Category: color.

coffee bean is the new black.

Published on by Quandie13 Comments

A while back I mentioned that I’d seen a YouTube video where the creator was using Dixie Belle’s Coffee Bean paint and calling it ‘black’.

That led me to take a 2nd look at Coffee Bean.

I had some on hand, and I’d used it here and there as a base coat, or a shadow color with stencils and I’d always considered it a dark chocolate brown.  And brown has never been one of my favorite colors.  So I pulled it out to take a closer look.

And you know what?  It’s pretty dark.  You have to look closely to see those warm hints of dark brown.  At first glance, it really does look black.

This revelation dovetails nicely with a gradual change in my appreciation for black.

Back in 2018 I was painting everything in Dixie Belle’s Caviar.

Caviar is a rich, deep, super dark black.

But then in 2019 I discovered Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky and it became my new go-to black.

Midnight Sky is just a little bit less black, sort of a slightly faded version of black.

It’s a little less harsh.  It also has the added benefit of not showing quite as many fingerprints as Caviar tends to do.

As a side bar, the Anchor shown in that photo above is from Dixie Belle’s Silk line, so it’s an acrylic paint rather than a chalk style paint.  It’s also a deep, rich black like the Caviar.

I painted our baby grand piano in Midnight Sky.

If you’ve read my blog for long, you know that no one in our household actually plays the piano.  It’s a long story, but someone gave me this piano and I had intended to learn to play.  Um, yeah, in my spare time (which I still don’t seem to have even though I’m now retired from the day job).  However, it has turned out to be the most versatile piece of furniture for me.  It’s the perfect spot for folding laundry, wrapping presents, doing a jigsaw puzzle, or putting out a buffet at a party.  I also have a huge drop cloth that I drape over it and it becomes my workbench in the winter when I can’t be out in the carriage house.

The beauty of the Midnight Sky is that it barely shows the inevitable dings and dust that result from that kind of use.  Since it’s a chalk style paint, it’s also super easy to repair more significant damage.  For example, I tried to use the piano as an ironing board at one point without thinking about what the steam setting would do to the paint job.  But the fix was as simple as sanding that area down a bit, feathering in some more Midnight Sky in that one spot, and then buffing everything with another coat of clear wax.  Easy peasy.

Actually, it was literally easy peasy because I used Dixie Belle’s Easy Peasy spray wax.

But I digress.

I still use Caviar on some pieces, like this armoire …

But I’d been reaching for the Midnight Sky a little more often.

It was gorgeous on this spoon carved set.

But lately I’ve found that I’m no longer as fond of black.  It feels just a little too … well … sort of cold.  Don’t get me wrong, I still like dark shades.  But I want them to be just a little bit warmer.

And that’s where the Coffee Bean comes in.

I used it a last fall on this wooden tote, and I really liked it.

Still, I really thought I’d never see the day when I’d decide to paint a piece of furniture ‘brown’.  Yet that’s exactly what I decided to do with this vintage bankers chair.

Mr. Q used this chair in his study for … well … a long time.  I’m not exactly sure how many years it has been.  But now that he is spending more and more time editing videos for his YouTube channel, he decided it was time for a comfier chair.

The chair was quite beat up after all of that use, and also quite filthy!  So after giving it a good cleaning, I decided to paint it in Coffee Bean.  Once painted, I added a quick stencil to the seat using Dixie Belle’s Putty.

Gosh, in that photo the stencil looks as though it was done using a white paint, but trust me, it’s Putty.  Let’s try a close up photo to see if I can capture the color more effectively.

That’s better.

By the way, I’ve used this stencil quite a lot without cleaning it properly afterwards.  As a result, I am no longer getting a nice crisp image.  So I decided to order a new one to replace it, but it seems as though the company I originally ordered it from, Maison de Stencils, is no longer in business.  Their website is unavailable and the most recent post on their Facebook page is from June 2022.  They also no longer seem to have a presence on Etsy under the name Maison de Stencils.  After a bit more searching, I did find this same stencil available from Euro Stencil Design on Etsy.  It also appears as though this may be the same seller, but with a name change??  I’m really not sure, but if you’re looking for this stencil, start there.

