To Chip or Not to Chip.. that is the question.

Beautifully worn but wonderful. When this table arrived at the shop, it was in desperate need of not only TLC, but glue and clamps. It  was a sturdy piece, the legs just had cracks in the knobs caused by years of use. We first glued the cracks and clamped them. We decided not to fill in the cracks on the outside of the leg, that would take away the character. We just did enough to make it durable and ready for many more years. 

We chose to do the legs and top in two different colors. The legs are Miss Mustard Seed Linen and the top is Kitchen Scale. Now to decide if we want to let the paint do it's thing and chip and flake, or add the bonding agent and have it adhere like the legs. 

 I really didn't want it to chip heavily, so I added a little of the bonder. And gave it a light coat. Then added the next coat with out it. Within a minute it started to chip and flake in small areas. When it was dry, I went over the whole table lightly with a putty knife to remove any loose paint. Because of the light coat first the bonding agent held it tightly in most areas. That was exactly the amount of distressing I had hoped to achieve. The funny thing is that when the Milk Paint decides to distress - you have not control over it. The paint will just resist the finish in areas and chip right off. 

Being somewhat of a control freak, I didn't want huge chips on the top of the table. A little chippy Farm look is good, the well worn look is good but the huge hunks of missing paint look is not my thing. Add the bonding agent and its guaranteed not to do that. 

 Now that the paint is dry, I'm going to go over the entire table with Miss Mustard Seeds wax. We have tried so many different waxes and this is by far the best. Her products are all natural and have no odors. The wax just glides on the paint and is absorbed immediately. Wait just a few minutes and wipe it off. You can't even feel that it was ever on the surface - no slimmy feeling, no dull spots exactly what she promises. I usually give my projects two to three coats. If you like a soft patina looking finish, that's the look you'll get. If a shine is what you're looking for it won't happen with this wax.  A lot of the time, depending on what type of piece it will be used on, I use a quick coat of satin or semi gloss varithane. This will give you a soft shine and it's durable.

Hopefully, the table gets finished up today. I'd like to do a set of chairs in the Linen to go with it. Nancy is on the lookout for the kind I want.  

Have a good day & bundle up if you're going out - winds are nasty today.
Patti  

Cheddar.. and I don't mean cheese.

It's a very well known fact that I don't like cheese. But somehow I've fallen in love with Cheddar. You guessed it, the color not the dairy product. You would not believe the makeover this dresser went through. Nancy's husband Kevin totally stripped it down to the bare wood. Usually with the milk paint or our special chalk paint we can just go over the old surface. Not in this case, it was a mess. Well not any more. Kevin did a great job of removing the old varnish and fixing the other areas that were in need of help.

 I love old hardware. In a lot of cases we paint over it if it's in rough shape. This case was different. The hardware had a wonderful patina on it and was easy to remove. The photos aren't the best but it was hard to get a close up that wasn't a little blurry.

I've seen alot of drawer pulls but never ones like this.

Now back to the Cheddar thing, I had no idea how versatile the color was. I found when getting ready to put out the new pieces, that it goes with Navy and Red.

It goes with Linen, Boxwood and Periwinkle.

Just a little pile of combinations ready to go out. 

This is the Linen with the periwinkle and olive.

Fun combination here. I think what I like the best about Cheddar, it's a happy color. When we get into the middle of winter - we'll all be needing something a little bright and cheery. Just a touch of Cheddar and all is good.

Funky fun candlesticks... 

 I think I better move onto a different color today. I know that we have had requests or more black. Not to worry, that's one color that we are constantly working on.

More later, keep warm.
Patti

All in a days work.

This is one of those pieces that you can't wait to re-do. I knew the minute Nan brought it in what color I wanted to do it in and how I hoped it would turn out.

After getting most of my projects done yesterday, I got in at 7:30 this morning and got started on the makeover.

I like when the pieces have a little detail. Carved legs or trims distress well and add character.

I love this color combination.

I added a little distressing to the edges and trims. Gave it a time worn vintage look.

What a difference from the worn out lacquered finish it started with. It never fails to amaze me how wonderful a piece can look when given a little TLC and of course a few coats of paint.

 

 

 

 That's it for today. Tomorrow's Thanksgiving, I hope you all have a wonderful day with family and friends. Jeff and I will be home with Quahog enjoying my favorite meal.

Patti

Before and After

Of all the chairs I've made over, this is my favorite. I love the shape, the harp back is such a timeless style.

The legs are great. I love knobs and spindles. When you distress them, they really take on a vintage look and feel.

The way the paint works with the old finish to create an antiqued look is wonderful. I like the fact that you just apply it and it does it's own thing. This color, once again... my favorite "Tricycle". As I've been finding out - I'm not the only one who loves it. It's our biggest seller in "Miss Mustard Seed" Milk Paint.

Here is the finished piece. I fell in love with this fabric. It has a vintage yet funky feel. The way the red in the chair matches the red flowers made it a perfect choice. Mix traditional with funky and you get Edgy.

