My experiences with Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

~* First off let me just be clear that this is my FIRST time using milk paint!  So it is very possible that my problems with it could be due to user error! *~

Let's get to the basics...
What is Milk Paint?
It’s a powdered, organic paint that is environmentally safe. Milk paint is a formula that has been around forever, it has been dated back as early as Ancient Egypt.  It is a versatile paint that can be used to achieve a variety of looks from chippy and distressed, to smooth and sleek.
What Types of Finish can be used on Milk Paint?
Furniture Wax can be used as a protective topcoat, as well as Hemp Oil.  The Old Fashion Milk company also makes a clear top coat - I believe it's like a matte Polycrylic that they say can be used as a topcoat.
Can Milk Paint be used on raw wood?
Yes, it’s one of the best paints for raw wood.  It acts like a stain, but looks like a paint.  The color will penetrate the wood for a lasting finish that won’t chip or flake.
 Do I have to prime before using Milk Paint?
Nope!  If you aren't going for that chippy look you simply add the bonding agent to your paint mixture.


When I decided to try milk paint I started by doing some lite research on the lines available out there.  It seemed the two most popular were Old Fashioned Milk Paint (www.milkpaint.com) and Miss. Mustard Seed's Milk Paint (www.missmustardseedsmilkpaint.com), it was a real toss up between the two and I couldn't decide which to go with...it just so happened that Vintage Retold (www.vintageretold.com) was having a sale on all of Miss. Mustard Seed's paints so I decided to give her line a try and purchased a pint of her milk paint in Tricycle, a beautiful red color.  I watched all of the available tutorials on Miss. Mustard Seed's website then pulled out my piece and was ready to give it a shot.  (Of course, I took pictures of all of these steps, but later deleted them by accident, sorry about that guys!)  But you can find all of her tutorials here...http://www.missmustardseedsmilkpaint.com/tutorial
Mixing the paint was fairly easy!  At first the powder seemed reluctant to form a life long bond with the water, but after some coaxing they went together surprisingly smoothly and lived happily ever after

The piece I chose to paint was a child's rocking chair that had previously been painted yellow.  I did not prep it in ANY way - so I was pleasantly surprised when the paint went on smoothly and adhered well!  (At this point I should note - my little batch did NOT contain the bonding agent as I WAS going for the chippy look)  I chose to apply my pretty little mixture with a paint brush (although I've heard you can use a spray gun, foam brush - I've even heard of someone using a rag!) and found I had not a single brush stroke!  Even though I don't mind them in my own pieces as I feel they add character, I know a lot of people out there who STRIVE for a solid look - so if that's you, THIS is your paint.  Now...here's where I ran into my problems.  On the seat of the chair, the original owner (a child) had drawn a few designs with a black ball point pen.  I didn't anticipate it being a problem to cover because the markings were fairly light and the pen marks (because they were drawn in ball point) were thin.  But it was!  I had no problem in covering all of the yellow paint in just two coats, but it took me three or four to cover the pen markings completely.  I'm not sure being so new to this if I was making my batches to thin (to much water to paint ratio) or if this is just the way of the world, in the land of milk paint.  All I know is it threw me for a loop, I'm so used to chalk paint that is SO thick it has to be diluted by water and STILL I rarely use more than a single coat.  But, they are two very different paints so I guess that's not comparing apples to apples.   

However my biggest problem was painting the spindles on the chair.  It seemed for the life of me I could NOT get the paint to coat them evenly.  And this is the only way I can think to explain it...imagine if you had two pieces of scrap wood in front of you, if you painted one of those pieces with two coats of blue chalk paint, then you took the other piece of scrap wood and painted it with that same blue paint but this time applied ten coats - when all was said and done they would both be the same color blue right? Well, not so with milk paint - at least not in the case of these darn spindles. It seems that because it's a pigment based paint two coats will not be the same color as ten coats, so as I circled around each spindle, overlapping my paint I was creating multiple shades of color.  Although - that was never mentioned in any of Miss. Mustard Seeds tutorials so I'm left to wonder if I'm doing something wrong?  Once it had dried for a few hours I used a fine grit sanding sponge and buffed the entire chair which seemed to help even things out quite a bit.  The ONLY thing I have yet to do is to wax it.  There isn't a tutorial on her site about finishing yet and what it will mean in regards to the color.  If you've ever used chalk paint you know that the TRUE color of the paint is the way it looks when it's wet.  Once it dries it looks very lack luster...and well, chalky!  But then when you wax it, it brings it back to life!  The color changes and once again the color is vibrant and beautiful.  I am hoping, with toes and fingers crossed that this is what waxing will do for my little chair.  Because when the paint was wet you could not tell there was a variation in the color, and also because the vibrant red that I was looking for is gone, and the red of my chair looks nothing like the pieces pictured on her site painted in the same color.  But I guess we shall see!

Painted with Miss. Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

Stay tuned for an update!

Painted with DIY chalk paint recipe

**UPDATE**
I waxed a small area and it did help but it seemed as though the outcome was still not going to be what I was looking for.  So before waxing the entire piece I decided to quit while I was ahead!  I sanded over the entire piece and repainted it with my DIY chalk paint recipe in a similar red paint.  That covered nicely and then I waxed the entire piece.

DIY chalk paint recipe and my experience with it!

It's no secret I'm a fan of Annie Sloan's chalk paint, but I have a bunch of paint laying around that I didn't want to go to waste because of my new found love! So I decided to do some research online and see if I couldn't come up with a DIY chalk paint recipe I could whip up at home!  After reading up on several I decided to try three with a small bit of paint on three scrap bits of wood.  After trying all three I decided the following was my favorite...

First I used one part hot water (you could probably get away with using a little less if you want thicker paint) and mixed it with one part Plaster of Paris - this stuff was less than $10 at my local hardware store and I found it in the paint section, in case you weren't sure where to find it!  (I wasn't so sure myself so don't feel bad!) The hot water is a must because it really helps to dissolve the Plaster of Paris, without it it becomes to clumpy.  I used a paint stir stick (had a bunch of these laying around that I had gotten when buying paint, but you can use anything that will allow you to mix well!) and mixed like crazy until all of the clumps were dissolved.  Then I added three parts paint, continued to mix and I was ready to go!

Painted with DIY chalk paint recipe

I applied it to two pieces of furniture, a finished piece of wood and a laminated toy box and the paint stuck well to both pieces!  The coverage was not as thick with the first coat as ASPC's paint would have been but two covered it beautifully and it had that wonderful matted shabby look that chalk paint is famous for!

**UPDATE**It is always advisable to wear a mask when mixing Plaster of Paris while it's in its powder form.Thanks to Shab 2 Fab for the info!

What's the deal with chalk paint?

I've gotten a couple questions on here recently about chalk paint so I thought I'd write something up telling you a little bit about it for those DIY'ers on here who are are wondering what it is.  It's MAGIC!...okay not really, but when you're comparing it to acrylic paints I'd say it comes pretty close!  The chalk paint I'm talking about specifically is by Annie Sloan, I have used the line by Cece Caldwell and I do like them both but I have more experience with the line by Annie Sloan and can't help but be a loyal fan so that's what I'm referring to today :)

So let's get started!!  What are the pros??


1)  Prep time!  Or rather - the lack there of!  With the line by Annie Sloan there is NEVER a need to prime or prep, this stuff sticks to it all - and yes it's thick enough that you're not going to get the original color popping through even without that smelly thick white primer underneath!  And speaking of smelly...that is something these paints are NOT!
2)  These paints all have low VOCs so it's not bad for you or the environment!  And for those of us who don't have a huge workshop to paint in during the winter, it makes it possible to paint inside our homes!
3)  This paint can be used on ANY surface, indoors and out - and I do mean ANY - according to her site this includes floors, walls, old waxed pine, melamine and varnished wood!  I myself have used it on finished and unfinished wood, plastic & ceramic figurines and metal, never with any problem.
4)  These paints can be diluted with water (or left out to get thicker) and mixed together to make new colors, so the color possibilities are limitless!
5)  In addition to all the benefits related to the actual painting process, the cleanup is just as AWESOME!  How many times have we each unknowingly walked around with paint in our hair for days?  Ugh!  So embarrassing!  Ruined a shirt we just KNEW we shouldn't have attempted to paint in?  One more for the polishing rags pile!  Not any more!  Soap and water - that's it people, I'm tellin' ya!  It comes out of my hair, off my clothes and off my brushes with little effort.  I didn't believe this either until about a week after I first bought my first quart of Duck Egg, my FAVORITE color!  I had separated some into a small plastic container because I planned to mix it with water to thin it out.  Only, clumsy me dropped it on my way to my craft cabinet!  Duck Egg blue paint all over my hard wood floors, I FREAKED for about two seconds, realized it was chalk paint and crossed my fingers the rumors were true - sure enough it came up with a damp rag and nothing more and I only mourned the loss of my valuable paint - not the loss of my valuable floors!!

So there are the pros - I've probably missed some but that's the jist of it...so now, what are the cons?   That's a much shorter list!

