Using Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint

I have had a load of MMS Milk paint in my cupboard for years - ever since she launched her line. Some of it I have been sent by various retailers and some I bought when I was in the USA. I have used it on a few pieces including this beautiful vintage cupboard that I painted in MMS Tricycle.

I still have some of the paint in the original boxed packaging. When I got it out I was thinking of Marian and her husband boxing it all up so ornately. Such a big effort. no wonder they switched over to the new packaging as it took off in the marketplace.

Recently I felt like doing some different, more rustic pieces, so I checked my stash of paint and found a little sample bag of Layla's Mint that Refinished had sent me. It was the perfect match to the rope on this vintage oak stool. The stool sold to a beautiful lady who bought it in memory of her daughter. I feel very honoured xx

Yesterday I bought a lovely old oak dresser. Initially I thought I'd paint the whole thing but when i picked up the piece and saw the beautiful timber grain I knew I wanted to leave the top timber. I spent a bit of timber sanding off the old varnish and sanding out old marks but the timber grain underneath was worth the effort. I mixed up some MMS Milk Paint in Shutter Grey using a slight bit of bonding agent and painted the piece.  This piece I brought loads of brands to the table. It's painted with MMS Milk Paint, then on the paint I used Porter's Liming wax to create some interest and more variation in the colour, and for the timber top I used ASCP Dark wax. Nothing like using all your products!

The thing that initially attracted me to this piece was the paneling on the sides. I love it and the milk paint did a little crackle and flaking here which in my mind has made it even more perfectly rustic.

This piece sold very quickly on my Instagram/Facebook. I now am on the lookout for more simple pieces like this to fill the backorder :)

Today I'm painting a couple of beautiful mirrors - one plaster and one timber. Both just lovely.

Fiona

sharing at http://missmustardseed.com/

Latest pieces - lots of painted pine furniture

I wanted to take this week off furniture painting a finish a few things around the house (and get a haircut) but it didn't work out like that. I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of paint!  But it's all good and I am on the home stretch of a lot of custom work and next week might be time for my annual haircut :)

I do however have beautiful white flowers on my sideboard, dropped in by a lovely client who I've become friends with. I love that about this business; lots of friendships and lots of beauty.

It seems it's the week of painting pine furniture. Rebecca asked me to transform her bedside tables. She initially thought she wanted a white colour but after a bit of discussion and looking at colours and her house she asked me to mix her a putty colour.

I mixed this lovely colour using ASCP French Linen, Paris Grey and some other acrylic paint I had on hand to lighten the tone. Crystal handles completed the transformation.

I really like how the planked timber looked when it was painted. Rebecca and her husband were amazed at the change in them also.  Happy clients is always a good thing. I also also working on their display cabinet.

Here are some other pieces I've been working on.

The above set is for Helen and she's asked for a mid-grey and the handles to all be changed. I'm almost finished the set and will share soon.  The set below I had a lot of problems with and will be glad when it's all finished and dropped back to the very understanding clients.

I'm looking forward to clearing the decks and working on a couple of fabulous french style pieces I have here to sell.

So I'm in the paint stufio again today then I'll need a big scrub to get rid of the paint out of my hair etc - tonight I'm catching up with two of my best friends - we studied engineering together and have all gone on to other studies and careers but it's always good to see them.

have a great day

Fiona xx

ASCP Paris Grey French Style Bedroom Furniture

Gee I'm creative with my blog post titles aren't I. I'm so surprised anybody bothers to click through sometimes. It's the engineer in me - technical and straight to the point :)  I grew up with a household of wordsmiths and literary geniuses. Not me though, I was out digging in the dirt, doing experiments or playing with my technical lego. I was always getting told that I was illiterate when we played board games and I couldn't pronounce the more difficult questions in Trivial Pursuit (yes, it was the 1980s!) . Luckily, I realised it was just the stiff competition of my family and not the general population that I was being graded against :)  ...ha ha... not scarred at all thanks Mum and Dad. 

Anyway enough of my writing style ... on to beautiful grey paint and pretty furniture. Kylie and Maurice picked up their bedroom suite last Friday and they loved it. 

You saw these pieces last week.

