This is a sponsored post that contains affiliate links.

It’s been such a hot and humid summer so far on Long Island, but nothing could dampen my spirits when I finally received my Old Fashioned Milk Paint in the mail through participating in the Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest! This month’s theme is “Farmhouse Fun”!

I have never worked with Milk Paint before and I had heard so many wonderful things about it, I couldn’t wait to give it a try! The colors I chose were Slate and Light Cream. The packaging is totally adorable and they give you very detailed instructions on how to create the perfect milk paint finish! I love the little bags it comes in too!  You can mix up as much or as little as you need. It’s VOC free, and has no fumes or chemicals.  The product comes as a powder, and you mix it with warm water.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted a chippy finish or not on my piece and because milk paint lends itself to a more weathered finish,  I decided to also get the extra bond which helps the milk paint adhere to the surface much better.

Here is the color Slate in the powder form.

 This is the piece that I decided to use the  Old Fashioned Milk Paint on. My very dear friend gave it to me! It’s an unusual piece, sort of  writing desk/bar. I thought it would be the perfect style for the Farmhouse Fun theme! I finally decided I wanted to do a chippy, finish with a two-tone color with the wood coming through as well.

Is it a bar? Is it a desk? Who knows? But its fabulous nonetheless! I decided to show it being used for multiple uses. I was so excited to get started.

Here is the first coat of the Slate color with the bonding agent added. It goes on a little streaky, but after the second coat, it was fully covered. A little goes a long way.

First coat

Because it has been so humid, I had to bring it inside to paint the second coat! I used the Light Cream after the second coat of the Slate was dry.  I painted 2-3 coats of the Light Cream color. I think I may have used too  much water when mixing up this color because it took more coats to cover.  It was more of a washy effect, but it actually worked out better that way!

Here it is after the final coat of the Light Cream. I didn’t let the last coat dry fully because I knew I wanted a chippy finish but I wanted the Slate blue color to show through as well. I started using my coarse sanding sponge, but it was taking off too much paint for my liking.

 I decided to wet distress using a Dobie pad instead. I got a dish pan and some water and  started rubbing off the Light Cream color to reveal the Slate underneath.  This was a new technique for me…it was really trial and error, but aren’t all projects like that? It ended up coming out exactly the way i envisioned. Happy Accident!

Because I had used some of the Bonding Agent in the paint it adhered more to the wood, but I was fine with that. I didn’t let the final coat of the Light Cream dry fully so it didn’t take that much pressure to remove the top layer of paint. It came out unbelievable!

Here is the final result after I finished wet distressing with the Dobie Pad and water. Just what I wanted!

A closeup of the finish.  See how the blue color underneath comes through, but the cream color also retains its washy, weathered, worn look.  And the color of the wood underneath is such a rich contrast to the blue and white.

Again, here its chipping a bit…perfect!

Now…what to use this piece for?? A bar? A desk? Both? I can’t wait!

The piece originally had  fretwork in the center opening, but it was badly damaged and I pulled it off.  I decided to add some chicken wire that I had leftover from another project I had done and stapled it to the inside of the piece. That lent itself to the farmhouse look I was going for. I used a pair of nippers to take off any remaining chicken wire hanging over.

And here is this month’s contest project finally completed!  I staged this photo so it could be shown as a bar or a serving piece for summer entertaining. I used the mason jar drink dispenser and the mason jars as glasses to give it a “Farmhouse Fun” feel!

I used the Acri Glaze in matte just on the top as the sealer for protection from any spills or dings.

The rest of the piece I used my Johnson’s Paste Wax for protection. I applied with a brush and removed the excess with a rag.

Here it is shown as a writing desk.  I used some galvanized watering cans and, an agriculture poster I had gotten when I went on a vacation to Martha’s Vineyard.  Some old vintage children’s books give it just the right touch.

What an absolute pleasure it was using Old Fashioned Milk Paint! I know I’ll definitely be getting more of this product in the future!  If you’re an active furniture flipping blogger and you’re interested in participating in future contests of  The Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest please contact: info@fabfurnitureflippincontest.com

To see more of the fabulous creations by the other contestants for this months contest click on the links to:

Evey’s Creations

Anastasia Vintage

  I received compensation from Old Fashioned Milk Paint in exchange for writing this review.  Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Saltwash “Coastal Inspirations”

Summer is here! And there’s nothing better than creating a little DIY project with a  coastal touch!  Let me introduce you to Saltwash! If you haven’t heard of this fantastic product let me fill you in!  It’s a powder additive that you can add to any kind of paint and it gives your furniture an incredible, weathered, chippy, saltwashed, time worn textured look!