I sanded the stenciled design down, along with the rest of the chair to give it some age.

I then finished it off with some of Dixie Belle’s Big Mama’s Butta in the Orange Grove scent.

I staged the photos in my newly painted q branch, but I won’t be keeping this chair.  I prefer something a little cushier myself.  But hopefully I can find a buyer for it.  I did a bit of googling and found lots of similar chairs out there including a reproduction option at Wayfair for $203 and lots of authentic versions on Etsy ranging from $389 and up.

I’ve decided to price mine at $125 so someone out there can get a bargain.  It’s in good shape and is quite sturdy.  So if any of you locals need a vintage bankers chair, be sure to check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details on this one.

As for the rest of you, leave a comment and let me know what you think of Coffee Bean as the new black.

As always, thanks to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the products used on this chair.

peachy keen.

Published on by Quandie62 Comments

I thought I’d take this opportunity to compare the three shades of pinkish/coral from Dixie Belle that I use the most.

Here they are side by side; Flamingo, Cottage Door and Apricot.

Let’s start with the brightest, Flamingo.

You wouldn’t have thought I’d use this vibrant color on a piece of furniture, would you?

But I did.

Wowza!  It was very pretty though.

That being said, I typically use Flamingo to provide a pop of color on the inside, like I did with this toolbox.

If you prefer to keep your colors a little more subdued, you’ll prefer Dixie Belle’s Apricot.

I’ve used this one a bit more often than the Flamingo.

It was gorgeous on the inside of this armoire.

It was also pretty on the inside of this hankie drawer.

And I’ve used it on the insides of a couple of toolboxes now.

Including the one I shared most recently.

And that brings me to one of Dixie Belle’s newest colors, Cottage Door.

This might be the Goldilocks of the these three shades because if you think the Flamingo is a tad too bright, and the Apricot is a little bit too pale, the Cottage Door might be just right.

I first used this color on the inside of the ‘bee box’.

And then I used it again inside another toolbox.

I think it just might be the perfect shade of coral, not too bright, not too orange and not too pink.

Which one is your favorite?  I really love all three of these shades of coral, they each have their place.

And on that note, I’m going to give one of you the chance to fall in love with all three of them as well because I’m giving them away to one lucky reader.

This giveaway includes a 16 oz. Flamingo, a 16 oz. Cottage Door and a 4 oz. Apricot (because that was the only size I could get, unfortunately), plus one of Dixie Belle’s 1.5″ synthetic brushes.

The rules for today’s giveaway:  Simply leave a comment on this blog post (and please forgive me if I don’t respond to every one, but know that I read and appreciate all of them).

Your comment must be left on this blog post, not on Facebook or Instagram.  You are not required to follow my blog, or follow my Facebook or Instagram accounts, although it would be awesome if you did!

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Sunday, October 15, 2023 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

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, approximate retail value of prize is $85, if the prize is not claimed by Friday, October 27, 2023 another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.

the moody blues.

Published on by Quandie85 Comments

I wonder how many of you are old enough to be Moody Blues fans, or to have played their albums over and over.  You know, back when we had record players and albums.  Oh boy, I’m probably really dating myself now.  Although now that I think about it, I probably listened to them on cassette tapes in my car more than on albums.

Once upon a time, in my wildest dreams.

Anyway, today’s post isn’t about music, it’s about the moodier shades of blue available from Dixie Belle Paint Co (and be sure to read to the end because I’m giving some away).  I’ve been using a few of them lately, so I thought it might be helpful to show you guys a comparison of their In the Navy, Bunker Hill Blue, Yankee Blue and Cobalt Blue.  Just in case you are struggling to pick one.

