Hello everyone! It’s Wednesday– hump day, middle-of-the-week day, only-two-more-days-til-the-weekend day!
Don’t you just love Wednesdays? After this day, the workweek is half over, and its all downhill. We’ve been flying around–busy as can be–with painting custom orders, keeping store inventory, and as always prepping for the next Vintage Warehouse sale. (It will be September 11-13 at 525 Northern Avenue in Hagerstown, MD. Don’t forget to mark your calendar!) So, we haven’t had a ton of time to write posts for this little space. Sometimes, actually recording the creative projects we do falls to the bottom of our messy to-do lists! However, staying busy is a good thing, right?
Today we decided to share some of our favorite chalkpaint and crafting products outside of the realm of Annie Sloan Chalkpaint.
Gasp! You mean Denise and Bobbi use paint other than Annie Sloan? Isn’t that sacrilege? Betrayal? Treason??
Not at all! We keep an arsenal of awesome products which we mix and match in order to achieve the exact custom look we want. And want in on a secret? We carry most of these products at our downtown Frederick store.
A Repurposed and Refined favorite: Miss Mustard Seed milkpaint
Hold up. Milkpaint? Paint made from milk? Do you mix it with milk? Wouldn’t that stink? What on earth are you ladies talking about? Okay, now, hold on. Let us explain.
Created by Marian (aka “Miss Mustard Seed”), milkpaint utilizes an old-old formula for paint. Unlike the stinky paint substances you get at the hardware store, milkpaint is created with all-natural ingredients, containing elements like limestone, clay, and natural pigments. So why is it called milkpaint, then? Because it contains casein, milk protein. Even better… this awesome natural formula renders milkpaint non-toxic and contains no VOCs. This paint works well on wood, plaster, and drywall–both indoors and out– and often imparts a “chippy,” organic look to your projects.
While we mainly utilize Annie Sloan in our furniture inventory and projects, we also love this great paint brand. We are a certified local retailer of Miss Mustard Seed products. Stop by our store to check out the array of milkpaint that we carry. Want to learn more about Miss Mustard Seed? Visit her blog and website here.
Another Repurposed and Refined favorite: Artisan Enhancements products.
Another product we carry at our downtown Frederick store is Artisan Enhancement products. Like Annie Sloan and Miss Mustard Seed, these creative mediums are eco-friendly, with zero to very low VOCs. Artisan Enhancements are great products for adding a little something extra to your projects. Want more than just that velvety chalkpaint finish? Need some crackle, shine, or scumble in your life? Then these products are for you.
Some of our go-to’s include:
Crackle Tex: a clear medium that produces a natural chipped or crackled affect to your paint. Similar to old plaster.
Leaf & Foil: a medium for applying leaf or foil to your projects.
Pearl Plaster: a medium used to create an opalescent or pearly finish to your work. Check out our Instagram for a recent client custom job using this product!
Transfer Gel: a transparent medium used to transfer an image or design onto your project. It can also be used to decoupage.
Interested in trying out one of these products? Don’t be intimidated! Visit the Artisan Enhancements website for tips and how-to’s.
Happy painting, everyone!