This month the Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest had Saltwash   sponsor their June contest and I was thrilled!  The theme was “Coastal Inspirations”. I had seen the amazing effect Saltwash gives to furniture and accessories and I couldn’t wait to try this stuff out!

This info is directly from the Saltwash website:

“Saltwash™ is a product, invented to create a unique weather worn, layered sun  and salt air soaked look in just two quick steps. Saltwash™ is made with real sea salt, so you will notice it dries quicker and adheres to almost any surface that takes paint. It was designed to be mixed into any brand or type of paint and used as the base coat. When mixed to the desired consistency, it can be applied to almost any surface that takes paint. Originally intended for furniture, Saltwash™ also has found to give a unique look to walls, flooring, metal and even plastic.”

“Saltwash™ is a low voc product and all of the ingredients in it are considered safe in a working environment. We at Saltwash™ LLC., are very concerned with safety, so we recommend to always take precautions, and because Saltwash™ is a powder, we suggest wearing proper respiratory and eye protection when mixing and sanding.”

This was the table I decided to work on.  It was a freebie from a friend of mine and I thought Saltwash would work perfectly on here!  I had just given it a coat of  white chalk paint.

I had some leftover paint that my dad and stepmom had given me from a project they had done at their house. I can’t remember the name of the color, but it was a very bright green, almost a jadeite green color. It was an eggshell finish.  This was the first color I layered on .

This is the paint mixed with the Saltwash. You want to add enough of the product so that it becomes VERY thick like cake icing.  When in doubt, add more.

I just used my Wooster brush to apply the paint and Saltwash mixture.  Instead of painting, you want to use a pouncing or dabbing motion when applying.

Here you can see the texture starting to come alive.  It adheres wonderfully and it dries very quickly.

Here is the first layer of the green applied. Notice the chunky texture! This is exactly what you want to achieve.  I was thinking about just going over the green with my white topcoat but I wanted more dimension and layering appeal so I decided to add another color over the green.

Here is the second layer of paint and Saltwash.  This was a bright tropical blue, also a leftover paint from a project! Also an eggshell finish.  However, it doesn’t matter what finish you have on hand, Saltwash will mix with any kind of paint!  I just glopped this on!

Love this texture!!  I let each layer dry thoroughly before adding the next.  It didn’t take long, maybe a half hour or so before applying the next layer.

So here is now a picture of the top coat applied over the 2 layers of color. This was just a white that I had on hand. I believe it was Snow White by Benjamin Moore.  I didn’t add the Saltwash to the white.  You use only the paint for the final top coat.

I let this dry overnight.  Look at all the crevices and divots! I am in love!!

Another close up of the white over the green and blue.

This picture is after I sanded with my palm sander!  Look how the blue and green layers of Saltwash come through!  It looks just like its been sitting in a coastal cottage for decades!!  I sanded a lot on the edges because I wanted to bring out some of the wood tones as well.

This is right after I applied my Johnson’s Paste Wax mixed with some dark Provincial Minwax stain.  I just used an old sock and rubbed it in. I wanted an aged, distressed, stained feeling.  I left the excess in the grooves and the corners.

And here it is inside!!

Doesn’t this look amazing? Beachy, weathered and worn and perfect!

I was so addicted to this stuff  I couldn’t help but create a “Beach House” sign as well with all the same colors I used on the table. I can’t wait to experiment on other pieces with other colors. You must try this Saltwash product!!  Try it out. You won’t be disappointed!

The Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest is open only to the entrants who have signed up through the group Facebook page. If you are an active, furniture flippin’ blogger, and you’d like to participate in future contests, we’d love to have you! Please contact us at info@fabfurnitureflippincontest.com to find out how!

I am linking up to these wonderful blogs!

http://www.thirtyeighthstreet.com

http://www.58waterstreet.com

This post contains sponsored links from Country Chic Paint.  All opinions are 100% my own.  This post contains affiliate links. I have received paint from Country Chic to participate in this contest.

Here we are again! Another Fab Furniture Flippin’ contest! This month’s sponsor was Country Chic paint! The theme was “Bling Bling”. We needed to create a piece using their metallic cream paint. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this paint!  I was lucky enough to be able to choose the paint colors I wanted to work with, and I chose Vintage Cupcake and Metallic Cream in Belt Buckle.

I have been waiting for some time  to paint this adorable french provincial nightstand which I had gotten for free and I knew that Country Chic paint would be the perfect choice to make this piece Bling! I chose Vintage Cupcake which is the most beautiful shade of pink and Metallic Cream to give that extra little glam chic. It was exactly what I envisioned on this piece. I wanted something a little glamorous, very french, a little flea market chic, and definitely girly. I also had a beautiful mirror that was originally made to go with a vanity and I decided to paint this pink too, to work with the nightstand.