And then I finished the long dresser and the tri-fold mirror as well. It's a lot of furniture!  Kylie's parents bought it many years ago as their wedding present and now for Kylie and Maurice's wedding, they've had me paint and refresh it.  I think that link to their parents is just wonderful.

Kylie wanted the handles a darker grey to replicate the piping on their new bedhead. I spray painted the handles in a dark grey for a lovely smooth finish.

The morning after Kylie picked it up I got a lovely message from her.

Fiona, I am beyond words of excitement!! I absolutely LOVE what you did. They look great and match my bedhead perfectly. They officially feel like my furniture now. Thankyou for doing them in such a short time. Can't wait to style up the rest and I'll take photos for you. Mum and Dad keep coming into my room to admire the change. Thankyou, thankyou! So glad I found you on instagram!!! have a great weekend.

even Charlie approves...

Today I am finishing another bedroom set - pine that had seen better days but it now fresh and Hamptons white. 

have a great day - it's Friday after all 
Fiona xx

Furniture Painting Workshops: Lilyfield Life

Lilyfield Life

Furniture Painting Workshop

This is a hands-on workshop that will teach you the basics of furniture painting. Learn how to prepare your piece, how to achieve different looks with your choice of chalk paint or acrylics; how to distress, antique and achieve a beautiful finish with clear and dark wax. Bring a small piece of furniture to work on or I can provide you with sample boards.

The workshop price is $195 per person. This includes all materials that you require in the class as well as morning tea and a light lunch. Max 6 people. Time: 10am to approx. 2:15pm

AVAILABLE DATES:

Thursday 7th May fully booked

Thursday 14th May fully booked

Wednesday 20th May

Friday 29th May -fully booked

Thursday 4th June

Location: my home in Lilyfield, Sydney’s Inner West (address supplied on booking) 

To book: email lilyfieldlife@bigpond.com or call Fiona 0405766445 with your preferred session

I am also happy to organise private group lessons if you can arrange a minimum of four to come. Surely you have three friends who want to paint!

Fiona xx

Turning Down a Free Shop/Studio Space

I have made a very tough decision recently. Something that I have wanted for a long time but then when offered came with some conditions that made it untenable. So I walked away very sadly, still looking over my shoulder wondering if I have made the right choice.

About 15 months ago I applied to Renew Australia for a pop-up shop space in Leichhardt. They were immediately impressed with my furniture painting business and social media following (thank you to you all xx) and promised they would find me a space. Initially I was offered a space in Leichhardt Forum but the floors were carpeted and parquetry and the access was difficult so I turned it down. I needed something less perfect so I could use the space to paint. I didn't want to get a damages bill from the owner. I wanted a space I could use as a studio more than a shop.  Somewhere without nice floors! Somewhere to paint, to run workshops, for customers to visit and see my work as well as purchase it.

A couple of months ago I was offered a shop that was very run down but available immediately (it had been vacant for 6 years so it was in a very bad state including a ceiling that might fall and a load of broken asbestos in the storage room) but it was for free and on a month by month rolling tenancy. I was so tempted as this is what I had been wanting and waiting for. The timing was just so wrong in regards to our renovation. I was working long hours with the builders and then painting at night - both cabinetry for the house and other people's furniture.  My initial application for a studio space had been approved with very achievable hours for me - open 4 days a week 10-2 and then by chance or appointment. When I was offered the space though this had changed to 10am-5pm 6 days a week. This was the deal breaker for me. I couldn't manage those hours by myself and look after my kids or even go pick up furniture to paint.

(The orange wall would have been the first thing to go!!)

So I walked away.

While I have a twinge of sadness every time I think of having a shop/commercial studio space I am relieved that I didn't sign up to that lease.  I'd rather pay rent and be able to dictate my own hours. My kids are grateful also. The other day (in school holidays) when we were driving to Leura to collect autumn leaves and go for a bush walk, we passed the shop that someone else now has and I mentioned it to my kids. Jonty piped up with "don't be sad Mumma, if you had the shop we wouldn't be going to Leura today".  A bright side to everything.

...And now I have a studio at home which is working out so well. It doesn't have passing trade and is smaller but it demands nothing of me except what i want to put in, and I can be available for when my kids need me and even cook dinner and put the washing on throughout the day. Just what I need to be doing at this stage of my kids' lives.

