please visit a couple other links!
Link Up what ever made you or your blog FAB this week!



WP Transfer Complete & an Old World Paint Technique Tutorial

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Whew! The Blogger to WordPress transfer is complete and I’m attempting my very first post on WordPress. There is a story behind why I decided to switch to a self-hosted WP site. The short version being that I woke up one day, logged on to my computer and when I tried to access my blog all I saw was a message shouting at me, “This content has been removed”! There was a moment of heart dropping terror, followed by a frantic Internet search for answers, followed by a resigned, “Oh well, I’ve only lost over a years worth of hard work . . . ! For some unknown reason, my blog came back after a few hours and I decided that the WP transfer I’d been talking about needed to happen sooner rather than later. Now, I don’t want to badmouth Blogger. I love Google and I use it every day. Let’s just suffice to say that with a self-hosted site no one can shut me down. What do you think Mr. OTN, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

So let’s get started with my first post. I’ll begin by adding a picture right here:

Hey! It came up! I must admit that figuring out how to size this picture took a bit of time but once I got the settings plugged in all of the other pics came up just the size I wanted them. So, what do you think of this “plasterish” piece of wall art I found at Goodwill? The original $49.99 price tag was still on it but I only paid $6.99. The color was a little dirty looking so I thought it might be fun to try using Gesso to create the Old World Finish that the amazing Rosemary at Villa Barnes is so adept at. I followed her step-by-step instructions.

I began by painting over the grime with Home Made Chalk Paint Recipe #3 in the color Myth by Behr Paints . You can find that recipe HERE.

Then I slathered on the Gesso (this product is used to prepare canvas and other surfaces to receive paint and can be found at any craft supply store).

I wiped it off before it could dry with an old t-shirt, leaving behind the Gesso that had settled into the crevices.

So simple and the look is totally different, don’t you think?

I think it now looks more like a piece of carved stone than plaster.

She looks so pretty behind my kitchen stove but alas, she cannot stay. This is just one more thing that will go along with me to the French Flea.

The contents of my booth are growing one item at a time.

Okay, well my first post in WP was a little time consuming but not too bad, especially since it was just little ol’ me trying to figure things out all by myself! There are still a few bugs to work out and there will definitely be a lot of new things to learn, just like there was with Blogger. I’m still trying to get used to my new look but that is something I can easily play around with (believe me, I’ve changed the background and script color dozens of times already). One feature I LOVE is that all my posts are truncated on the Home Page so that you can scroll down and see snippets of previous posts along with a thumbnail pic, and a button to “read more”.

All the credit for the Blogger to WP transfer goes to Kristi Linauer of Addicted2Decorating (Yay Kristi!). The whole process took her only one evening! The time that has elapsed since then has been me, wading through WP trying to figure things out. I’ve actually been able to customize several things all by myself. It’s funny . . . I always tell people that I’m not computer savvy because of my being of an older vintage . . . but now . . . what once seemed so foreign to me is really beginning to click. When I talk to other people (even young people) about HTML, widgets, etc. they often give me a blank look. I think I’m going to have to stop declaring myself a non-techy! WP really isn’t harder, it is just different, and the options for customizing my blog are endless. I’m sure I’ll be asking Kristi to fine tune a few things for me along the way but I’m feeling really good about becoming somewhat of a DIYer on the computer 🙂

Blessings to you,

P.S. I’m still trying to figure out how to get comments to show up in my email so I can respond directly. Please be patient with me as I’m really not intentionally ignoring you!

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:
UnderTheTableAndDreaming, TheDIYShowoff, TheTablescaper, IHeartNapTime, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SuburbsMama
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday: