My First Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint Project

One of my best buds gave me this old, gorgeous wash stand for my living room.  I loved it as is, but every night it would stare at me and whisper "paint me.... paint me".  Argh, so I did... and I ended up painting it 4 times until I got it right.

I wanted to give it the "chippy" look, but the only way to get a true "chippy" look is to use milk paint.  I'm so anti-milk paint.  I hate that you have to mix it yourself, and I hate that you only mix what you need, because you can't store it.    So, I researched a few different ways to achieve the chippy look with chalk paint, and a few people suggested using Vaseline or candle wax.  

I coated all the edges in candle wax and gave the piece a coat of Old White.  I tried scrapping off the paint and yea, nothing happened.  Then I covered the edges in Vaseline and gave the piece a coat of Arles.  When I started scrapping off the paint, it literally just scrapped off.  In chunks.  It looked horrible,  So I sanded the crap out of it and gave the piece a fresh coat of Arles.

I caved and brought home some Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Boxwood.  I gave the piece 2 coats of Boxwood, waited for it to dry, and started chipping away with an old Star Bucks gift card!!!

It was the exact results I wanted.  I love the finished look.  The piece looks old and weathered in this awesome army green colour.  I just love it.  

And no, I will not post any pics of my failed "chalk paint chipping".  It was that bad.

Knobs are from Pier1.

"Ombre" Dresser from Annie Sloan's New Book!

In Annie Sloan's new book Room Recipes for Style and Colour , she showcases a stunning dresser, done in colours created with different mixes of Barcelona Orange and Greek Blue.  The dresser caught my eye right away, and I really wanted to replicate it... but, of course, with my spin!!!

Link

Here's a pic of the dresser - Luckily for me, it was also featured on the cover of Fresh Style magazine.  I didn't want to take a picture of inside Annie Sloan's book.... I know nothing about copyright this and that blah blah blah.... but a magazine cover is fair game, right?!?!

Anyway, Nicole, from The Painted Bench in Oakville, had the perfect dresser for the project.  I can't believe this green, monster dresser was headed for the trash.

The key to getting this sucker right, was the colours.  I spent a looooong time mixing and playing with combos of Greek Blue and Barcelona Orange.  I wish I had taken pictures of all my trials, because it is truly amazing just how many colour variations you can get with just 2 cans of paint.  The possibilities are endless with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  

Here it is... All complete!  The top drawer is blue with a touch or orange.  And the bottom drawer is orange with a touch of blue.  I wish I could share the formula for the other drawers, but I had no method to my mixing.  I just kept playing until I got it right!!

Sooooo...Whose do you like better?!?!??! Annie or Cait?!?!?! hahaha