My Love Affair with MMS Milk Paint Continues

Many of you know that I am a big fan of Marian aka Miss Mustard Seed. I love the vintage vibe she creates with her work. And I love her line of milk paint. Especially the colour Luckett's Green. It seems like such a perfect match for the country vintage look I so love to create. This is the first project where I used this paint, an old washtub stand....

Look at that worn, weathered look. Exactly the kind of finish that I wanted to achieve for this old piece. So when I saw this old farm table at a recent yard sale, my mind immediately conjured up images of a century farm kitchen where this little table would have been used for chopping vegetables or kneading dough.

But it didn't quite have the rustic feel that I was looking for. So I stripped the top of it's original varnish and oil stained it for a glossy finish.

Then I got out the MMS Luckett's Green and because this piece had a varnish on the legs, I used the MMS Bonding Agent for better adhesion.On the previous piece, I hadn't used the bonding agent. So I wasn't really sure how it would turn out. I knew that I wanted the same sort of chippy look as the washtub stand. What I didn't expect was that the paint would literally come off in chunks.

I was also afraid that the chipping would continue and that the finish would come right off. But after waxing it with the MMS clear wax, it seems to have sealed itself to the wood and the finish is exactly what I wanted.

NOW it looks like it's been sitting in a century old farmhouse for a hundred years waiting for the family to come into the kitchen and rustle up some dinner. Chippy, old wood showing through, gorgeous vintage colour.

What kind of results have you been getting when you use the bonding agent on pre-finished pieces?

"Rear Window"

Do you remember that old Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly movie? There's Jimmy Stewart stuck in his hot New York apartment due to a broken leg. Poor Grace comes by each evening to look after him. All day long, he sits staring out of his rear window at all the neighbours and actually thinks he may have witnessed a murder. Classic Alfred Hitchcock.

And what has this got to do with me? Well, I'm beginning to feel a bit like Jimmy Stewart - watching the world go by while I'm stuck as a bystander. No my leg isn't in a cast from toe to hip like Jimmy's. But I am watching my garden come into full bloom and can't do a thing about it with this broken ankle. Hard to weed hobbling around on crutches.

So I'm living vicariously through the internet to share with you some photos of things that are blooming in my garden right now......(these photos are not mine, just a representation of what's blooming out there).

source - Fine Gardening

First up is the cat mint which guards the entry to the "secret garden". It is in full bloom now and quite honestly looks a bit top heavy. I've tried to stake it up with some twigs intertwined through the plant, but it's not helping much. I guess I'll be splitting it next year. Which is fine because I love the purple airy blooms and could do with more of that in other places.

source

One of the first shrubs planted in the secret garden two summers ago was the Ninebark "coppertina". I planted it for it's bronzy foliage and because it was a fast grower. So I was delighted to see that it's showing off some of it's blooms this year. I can just see them peeking over the fence as I sit in my perch on the patio.

source

Another first time bloomer (at least to me) is this peony "bowl of beauty". I vaguely recall having these in another garden at a rented property many years ago and loving it. In fact, it may be the first peony that caught my eye. So I was thrilled to see that this mystery transplant was one of my favourites. It was languishing in the shade up against the garage wall when we moved here. So I transplanted it with hopes that it would bloom. And it did! Of course, my sister had to tell me that it was opened as I could only catch a peek of it through the fence. I did get down there on the crutches to get a glimpse of it before it fades in today's rain.

source - Foxy's Webblog

For those of you who follow my sweet friend Suzan's blog Simply Vintageous, you'll understand this next segment of "she said, he said".

Heather: Honey, can you go out and take a picture of that apricot coloured peony in the back perennial border? (I had spied the single bloom from the kitchen window earlier in the day).

Alan: There's no apricot coloured flower out there. I don't know what you're talking about.

Heather: It was RIGHT THERE!! At the left side of the border. You know how much you love those apricot peonies, so I planted one last year and it has one bloom on it.

Alan: Nope. Don't see it.

Heather: (getting up from the couch and making her way to the kitchen on crutches) Sheesh, do I have to get up and show you? 

Alan: It's not there.

Heather: Oh. Where did it go? (my one single solitary poppy blossom had blown away in the big gust of wind that had come through that afternoon - petals on the ground in one day).

Alan: Told you, now get back on the couch.

Which is where I'm spending today as it's raining outside. Today I can feel better about not being able to get out into the garden. Today I'm already a week into this recuperation that is scheduled to last four weeks. We're getting there. It's all good.