Hey everybody! Thanks so much for joining me this week for milk paint madness. It has been fun sharing lots of info about milk paint with you. I hope that all of you learned at least one or two new things. Before I continue I want to take a moment to thank you guys for all of your comments, as well as your continued support of my blog. I really do appreciate every one of you!
For today’s post I want to take everything we’ve learned over the last week and put it all into practice on piece of furniture. So let’s get started.
My friend Meggan or, as I now call her, the thrift doctor (I’m trying to convince her to start writing her own column here on my blog called ‘ask the doctor’ with thrifting tips, what do you think?), texted me a few weeks ago letting me know that there was a fabulous desk at the local Goodwill with a bargain price tag. Luckily Mr. Q was available to dash over there and pick it up for me because I know it would have gone fast.
It doesn’t have a lot of frills, but I like the legs and the drawer pulls are really lovely. It also was in fairly good shape.
I really didn’t love the orange-y color of this piece though. I didn’t even want that color to show through in the chippy spots. So I decided to layer some colors on it using bonding agent in the first color so that it wouldn’t chip down to the wood.
I could also have used a base layer of chalk paint or Fusion acrylic paint, but in this case I had a particular color in mind, Homestead House milk paint in Maritime. A very pretty blue. So I mixed my paint first using one part water to one part powder. Once that was well mixed, I added another one part Miss Mustard Seed bonding agent and stirred it in.
Next I moved on to the prep work. As I mentioned yesterday, good prep is key to controlling the chipping you might get with milk paint. But in this case I was using bonding agent in my first layer of paint so I could slack off a little. Still, I sanded the piece briefly by hand and wiped it down with a damp cloth.
Then I brushed on just one coat of the Maritime milk paint with the bonding agent added. Now, if I was a really good blogger I would have taken a photo at that point to share with you now. But no, I didn’t (although that photo of the brush above is taken on top of the desk with its coat of Maritime). I can tell you that the paint did not chip at all and it had just a little bit more sheen than milk paint normally does. Similar to the slight sheen of Fusion acrylic paint.
A couple of days went by before I got to the next step in my project, which gave the Maritime plenty of time to dry. Next, my plan was to use the Homestead House Salad Bowl Finish (or beeswax finish) to encourage a controlled amount of chipping and paint over it with The Real Milk Paint Co’s Soft White milk paint. So I mixed up the white milk paint, again using equal parts water and powder, and left that to sit while I used my finger to smear some beeswax finish along the edges of the desk.
After painting one coat of the Soft White, you can see the areas where the beeswax is resisting the paint. The areas without beeswax are not chipping at all. This also gives you a good feel for the coverage of the Soft White over a darker color. Pretty good for one coat I think.
I added a second coat of Soft White and left it to dry.
My initial plan was to leave the desk white, but you know what? I didn’t like it. I felt there was too great a contrast between the white and the blue. It looked splotchy instead of perfectly chippy. Sorry, again no photo of that step!
One thing that I have learned over the years is to follow my instincts when it comes to these moments. If my gut is telling me that I don’t like it, I switch gears instead of trying to make it work as is.
So I decided to mix a custom color of milk paint that was about halfway between the lighter Soft White and the darker Maritime. I pulled out three almost empty bags of milk paint, Miss Mustard Seed’s Shutter Grey and Eulalie’s Sky and Homestead House’s Upper Canada Green and started mixing.
I ended up with this pretty smoky blue with just a tiny hint of green.
I added just one coat of this color over the white. Once dry I started sanding the edges and discovered the most perfect chipping.
For me, this is the magic of milk paint.
I know you can get a similar look layering chalk paint or even Fusion paint, but I think milk paint always looks the most authentic.
As you can see, I did end up with a little of the wood showing after all, but those are spots where I sanded through the layer of Maritime, not spots where the paint chipped due to the application of the beeswax.
After sanding the entire piece lightly with some 220 grit sandpaper to get it nice and smooth, I added a topcoat of The Real Milk Paint Co’s Dead Flat finishing cream. Since this is a desk there is the potential it will get a fair amount of use, so I wanted a little more protection than just wax.
By the way, I spruced up the drawer pulls a bit by adding some of Prima Marketing’s Metallique wax in Vintage Gold.
To learn more about that product check out this post.
In the end I love how the desk turned out. I think I’m going to do more multi-layered pieces using milk paint. It really adds some authentic age to the piece to see multiple layers of color as though it has been painted several times through the years.
This brings us to today’s giveaway, and guess what? I have two prizes for today!
The first prize includes: five colors of milk paint, a Homestead House Espresso wax, a Miss Mustard Seed white wax and a brush. Thank you to Homestead House, Miss Mustard Seed and The Real Milk Paint Co for providing the items for this giveaway. Approx. value: $135.
And I also have a bonus giveaway today! A while back I had asked Sausha at Sweet Pickins if she wanted to participate in milk paint madness week by providing some merchandise to giveaway. She said yes, but then life happened and she didn’t get her stuff shipped right away so I just received it in the nick of time in yesterday’s mail. So I decided to just give that away as a bonus prize today.
Includes: my absolute favorite Sweet Pickins color, In A Pickle, Oil Wax, Extra Bond, a sanding block, paint brush and paint mixing whisk. Thank you to Sweet Pickins for providing these items. Approx. value: $55.
The basic rules: to be eligible to win today’s prize leave a comment on this blog post telling me what your favorite milk paint color is. Your comment must be left on the blog, not on Facebook. You are not required to follow my blog, although it would be awesome if you did!
I will randomly draw the names of two winners for today’s prizes from all of the comments left on this post by Saturday, April 7, 2018 at the stroke of midnight. You are eligible to win each day, so if you have left a comment on each day’s post, your name is eligible to be drawn for each prize.
The fine print: no purchase necessary, you must be 18 years of age or older to win, void where prohibited by law, the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning, if the prize is not claimed by Friday, April 13, another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.
I’ll be announcing the names of all six winners from milk paint madness week on Monday, so be sure to check back.
In the meantime, remember to pin today’s post for future reference.
And if you are local and in need of a pretty smoky blue desk, be sure to check my ‘available for local sale’ page for more details on the desk.
q is for quandie 
I love Sweet Pickins Paint in “Galvanized”. Her “Flour Sack” is my second choice but I also love…. I could go on and on! Thanks again for today’s informative post. You are a great coach.
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Sweet Pickins definitely has some gorgeous color options!
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I love greens, so my favorites are MMS’ boxwood and the one shown here, In a Pickle. I’m loving this series!
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I have never tried milk paint, but would love to. Sweet Pickin’s pantry door color is calling me! Your posts give me inspiration and make me think I can do it.
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What a great Thrifting find and now it is just lovely. The legs are fab and those subtle details now pop with the milk paint and the distressing. I love it. I love several of the milk paint colors especially the softness of Eulalie’s Sky but French Enamel get’s my attention every time so it must be my favorite. Thanks for all the information on using milk paint and the finishes. I can’t wait to start a project.
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French Enamel is such a pretty shade of blue! Also another great color for layering.
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Green!!!! No matter what shade, I love the greens. Currently I am drawn to Annie Sloan’s “Amsterdam Green.” Must be the spring weather. Thank you for all the advice and helpful hints this week, you have convinced me to give milk paint a try.😊
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Milk paint has intrigued me for your. I never really thought of layering it.
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Oh hahaha, the thrift doctor is in! I would love to write some tips, let’s chat a bit more about your thoughts. Thank you 🙂 The desk turned out BEAUTIFULLY! As I knew it would! The layered chippiness looks so authentic. It really is a pretty piece. Sometimes you can still find the gems! Hmmm, favorite color….typewriter? Kitchen scale? How about just my favorite green? I think bayberry takes it, but the “in a pickle” is such a good choice for that perfect vintage green. How’s that for indecisive?
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Yes, we definitely need to get the thrift doctor column up and running 😉
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I absolutely L💕ve the color of this piece you did today! I have a very similar piece and would l💙ve to try this exact color layering on mine! Thank you again for all the excellent advice & beauty you put back into the world! I am certain as I begin milk painting I will refer to these posts many times! 😘👏🏻
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Loved this, those pulls look amazing!! My favorite colors tend to be more neutral, I love Trophy MMSMP.
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Soft White or Flour Sack…hmmmm, either would be awesome, if I were the winner (fingers crossed). I wouldn’t be picky and any white would work for me — especially if my furniture turned out anything like yours! Thanks for inspiring us with your magic!
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I’m a green freak so I loved In a Pickle.
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All MMS colors are beautiful, but my heart skips a beat for eulalie’s sky!
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That desk is a sweet thrifting find. The long top drawer is awesome. Thanks for sharing how you persevered until you achieved the perfect look for it. My favorite MMS milk paint color is Lucketts Green.
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That super wide top drawer really is something. I’m thinking one could fit a yardstick in that thing!
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I’ve never used milk paint, so I have no idea. Fingers crossed for winning some 😉
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I really like Miss Mustardseed bergere, lucketts green, and typewritter. I know, all so different! Plus just about any white.
What a great week of inspiration! And wouldn’t it be nice if the snow all melted and it got warm and people started having garage sales again?!! So we could some interesting pieces to paint? Minnesota spring…….
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Amen to that Nan!
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I love MMS Trophy and Boxwood. I haven’t tried other brands aside from Miss Mustard Seed.
That metallic wax looks like a fun product!
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I really love that metallic wax. I think it buffs up better than the Rub ‘n Buff version.
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Hey Miss Quandi! Could you please tell me what you personally mean by “sanded briefly”? If you sanded the round legs and the fluting , the drawer fronts, sides, and top, that would take a LONG TIME! If you just kind of hit-or-miss sand then the places you missed won’t take the paint well, so what was the point? What’s your tip? Thank you painting swami!
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I would say I spent 3 – 5 minutes sanding at most. I hit mainly the flat expanses like the drawer fronts, desk top and sides giving each one a couple of back and forth swishes all over with the sanding block. I did not sand the legs at all. This was not a thorough sanding by any means, and honestly this is typical of how I sand most pieces. You are right in thinking that the places I missed may resist the paint more than the others, but that’s OK with me. I typically prefer to see chipping/distressing along the edges, on the legs, around the details of a piece … precisely the places I didn’t sand. Does this answer help?