The darkest one is In the Navy.  This color is almost, but not quite, black.  I used quite a bit of this one for a while.  One of my all-time favorite pieces painted in this color was this linen press dresser.

I also painted a waterfall style desk with In the Navy.

Lately I’ve been using more of the next darkest shade, Bunker Hill Blue, most recently on this dresser.

I really like this shade on mid-mod pieces such as this dresser that was a curb-side find.

It looks gorgeous paired with gold hardware.

I’ve also been known to mix In the Navy with Bunker Hill Blue to tone down the Bunker Hill Blue just a tad, or brighten up the In the Navy, whichever way you want to look at it.

That’s what I did on this piece.

Well, to be perfectly honest, I only mixed them because I didn’t have enough Bunker Hill Blue at the time to paint the whole dresser so I stretched it by adding In the Navy.  But it ended up being a fantastic combo.

I haven’t used so much of the Yankee Blue.  This one is the lightest shade of these four colors, and has a bit more grey to it than the other three which becomes more obvious when you look at them all side by side.

Yankee Blue is actually one of the very first Dixie Belle colors I ever used when I paired it with Drop Cloth on this stool.

I’ve used it to create quite a few grain sack stripes since then, including the ones on this desk.

I also used it inside the drawers on that piece after blocking some ink stains using Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S.

That brings me to the brightest of the four colors, and one I was only recently brave enough to use, Cobalt Blue.

It was gorgeous paired with the I.O.D. Rose Chintz paint inlay on this tackle box.

I’m not sure I’m quite ready to use it on a piece of furniture yet, but I could see mixing the Cobalt Blue with the Bunker Hill Blue to get something somewhere in between the two.

How about you, have you tried any of these colors yet?  And if so, do you have a favorite?

If not, now’s your chance.  I’m giving away a 16 oz. jar of each to one lucky winner.

And I’m even going to throw in a CD of the Very Best of The Moody Blues, just for fun.

The rules for today’s giveaway:  Simply leave a comment on this blog post (and please forgive me if I don’t respond to every one, but know that I read and appreciate all of them).

Your comment must be left on this blog post, not on Facebook or Instagram.  You are not required to follow my blog, or follow my Facebook or Instagram accounts, although it would be awesome if you did!

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Friday, March 10, 2023 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

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, approximate retail value of prize is $100, if the prize is not claimed by Friday, March 17, 2023 another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the paint included in today’s giveaway.

the silky whites.

Published on by Quandie75 Comments

A long while back I shared a post comparing the various shades of Dixie Belle chalk style white paint, and at the time I promised to do the same with their Silk line of paint (be sure to read to the end, there is a giveaway!).

So, better late than never, here it is!

As a reminder, the Silk All-in-One Mineral paint has a built in primer and top coat.  It’s a one step product, just clean your piece first, then paint and you’re done.  Once caveat, if you’re painting a piece with serious bleed-thru using one of the white Silk paints, I would still prime with B.O.S.S.  The stain blocking abilities of this paint may not be enough for that situation.

There are 4 shades of white in the Silk paint line.  I was surprised by that since the entire line started with only 20 colors total (it now has 30 with the addition of the Desert Collection).  But now that I’ve done a little comparing, I get it.  And really, as a person who is fairly picky about shades of white, I really shouldn’t have been surprised at all that 20% of their first collection of colors were shades of white.

The shades of white in the Silk line are Endless Shore, Oyster, Saltwater and Whitecap.  At first glance it may appear as though there isn’t much difference between these colors.

But side by side, you can certainly see the differences between them.  The Oyster has the tiniest hint of grey in the background.  The Whitecap is the brightest white.  Dixie Belle calls Saltwater an off-white, it is a bit less bright white than the Whitecap, and definitely brighter than Endless Shore.  The Endless Shore is the color that comes closest to my favorite white ever, Drop Cloth, and is a very warm off-white.

I have to confess, I haven’t used much of the Silk whites.  That’s because I really LOVE my Dixie Belle Drop Cloth, so every time I go to paint something white I automatically grab that paint first.  However, there are certain applications where I prefer using a paint with a built in primer and top coat such as painting the insides of a bookshelf or cupboard (or toolbox), or painting pieces that I don’t want to distress.

The only example of an item painted in one of the Silk whites on my blog is this crate that I painted for the swanky swigs earlier this year.  It’s painted in Endless Shore.

Another reason I haven’t really used much of the Silk whites is that I usually like to use this paint with its built in primer and top coat on the insides of things, and that’s where I tend to add a bold color.  Such as the Fiery Sky inside this toolbox …

Or the Mojave inside this washstand.

But I ordered up a couple jars of the Saltwater a while back and I plan to start using it to refresh the paint on various trim throughout our house.  I think this paint is going to be perfect for window trim and baseboards, and the Saltwater is a great match for the white on the trim in our house.  Painting trim feels like it should be a winter project to me.

The Silk paint would also be a great choice for bathroom or kitchen cabinets.  Another winter project I’m considering is painting the insides of our kitchen cabinets.  Although if I do that I may opt for a pretty pop of color.  Or it might even be fun to go dark … hmmm, I’ll have to give that some thought.

But in the meantime, today I’m going to give one of you the chance to try all four of the Dixie Belle Silk All-in-One Mineral paint whites for yourself.

The rules:  Simply leave a comment on this blog post to be eligible to win.

Your comment must be left on this blog post, not on Facebook or Instagram.  You are not required to follow my blog, although it would be awesome if you did!

I will randomly draw the name of one winner for all four paint colors from all of the comments left on this post by Friday, September 30, 2022 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

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, approximate retail value of prize is $100, if the prize is not claimed by Friday, October 7, 2022 another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.

Best of luck to you!

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing their paint that I’m giving away today.

wearin’ the green.

Published on by Quandie18 Comments

In honor of St. Patty’s Day, and since green is one of my favorite colors, I thought I’d share some of my favorite pieces painted in verdant shades while I’m off enjoying my visit with my mom.

I think my all time favorite shade of green is In a Pickle from Sweet Pickens milk paint.

I absolutely LOVE this color.  Isn’t it gorgeous on this washstand?  Pieces in this color never sell quickly for me, but every once in a while I paint another piece in it just because I love it so much.  I always eventually find someone who loves it as much as I do though.  I remember this particular washstand sold to an artist who wanted it for her studio.

I also used In a Pickle on this dresser.

This one crackled in the most perfect way.  And again, it took longer than usual to sell but I did eventually find a buyer.

I have one more favorite piece with this particular paint, this farmhouse table.

I really kind of wish I’d hung onto this piece now.  I’d love to be using it as my own desk.  It’s a bit larger than the one I have now, and I do need a little bit more space.  I’m keeping an eye out for another one like it.

My second favorite shade of green is Fusion’s Park Bench.

I’ve painted so many mid-mod pieces in this color.  Since I don’t want the chippy look of milk paint on the mid-mod’s, the Park Bench is the perfect choice for them.

Unlike with the In a Pickle, the pieces I’ve painted in Park Bench just fly out the door.

Especially the credenza’s.

Adding gold hardware to this color is always a hit.

My latest favorite green is Dixie Belle’s Kudzu.  It was gorgeous on the interior of this little cabinet.

It made a fabulous planter chair.

And it was perfect on this painted toolbox.

I also love it with the Rose Chintz paint inlay from IOD over it.

I still have a mostly full jar of this paint, I’m just waiting for the perfect piece of furniture to come along to put it on.

My mom’s town usually has a parade on St. Patrick’s Day so maybe my sister and I will check that out today.  I hope you’re doing something fun today to celebrate too.  I don’t have any Irish ancestry (that I know of), but I can get behind any holiday that celebrates the color green, how about you?

 

shades of white.

Published on by Quandie161 Comments

Hey guys, tomorrow is Mr. Q’s birthday!  I thought maybe we could celebrate with a giveaway so be sure to read all the way to the end to get all the details on how to qualify for the giveaway.

Actually, the idea for this post has been brewing since way back in October when I compared the different shades of black Dixie Belle paint.

I think someone suggested that I do the same with shades of white at the time, and that sounded like a pretty good idea to me.

So I went to the Dixie Belle website to review all of the different shades of white, and guess what?  There are quite a few of them!  There are 4 in their chalk style paint line and 5 in their all-in-one Silk paint line.

That’s a lotta white.

So I’ve decided to break them down into separate posts (and separate giveaways).  Today I’m just focusing on the chalk style paint … and oh, not all 4 of the colors that Dixie Belle includes in their ‘white’ category.  I neglected to include Buttercream.  I think of that as more of a pale yellow or cream rather than a white, so I hope you’ll forgive me.

For today that leaves us with Fluff, Cotton, and Drop Cloth.

If you’ve been following me for any length of time, I think you know which is my favorite!

Drop Cloth!

I’ve used this color on a multitude of pieces.

Seriously.  I don’t think I could even begin to count all of the things I’ve painted in Drop Cloth.

Dixie Belle describes this color as “a stylish linen white with a touch of warmth,” and that pretty much nails it.  I really prefer working with a warm shade of white that you can bring into your home and it doesn’t instantly make all of the other white items look dull.

When standing alone, Drop Cloth reads as warm white to me.  It’s only when you put it right next to a bright white that it appears so much darker.

I am not a fan of a harsh, bright white and that brings me to the Cotton.  Dixie Belle has this to say about Cotton:  “Cotton is our purest white, perfect for a clean and classic look. This color is for anyone who wants to decorate their home with stark simplicity.”  Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

The fact that I’m not really a fan was readily apparent when I tried to find samples of my work in this color.  The best I can do is the table runner that I shared back at the end of December.

I ended up painting that swiss cross on the drop cloth in Cotton because my usual go-to white, Drop Cloth, was … well, duh!, the nearly the same color as the drop cloth itself (no wonder they named it that!).

I also used the Cotton on the Skate Rental sign that I shared last week, just to do the laces on the skates.

That brings us to Fluff.  Dixie Belle describes Fluff as “a serene, soft white with a slight gray undertone.”  Spot on again.  I have to say, if you are wondering what a color really looks like, read the description.  Many times the photos can be deceiving.  It’s so hard to get a color right on a computer screen.  But I find that Dixie Belle does a really good job of describing the colors.

Once again, examples of Fluff are few and far between on my blog.  I did use it on this bookcase.

And here is Fluff on a picture frame.

It would be fair to say that when I want a whiter white than Drop Cloth, Fluff would be my choice.

Speaking of Shades of White, have you seen Fifi O’Neill’s newest book by that name?

If you are a fan of decorating with white, vintage and pale wood tones, you will love this book.

I’d say the trick to making a mostly white color scheme work is using varying shades of white such as white with the barest hint of grey like the cupboard above.  Or warm white walls with a brighter white beadboard wainscoting like shown below.

And of course I love the tone on tone look of this next dresser …

So, in other words, one can embrace all of the shades of white and allow them to mix together.

And that brings me to my giveaway!

The lucky winner of today’s giveaway will receive a copy of Shades of White, 16 oz. of Drop Cloth, Cotton and Fluff, and the medium oval paint brush from Dixie Belle.

The rules:  Simply leave a comment (if nothing else, wish Mr. Q a happy birthday) on this blog post to be eligible to win.

Your comment must be left on this blog post, not on Facebook or Instagram.  You are not required to follow my blog, although it would be awesome if you did!

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Sunday, February 27, 2022 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

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, approximate retail value of prize is $135, if the prize is not claimed by Friday, March 11, 2022 another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.