1)  Price.  I was a little sticker shocked, I'm not going to lie, I'm cheap! - I extreme coupon, I turn off lights ALL day behind my kids, I only do FULL loads of dishes and laundry...but I closed my eyes and handed over the cash determined to try what everyone was claiming was so great, and I'm glad I did!  I can't believe how long a quart of this stuff has lasted me compared to a quart of acrylic paint!  I STILL have my first can of Duck Egg paint and I have painted 3 dining room chairs, a coffee table, a child's chair and a bird figurine and I'm NOT exaggerating when I say I have more than 3/4 of my can left!  That's value for your dollar - and trust me, that's a LOT coming from me!
2)  Matte finish - personally I wouldn't consider this a con because I prefer a matte finish.  BUT if this isn't your style then this would be a con for you.  Because this paint is a chalk paint, and is followed up with a wax finish it is more matte.  Leading me to number 3...
3)  This paint has to be followed up with a coat of wax, but what paint job doesn't need some sort of top coat?  So again, is it really a con??

So that's it!  My pros and "sorta" cons ;) hope that helped to clarify some things, but if not feel free to ask away! Or if you want to check out her site, or purchase her paints I've linked her site below where you can find loads of information as well as a list of all the retailers in your area that carry her incredible line!

Happy painting!
http://www.anniesloan.com/index.html

Transferring Images Onto Furniture

I have used this method myself on both painted furniture and unfinished wood with great results.  Of course you have to be realistic in knowing that using this method your picture isn't going to come out completely flawless.  It's going to look hand drawn - which for my pieces worked well, as it only added to their charm!  It just depends on the look you're going for!

All you need for this method is...
1)  A piece of chalk (I prefer pink or yellow - or some sort of bright color that would be a contrast to the piece you're working on)
2)  Ball point pen
3)  Permanent Markers, I used Ultra Fine Point and Fine Point in black.  After having to make a few extra unplanned trips to the store my advice would be to have SEVERAL of these on hand as they tend to dry out, they'll moisten up after a bit but who wants to wait?
4)  Blue painters tape
5)  A clear top coat of your choice - this is just going to depend on the type of project you're doing. I have done one project where I didn't seal it at all (an indoor crate that is only going to be used for decoration), a chair painted in Annie Sloan's paint and the graphic (courtesy of The Graphics Fairy, LOVE HER!) sealed over with Annie Sloan's wax.
And last but not least...
6)  Your graphic!  There are a bunch of places you can get GREAT graphics all over the web!  The Graphics Fairy is one of my favorite sources, you can find her at www.TheGraphicsFairy.com.  I also have a board on my Pinterest page called Paints, Stains & Graphics where you can find links to other great sources.

Optional:
Ruler & pencil (for lining up where your graphic is going to be on your project)
Paper towel (to wipe off the chalk that will find its way from your paper, to your hands, to your nose and cheek for sure!)
And sandpaper (if you want to distress it afterwards)

I'm only listing these last tid bits because I absolutely hate it when I get settled in at my work table, think I'm all ready to go and realize something I need is half way across the room!  So hopefully this list will have you FULLY prepared!

Now to transfer your image...
1)  Once you've decided on and printed your graphic decide where it's going to be placed.  Once you have an idea you can mark the area with your pencil, this will make placing the graphic quicker after step 2.
2)  Now, flip your graphic over, and on the BACK side of the paper take your piece of chalk on its side and color over the paper.  Make sure to apply the chalk heavily where the graphic is on the opposite side.
3)  Once the back of your graphic is covered in chalk flip it back over so the front of the graphic is again facing you.  Now place your graphic onto your piece being careful not to drag it, and tape it securely into place using your blue painters tape.
4)  Use your ball point pen to trace over your entire graphic.  The most important part here is to trace all of the outside lines.  There is no real need to color everything in, however, if you want to keep track of the areas that ARE shaded in I suggest two things - 1) draw x's in the areas that are colored in and 2) do not discard of your graphic once you remove it from your piece, so that you can use it for reference when it's time to outline with your marker.  The key is to work slowly and press firmly, but not so firmly that you'll tear the paper or dent your wood.  You're just trying to make sure that the chalk on the other side of your paper is going to make its way to your piece!
5)  Once you've traced over the entire graphic carefully remove the tape and paper and you should have a nice chalk outline of your graphic!  Now comes the fun part!
6)  Using your permanent markers (or you can use paint markers, acrylic paint...whatever you're comfortable with) trace over the chalk lines from right to left if you're right handed, (or opposite if you're left handed) making sure not to drag your hand across the chalk outline.
7)  After you've completely outlined and colored in your graphic and let it dry completely, you can use a soft cloth to wipe away any excess chalk.

After a few hours when I was sure everything had settled, I used sand paper to distress my drawing, then sealed it with a coat of wax.  Although as mentioned earlier, another piece I had done this way was left unsealed so I think it just depends on how your piece will be used, what kind of surface your are putting your graphic on (painted, unfinished wood...) and personal preference. 

Best of luck with your projects!