This is after one coat of the Vintage Cupcake color.  The paint had to be stirred very well before using, but was a really nice consistency and went on very well.  Wonderful adhesion and dried very quickly.

This was after 2-3 coats of  the Vintage Cupcake color. It really went on beautifully and the pigment is delightful! I sanded down the edges to give it more of an aged, distressed feel.

This is after using the Metallic Cream paint in Belt Buckle.  I painted the hardware and then I did a dry brushing over the entire piece.

Visit the Country Chic paint website to order your paint today!

If you’re interested in participating in future contests you should contact: info@fabfurnitureflippincontest.com

Go check out the other entries at these gorgeous blogs….

I am linking up with our featured hosts blogs:

Thirty-Eighth Street

and

Sweet Tea Refinishing

Disclosure: This post contains sponsored links from Pure & Original Paint. All opinions are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links.

I just recently joined the Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest group on Facebook and luckily I got to join and participate in their April Contest sponsored by Pure & Original  Classico Paint! I was so excited to try out this fabulous brand of paint! The April theme is Pure Colors, Original Elegance.  I was able to order 2 quarts of any color so I chose Aged Paper and Green Room.

What’s so wonderful about this Pure & Original Classico Paint, is that it’s 100% mineral chalk and water based paint.  The colors are deeply pigmented and the texture is very thick, no sealant is needed even for outdoor use!  It also comes in over 118 colors.

So this was the sorry state of affairs when I came upon this little kitchen table on the side of the road. I made it just in time, I could hear the garbage truck rounding the corner! It was in pretty good structural shape, but not so much in the surface shape. I knew that I wanted a chippy, distressed, weathered, elegant farmhouse feel and I had a feeling that Pure & Original  Classico paint was the perfect paint to achieve that finish!

I quickly grabbed it and brought it home where I gave it a thorough cleaning and scrubbing. It was pretty disgusting. It had layers of old peeling paint in various states of decay and wear, but I knew I could use this to my advantage. I had wanted to convey a shabby, farmhouse chippy finish anyway so I knew this could work in my favor.

I used Citristrip to take off the many layers of paint off the top and then I used my palm sander to get off the rest. I wanted to keep the top wood. I wanted to try to just oil the top and keep it  a light color, but it had a lot of burn marks on it, so I decided to use a few coats of  Rustoleum’s Kona stain on the top instead.  Thankfully, that really covered the top well, and you can hardly see the marks.

If you notice the blue color,  on the photo above, that was the original color of the  paint.  It didn’t look like the color I had ordered but I was undeterred! I used some spring green tint to darken the color to get more of a jadeite green color and it worked out perfectly! The paint covered in one coat!  Even over all those other coats of god knows what on there! The adhesion is supreme. This table had a lot of coats of peeling, chipped paint on it and when I used the Pure & Original Classico over it, it stuck like glue, and  had a very matte, velvety texture.

This is the packaging by the way…gorgeous and professional!

This is the can of the second quart I ordered, Aged Paper. I got this color because I wanted to use this as a layer over the green color to give the feeling that the table had been weathered and  worn and maybe used as a potting bench/farm table over the years. It worked  like a charm!

This is the end result! Look at this finish! I am so in love with this piece! This is exactly the feeling I wanted to get on this table. I brushed on the Aged Paper color  after I had done 2 coats of the green, and then heavily distressed at the edges and a bit on the flat areas.  The texture is like butter now. The paint feels like velvet!

The detail on this picture shows how the Pure & Original Classico Paint distresses so easily and professionally.  Even though there are many other old layers on there, the Pure & Original covers so well and really looks like its been there for centuries! Just the look I wanted! I just used a soft sanding sponge to take the edges down and the flat areas too.

I used a small amount of  Minwax Jacobean brown stain over the paint with a rag and then wiped it off just to give it more of an aged and antiqued feel.  I left the stain in the cracks and crevices.

You can see the layers of the black and the white and wood underneath.

If you’re an active furniture flippin’ blogger and you’e  interested in participating in this amazing monthly contest email: info@fabfurnitureflippincontest.com

To see more of the entries for this contest, click over to one of these wonderful blogs…

anastasia vintage

http://www.anastasiavintage.com/2016/04/revamped-end-tables-with-pure-original.html

thirty-eighth street

http://www.thirtyeighthstreet.com/2016/04/fab-furniture-flippin-contest-pure.html