This was the before photo I posted of the little stool I was working on for the "Holiday Market". I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

This would be cute in so many places. How about in the entry way to put your shoes on? Bathroom? I'm sure you could find your own area to use a little stool.

 

Hope you liked my transformations. It's fun to take a piece that has seen better days and give it a facelift - or as we like to say a "Next Act".

Patti

Welcome to the Workshop.

 I keep saying I'm going to start charging for tours of our workshop. Every day we have people wanting to see where we do our painting and makeovers. I love seeing their faces, it's a lot larger and with more stuff than they expected. So now I'll give you a tour. Enter through this door....

 I realize it looks unorganized and messy. It is, but in a way that Nancy and I know exactly where our things are. At any given time, we have 6 things in the works. Painting, distressing, sanding and waxing.

 

 This is a pile of things to be worked on. Eventually, every item will get it's makeover. As soon a we get things done and room to move, more things come in to fill it up again. At the rate things are selling, it's a good thing they keep coming.

 I'm working on this hutch, it's a big job so I work on it a little at a time while other projects are drying. It's easier and more efficient to work on several things that are being done in the same color. I have my own production line.

 We have 16 foot ceilings and just had the lighting lowered, it was really dark with the lights so high. We had planned on having our workshops back here but its a little chilly and as you can see, not that attractive.

 In here there is also a restroom, large office and small kitchen. We have everything we need to spend a comfortable day working. This is where we can be found Monday thru Wednesday, if we arent' out looking for more projects.

This is the door to the little loading dock out back, in our case, unloading dock. These things just came in for me to work on for our upcoming event in White Bear Lake.

Well, that's it. I'm not sure if it was the dollar tour, but I hope you liked seeing "behind the scenes".

Patti

Getting ready for an event.

 Awhile ago, I signed up to vend at the "Holiday Market" at the Kelleman's Event Center in White Bear Lake, it's part of the 'Winterfest" Celebration.  I hadn't done a handmade craft kind of event in a while, mostly for the past 20+ years it's been Quilt Shows. Prior to that I was the Queen of the Glue Gun.

I decided it would be fun to make holiday crafts... ornaments, garlands etc. Well, it seems that I am quite out of touch with the Crafting world. I tried my hand at a few things and just wasn't pleased. Then I decided to go the route that I am most comfortable - painted things. Fun, inexpensive pieces for your home.

I asked Nancy to find me some smaller pieces that I could work on to take to the market. Nothing to large but a few chairs, tables a magazine rack or two. And she found a great selection. The photo above is just a little sample of the before projects, they will all have wonderful makeovers before the show.

 I started on this bench yesterday. It's older, I don't think I would go as far as to say vintage but it's at least the 60's. It was in pretty good shape and solid, so I didn't have to do much. I left the nicks and small dents on it - those are called Character marks. Funny, on our bodies they call them old age spots.

 It had been previously painted, drips and runs all over and very scuffed up. Here it is after a coat of fresh paint. When the other coats are on, I will lightly distress the edges and then  hand rub a few coats of wax on it. I want a soft finish, no glossy shine, just a soft patina.

I'm learning to recover seats. I didn't say I was good at it but I have been getting better and the last chairs I did looked very nice. This seat is going to be done in the fabric below. I purchased it awhile ago, I was just saving it for the right piece to come along.

The color shows as a limey- green background. It's really a pretty yellow. When this little bench arrived at my workshop, it had a nappy tan covering on the seat...boring!!! This is going to really perk it up. It should be done on Monday. I'll post the "After" photo. I also have some Chalkboards and picture frames in the works. I am amazed as how fast we sell out on both.

I will be bringing some of the paint to sell as well. I got an email asking if I could bring it and explain how it works. I will gladly do that.

Be sure to tell your friends about the event. Here's the details again.

"Holiday Market"

Kellerman's Event Center 

2222 Fourth Street    White Bear Lake

December 1st    10:00 -3:00

I hope to see you there.

Patti

Playing with Miss Mustard Seed

 

 Since Nancy and I started this venture, we have been trying all different kinds of paint, stains, waxes and faux finishes. Some work, some don't. Finally we narrowed down our favorites. It's been on Facebook and on our emails but if you didn't see it, we are now a distributor for "Miss Mustard Seed" Milk Paint.

If you've never heard of  it before, Milk paint is an Eco-friendly, natural paint that has been around for thousands of years and has been used in America for years on furniture, walls & barns.  Milk paint comes in a powdered form and needs to be mixed with water to create the paint.  It has great adhesion with the bonding agent added directly to the first coat of paint.  Without the bonding agent, milk paint naturally self-distresses, creating the sought after "chippy" look.

The hutch above has been painted with 'Tricycle". A rich red color reminiscent of the little trikes of our childhood. I added the bonding agent to the paint mixture so it would not chip and flake. FYI the hutch was my Mothers from the early 1950's. Since the varnish was really worn in some spots, the paint took on an antiqued look. It really is pretty close up.