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There are so many beautiful colors of milk paint, it’s so hard to choose just one. I’m leaning towards typewriter milk paint color
It’s so french looking to me ♡ I would like to try them all someday. Thank you linda for all the fabulous information this week. Hope to see you soon !!!
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I don’t recall the actual color name, but its a fabulous green. You cant go wrong with green!
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That desk is gorgeous!! My faves are always greens & blues. Love Lucketts, Boxwood, French Enamel & Kitchen Scale. :))
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I love MMS shutter gray as well as Sweet Pickins Sweetie Jane… Thanks for providing so much information on milk paint – it´s always a pleasure reading your blog!
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I love most any of the colors in the blue and lighter green shades. Sweet color on this very pretty (usable/functional) desk. Fun project! Suzy
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My favorite color would be a blue. Really any blue color I love! BTW love your blog and keep on painting!
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Nice job, the layers look great
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This is definitely one of my favorites, I’m a sucker for anything layered with blue and white colors.
I absolutely love the Soft White from the Real Milk Paint company and the Artissmo from MMS’s.
Thank you for your entire series this week, I’ve enjoyed each and everyone!
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This is my favorite piece and it’s because I just love the Soft White from the Real Milk Paint Company, also the Artissmo from MMS’s. Any blue and white are my favorite colors.
Thank you for sharing all the great information this week, your blog is truly an inspiration!
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Just another amazing reason I love to follow you, this desk is perfection! I am a multi layer kind of gal, seems to add to the story of a piece. You are so talented! Would love to win a batch of goodies, count me in!
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You have painted so many pretty pieces but my favorite has to be the beach glass. It looks like a perfect combination of blue and green.
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Thoroughly enjoyed this week’s adventure! I had to make sure I was comfortable and free from any interruptions prior to sitting down to open up my email! The Prima Marketing’s Metallique Wax was the icing on the cake that pulled your piece together wonderfully! A great idea! Bravo!
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My favorite is Typewriter, love the color & the name. You & friends find such gorgeous furniture and then you (& Ken) make them even more gorgeous. So jealous. I need a you & a Ken. Oh well. Loved this series even without the prize potential.
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Thank you for taking the time to do these posts. I can not wait to get started!!
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Haberdash and tricycle are two of my favorites! Thank you for the opportunity!
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Well I love all that is blue, but there are choices there also. Moody Blue or Ocean, or oh my, I can’t decide, may be Zinc.
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My favorite color is MMS Eulalie’s Sky. But I want to try some of the colors in her European paint line…!
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l love lucketts green, and I cant wait for the the new color Avairy.
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My favorite color is black(Sweet Pickins Lantern), which my mother is constantly telling me “is NOT a color” lol.
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The desk turned out great! MMS typewriter, then tricycle, then luckett’s green, and then mustard seed yellow! What fun reading a week of your informative posts…I definately need to do more milk painting!
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Another beautiful furniture refurb! Thanks so much for the information presented this week, so comprehensive and inspiring. How generous of you to offer so many products for your fans. Appreciate your blog and your talent.
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You convinced me! I’m going to try more layering! I’ve done two colors, but never three! The deals is so pretty! Thx for the lesson.
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Miss Mustard Seed Arabesque
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Ithink my favorite color is Eulalie Sky but the Maritime Blue is my @nd. My favorite combination mix you make is the gray you showed in a recent milk paint post. The desk is beautiful but the drawer pulls are AMAZING! You persuaded me months ago to get myself a tin of the Prima Marketing Metallique Wax and I love it! You make the very best recommendations and I thank you for that. I’ve never regretted a purchase I’ve made from a recommendation on one of your posts. I love everything about your blog!
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“Ask the dr” sounds like another great post idea! I can never settle on a color! Love all of them!
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I have not done much layering of milk paint. I always feel like I’m wasting some of my precious powder since it will only show in minimal spots. BTW those pulls are fab!
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I’m not sure which I’d pick, but the greens you’ve done lately have been gorgeous!!
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You have such an adventurous spirit! Thank you for sharing your techniques and showing me that you don’t have to stop with something I’m not satisfied with. You’ve got a new reader!
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Today my favorite color is Sea Glass … although I must say that I don’t think you’ve used any color that I don’t like. They are all perfect in how you have used them. I used to have a sea glass necklace that was all blues and light greens that I lost somewhere along the way. I loved that necklace and I love the dressing table you did in that color. I so enjoy your blog.
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Thanks for the fun week, Linda! Two of my favorite milk paint colors are Sweet Pickins’ Sweetie Jane and The OFMP Company’s Federal Blue… both gorgeous colors. Good luck to everyone and many thanks to your generous sponsors!
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You have been busy! Great ideas!
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I love all this info!!! I haven’t done any color layering but I love the look and am definitely going to try it!
SP In a Pickle has always been a fave but I bought Sweetie Jane last week so I think that may be my new favorite.
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My favorite milk paint color is Typewriter by MMS. But Sweet Picken’s green colors are close seconds.
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