Thanks to Mr. Q for ordering the book for today’s giveaway from amazon.com, and thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for continuing to provide me with products that I can give away 😉  Good luck!

comparing shades of black.

Published on by Quandie102 Comments

After painting the spooky nightstand that I shared a while back, I had an idea that it would be worthwhile to compare the shades of black paint that are available from Dixie Belle Paint Co for you guys.  Be sure to read all the way to the end of this post because there’s a giveaway today too!

So, the thing is, much like with white paint, there are lots of options for black.

With the spooky nightstand, I painted it overall in Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky chalk mineral paint, and then stenciled over that in Dixie Belle’s Anchor Silk All-in-One Paint thus making this piece a good representation of the difference between those two black paints.

There are two factors at work here; color and sheen.  The Midnight Sky is what I would call an off-black, it has a slightly more faded look than Dixie Belle’s Caviar.  In addition, the chalk mineral paint is very flat.  The Silk All-in-One Anchor paint is a little bit darker than Midnight Sky and has a bit more sheen, thus creating the look above when it’s stenciled over the Midnight Sky (the diamond pattern and the damask pattern).

Now, I know the differences between the three are pretty subtle, but I’m hoping you can see them here.

That’s paint only, no added topcoat.  The Anchor clearly has a bit more sheen than the other two, and the Caviar is a bit darker than the Midnight Sky.

When I first starting using Dixie Belle paint, I originally fell in love with the Caviar.

I used it on so many pieces!

One of my favorites was this bed …

So gorgeous!

Caviar is a deep, rich black.

But then I discovered the Midnight Sky and I used it on my baby grand piano.  This is a slightly more faded version of black, still definitely black, but not quite as deep and dark as Caviar.

I feel like the Midnight Sky is just a tad more forgiving when it comes to dust and fingerprints.  My baby grand gets a fair amount of wear and tear because I basically use it as a workbench most of the time.  For that reason, I thought Midnight Sky would be a better choice for it.

I also used Midnight Sky on this Eastlake style bedroom set.

This shade of black is the perfect complement to brass or gold hardware.

This brings me to the new-ish Silk All-in-One black paint from Dixie Belle called Anchor.

First, to save you from the confusion that I experienced, I want to point out that the Silk color called Black Sands is not black, but a dark charcoal.I ordered it thinking it was black.  Even looking at it in the jar, you won’t immediately realize that it isn’t.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love the color.  It was perfect on this dresser …

But it’s not black.

If you’re looking for a fabulous charcoal grey though, it’s perfect.  In fact I just ordered more of it to paint some wooden folding chairs for my porch.  I think it will be perfect on them.

But the Anchor is the true black in this line.  Aside from stenciling it on the spooky nightstand, I haven’t actually painted a full piece of furniture in this color so I don’t have a picture of one to share with you.  But I wanted to include it here in my line up anyway.  As you may already be aware, the Silk line is Dixie Belle’s version of a primer, paint and top coat all in one.

To recap, Caviar and Midnight Sky are more flat (but of course you can add sheen with a top coat).  Anchor has more sheen due to its built in top coat.  Midnight Sky is a faded black, while the other two are darker.

Now, please don’t read too much into the brush strokes in that Caviar example above.  I let my brush dry out, and then still tried to paint with clumpy bristles.  Rooky mistake, and something I would never do on a piece of furniture but this was just a practice board.

Now for the fun part.  I’m giving away a 16 oz size jar of all three of the Dixie Belle blacks, plus three of their brushes to use to apply them.  So one lucky winner can try out all three and decide which one is their favorite!

The rules:  Simply leave a comment on this blog post to be eligible to win.

Your comment must be left on this blog post, not on Facebook or Instagram.  You are not required to follow my blog, although it would be awesome if you did!

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Sunday, October 31, 2021 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

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, approximate retail value of prize is $140, if the prize is not claimed by Thursday, November 4, 2021 another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.