 I was really surprised at how far the paint goes. It's very thin - almost watery. I didn't think it would have as nice a coverage as it did. The fact that you can get a transparent look, washed look, chippy look or opaque finish is amazing. One bag of paint, a little water (bonding agent if you're not into chips) and your ready to go. Little or no prep work is needed. I didn't do anything to the Red hutch - just started painting. 

The table below arrived at the shop in need of a little TLC. Nan and I had a hard time deciding between the 12 beautiful colors Miss Mustard Seed comes in. We finally decided to do the legs in Linen and the top in Kitchen Scale. Nancy put 3 coats on the legs, we didn't want the wood to show through. Bonding Agent was added because we want to distress it ourselves, same for the Kitchen Scale. I love the look of as I call it, the farmhouse look. But there are times that I want a more controlled distressing. The top has only one coat on so far, this color is going to be very pleasing

This is the chair I decided to do "without" bonding agent. I wanted to see exactly what it would do. I applied two thin coats of Mustard Seed Yellow. The first coat did nothing, I was a little disappointed, I guess I expected it to happen right away. I applied the second coat and went to help a few customers, When I got back to it, after about 20 minutes or so...it had chipped and flaked. It does it where it wants to. You have no control over it. I loved the way it looked.

I call it the Farmhouse look because the few times I was at a farm, the chairs looked like this.

Well, I hope that gives you a bit of basic information on Milk Paint. I am having alot of fun playing with it. Anxious to try all the colors.

We are planning on having our first actual workshop the first week of December. I thought it was close to the Holiday but the response has been....have the workshop!!! More info will be posted shortly. We will have a Thursday evening 6:00 - 8:00 - with a small project  provided or a Saturday 10 - 4 workshop with lunch included... you bring a small project like end table, coffee table or chair. Right now we are working it all out. I think it will be fun - I'm very excited about the paint and know you'll love it.

 If you want a quick, informal demo, stop in anytime and I'll be glad to give you the basic once over.

Patti

Computer back... now to blog.

Hi,

I finally got my computer back and now I can start blogging again.

If you've been following me at "Next Act" on Facebook  ( Facebook.com/Nextactinc ) you know that I've been unbelievably busy at the shop. Next Act has taken off faster than we ever expected. We're open Thursday thru Sunday, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we work to get things painted and ready to go on the floor. During that time Nancy is also out searching and rescuing some great pieces of furniture for us to re-do. Once they come in the back door the creative juices start flowing and the paint brushes are engaged. Incase you didn't realize it, I LOVE to paint. I haven't had this much fun or enjoyed what I was doing in quite a while.

I've been posting photos to our page as we add them.. some have been sold within hours of the post.
Don't take that as complaining... far from it, I just can't believe how well the shop has been received. I think the fact that we're a "Green" store has made it special.

We are also proud to announce that we are the Minnesota distributor of "Miss Mustard Seed" Milk Paint. I've been working with all kinds of paints and stains and when I started using this paint I was hooked. If you've ever wanted to re-do a piece of furniture or re-fresh a previously loved treasure, this is a great paint to help you with your transformation. We had a few demo's on Saturday and are planning on having workshops. We haven't set a date yet, with the holiday's coming I wanted to wait. I'll be posting dates and we'll be sending out emails with the info. If you'd like to get updates and our newsletter, you can subscribe  by signing up on our website. www.nextact2.com.

I guess that's all for tonight, I'm sorry no photos but I'll post some tomorrow, lots in the works to show you.  I think I'll get some tea and spend a little quality time with Quahog. For the record, he's well and still Naughty!!!!

Have a good evening,
Patti

Lots goin' on.

Hi,
Did you think I forgot about you? Not a chance, just been really busy.

I've been painting and re-stylin' lots of things. It seems as fast as they leave the workshop, they head out the front door to someone's home. I know that's the plan, but I keep getting  a little attached to some of them.

It's very rewarding to take a piece of furniture, sand it, spackle it - or not, then decide on the perfect color and finish. Watching it transform and become desireable again is great.

I want to post some photos but I don't have my computer and being the Non-techy person that I am, it's not happening with this tablet. We're lucky I know how to blog on it.

That's about all I can think of to post right now. I'll be posting pics and letting you know some of the things I have in the works as they happen. Fun stuff coming.

Take care and I hope to see you soon.
Patti

Sore feet but doin' fine

No shop owner ever complains about it being to busy, and Nancy and I are no different. Today was one of those days. We went in spurts, nobody for half an hour - then 10 ladies all at once.

It was wonderful to hear the response from everyone. The best compliment you can have is when a customer comes in and says 'my friend was here and told me I had to come see your shop'. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising.

We had several repeat customers. I never even got a photo of one little book shelf/end table, Sandy came back to show a friend our shop and took it home with her. The funny thing was Nancy had just commented, that she didn't think it would still be in the shop after tomorrow - It was really a nice size an style. Glad it went to a good home, thanks again Sandy, enjoy it.

Right now my feet are up, having a cup of Vanilla tea and gearing up for tomorrow. I have a feeling it's gonna be busy.