And who knows what will happen down the track, my kids are still young and I have plenty of time in my life to take this business where I want when they are older. 

As my sister and I always say "A woman can have it all, just not all at once".

Who else has big dreams for the future? 

Fiona xx

In the works

As the sun rises over Sydney this morning I am thinking of the devastation across the coast and the massive clean up underway. I hope you are all okay and that you have fared okay throughout these storms. I was chatting with a friend this morning and she was saying it just shows we are a speck on the face of the earth when compared to the force of nature. And here we are thinking we are in control :)

photo taken by my sister this morning

I have been watching paint dry very slowly this week. I'm working on a bedroom set for Kylie and Maurice. For their wedding present to each other, they have asked me to paint their bedroom set a beautiful grey. It was Kylie's parents furniture and so it is very treasured. I'll share all details next week when I've finished it all.

So many drawers!

I am almost finished with just the top of the long low dresser and the mirrors to paint. I'll share more photos tomorrow of that. I am always a little nervous when I do custom furniture painting, hoping that I am able to achieve my client's vision for their furniture. I sent a photo to Kylie last night and she replied with "Im sooo sooo happy. I showed my mum and she is just as excited about them."

A big relief! ...although I should just trust myself.

Have a good day and if you've been without power I hope you get it on soon and good luck with the clean up.

Fiona xx

I love this colour combination

What a couple of days it's been on the east coast around Sydney. I hope you are staying safe and dry and without too much damage to your homes.  It seems as though there's no end to the cyclonic weather. I'm staying at home and painting:)

My neighbour gave me a little oak side table when she was recently clearing her house. They are moving up the coast and I'm so sad for their beautiful family to be leaving. We will have to have some family holidays together. Anyway the table is oak but had been previously painted and very heavily distressed. I decided to give it a little frenchy makeover using ASCP Chalk paint.

A colour combination that I think delivers frenchy sophistication is ASCP Graphite on top with the base painted in ASCP Old Ochre. I then used a little dark wax in the crevices to give a little age to the piece.

(this piece has already sold)

I have some gorgeous french style bedsides that I'm going to paint similarly. I think it will work perfectly on them.

Fiona xx

French Style Lamp Table with a Restoration Hardware style finish

Hello from wet and windy Sydney! I hope you and your families are all safe and have houses that are in one piece still from this wild weather we are having here. Our trampoline got blown over, and the robinia has lost all it's leaves overnight but at least the garden looks green instead of the mud pit it's been these last few weeks. I was going to lay turf this week but that will have to wait.

I have got stuck back into furniture painting with a vengeance with two bedroom suites being delivered for custom painting on Sunday and Monday. One is a beautiful Berryman suite and the other country pine. Both are going to look so fresh and new once I've finished.

I finished this lovely vintage lamp table yesterday. I painted it with what I call a Restoration Hardware weathered finish. If you are a regular reader here you will know that I've done many pieces similar to this. I think it is a lovely look for this style of furniture. 

I painted it using four ASCP colours - first a base of Coco and then layers and washes of French Linen, Paris Grey and White. it is sealed with wax and has a lovely feel to it. The edges have been very slightly distressed. 

The side table has a gorgeous shape and offers very good storage. The dovetailed drawer is actually only one drawer but it's nice and deep and would be a great spot to store magazines.

The kids are back at school today, we have no tradesmen or builders in the house and my studio and paint brush are calling me...but coffee first. 

Hope you stay warm and dry and happy.

Fiona xx

Furniture post - it's been a while

I have a studio! It needs a coat of paint or two - luckily I know just the person who is handy with a paint brush :) and I have loads of boxes to unpack but my furniture painting studio is up and running, I'm so happy to be back to sourcing interesting furniture and turning them into beautiful hand painted treasures. 

My first piece is proof that some pieces only need a lick of paint to make them really shine. This piece is probably from India. The carvings are lovely but when I bought it, it was very grubby and the glass in the door was broken. I replaced the glass with chicken wire as I felt that suited the rustic look.

To insert the chicken wire I used my Bosch Staple Gun and then with pliers, I bent over the edges of wire to make it safe. I love how it looks now.

I will be starting my furniture painting workshops very soon and will be emailing everyone who has already expressed their interest. If you want to find out more, email me on lilyfieldlife@bigpond.com

cheers Fiona xx