Thanks to Dixie Belle for providing the paint and brushes I am giving away today.  Good luck!

soldier blue.

Published on by Quandie42 Comments

As you’ll remember, a couple of the prize packages for my 12 days of giveaways included some Homestead House Milk Paint in a color called Soldier Blue.

I had never used this color before, and in fact never even really realized this color was available (see all of the Homestead House Milk Paint colors here).

Two things struck me.  First of all, it’s a gorgeous shade of blue.  Second, it’s pretty close to the 2020 Pantone Color of the Year, Classic Blue.  I knew I had to give it a try myself, so I mixed some up.

It looks a bit lighter as wet paint and I wasn’t sure I would get that gorgeous deep blue in the Homestead House photo.  But, as you know, paint always looks different once dry.  Especially milk paint.  Plus the top coat you use over milk paint can really change up the color.

So I pulled out this adorable little vintage kid-size folding chair that my picker Sue found for me.

I knew painting all of those slats was going to be a pain.  It’s so challenging to avoid drips when you have this many surfaces going on.  But one of the things that I love about milk paint is that it’s super easy to sand off any drips one the paint is dry.  Much easier than with other types of paint.

All I did to prep this chair was wipe it down with a damp cloth.  I was hoping to get some chipping, and the previous finish was fairly worn off so I was willing to gamble on getting just the right amount of paint to stick.

I painted the chair with two coats of the Soldier Blue, then once dry I sanded it lightly to distress.  Sure enough, I got some awesome chipping.

I knew that using hemp oil as my top coat would give me the deepest version of this color, so I pulled out Dixie Belle’s Howdy Do! Hemp Seed Oil.  This is another new-ish product from Dixie Belle that came out around the same time as their Big Mama’s Butta.

I usually apply hemp oil with an inexpensive chip brush, and that definitely would have been the smarter/easier option for this chair.  But, I was too lazy to dig out a chip brush so I just used an old t-shirt.  Clearly this is another situation where I have to say, ‘do as I say, not as I do’.  It’s a little harder to get the oil applied in all of those crevices using a rag.  It would have been much easier to brush the oil on, and then wipe away the excess with a clean rag.

Keep in mind that hemp oil will not add much sheen (if any), and it will also produce the darkest version of the color of your milk paint.  In this case, it was the perfect choice and it really brought out the richness of the Soldier Blue.

I had the perfect little piece of vintage toy china to use for staging this chair.

Isn’t it sweet?  I found it at a garage sale last summer.  It’s only about 2.5″ tall.

Remember when Mr. Q and I cleaned out our attic while getting out the Christmas decorations?  I came across some old stuffed animals in a box and decided to hang onto a couple of them for staging kid’s stuff.

Mr. Bunny still looks pretty good after 20 years in the attic.

I’m loving this shade of blue.  Now I just need to find a bigger piece of furniture to use it on.

I’ve put it in the stash of stuff that I need to bring in to Reclaiming Beautiful (the shop where I sell on consignment).  I probably won’t get it in there until next week though.

  But in the meantime, how do you like the little Soldier Blue chair?

As always, thanks to Homestead House Milk Paint for providing the Soldier Blue Milk Paint and to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the Howdy Do! Hemp Oil used for this project.

a fan of aqua (pardon the pun).

Published on by Quandie33 Comments

I shared this gorgeous aqua paint from Dixie Belle called The Gulf in Monday’s post.

I’ve always been a big fan of aqua and I thought this shade would be perfect for a vintage fan that my friend/co-worker Jodie gave me.

Much like with toolboxes, I usually don’t like to paint over an authentically aged metal patina … except when they are this not so fabulous shade of brown.

Jodie had already removed the electrical cord from the fan.  I always do that too when I’m working with a piece with old wiring that doesn’t look safe.  I don’t want anyone to be tempted to plug it in.  This fan is for looks only.

I was hoping to be able to temporarily remove the safety grill allowing me to easily paint the blades, but that proved to be impossible.  The nuts and bolts holding it in place probably hadn’t been moved in at least 50 to 60 years and they weren’t budging.  So instead, after wiping down all of the surfaces as well as I could, I pulled out a long, slender Staalmeester brush.

I was gifted these brushes by Loree from Homestead House Milk Paint/Fusion Mineral Paint.  I have to confess, they are so gorgeous that I’m afraid to even use them.  I don’t want to mess them up!  Is it wrong that I just want to display them like art in a pretty jar on my desk rather than actually paint with them?

I also have to confess that when I initially saw the long slender brush in the middle I thought to myself ‘this looks like an artist’s brush’ and I wondered if I’d ever find a use for it.

Sure enough, it came in handy almost immediately for painting the blades of this fan.

I was easily able to reach in between the wires of the guard with the brush to get to the blades, and the brush was slender enough that I didn’t have to work too hard to not get paint on the guard.

As you can see above, once the paint was dry I sanded everything including those ridges on the blades to produce some faux distressing.

To be honest, I’m still wondering if I should have just stopped there.  But I didn’t.  I also added a couple of Tim Holtz rub-on’s to the fan.

Should I have left it alone for a more authentic vintage vibe, or do you like it with more of a ‘altered art’ sort of look?

Once the rub-on’s were in place, I coated everything with some of that delicious new Fusion wax that is scented with essential oils.

How do you like this fan transformation?

As always, thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the paint for this project, and to Loree at Homestead House Milk Paint/Fusion Mineral Paint for the brushes and the wax.

You can find Dixie Belle paint here.

And you can find the Staalmeester brushes here.

the aquas.

Published on by Quandie25 Comments

I recently ordered a few new-to-me Dixie Belle paint colors including two beautiful shades of aqua, The Gulf and Mermaid Tail.

 Plus I already had Sea Glass on hand, a lighter shade of aqua.

I painted a really pretty dressing table in this color in 2018.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to show a comparison of these three shades of aqua in case any of you are looking for a good aqua.  And what better way to do that than painting up some clay pots?

All three colors provided a perfect background for more of the Classic Vintage Labels from re.design with prima.

The Mermaids Tail is a deep, rich, teal …

The Gulf is a classic turquoise …

The Sea Glass is a pale, more subtle version of aqua.

So, what do you think?  Is there one of these colors that appeals to you more than the others?

Here are a few q-tips about painting and/or adding transfers to clay pots.  Always keep in mind that clay pots are porous, they are meant to allow water to seep through the clay.  Because of that, it’s never a good idea to plant something directly into a decorated clay pot unless you are prepared for the paint/transfer/whatever to break down.  Instead keep your plant in a plastic liner pot and remove it to water.

Let it drain, and then put it back in the decorative clay pot.

Keep in mind that adding a top coat to the outside of the pot won’t prevent water coming through from inside the pot and lifting your paint/transfer from behind it.  You could try sealing the pot both inside and out, but I think even the most durable top coat would break down over time with wet dirt up against it.

If you want to protect the outside of the pot since you’ll be handling it or water might occasionally get splashed on it, you can add a wax or water-based top coat of some kind like Dixie Belle’s Clear Coat or Miss Mustard Seed’s Tough Coat.  I added just a light coat of wax to these pots.

Finally, if you’re like me and you’re OK with replacing items like these after a shorter life-span, just go ahead and plant directly in them (or use them outdoors) and just plan on replacing them down the road.  After all, it’s always fun to make more, right?

While I had the aqua paint out, I painted a few more things too.  So stay tuned, we’re about to embark upon a week full of aqua.

As always, thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the paint for this project, and to re.design with prima for providing the Classic Vintage Labels transfer.

You can find Dixie Belle paint here.

If you’re looking for re.design with prima products you can find local retailers here, or online sources here.