Marvelous Miss Mustard Seed Makes Me Motivated!!!!

I need to take a short break from showing off my master bedroom to report back from the trenches in my dining room.

The reason I had a white linen table cloth on my dining table was because it looked like this!!!!!

The two middle leaves had never been refinished, so when I bought the table this is how they were sold to me.

In Watertown, I didn't have room for expanding the table, so it was not a big deal. I just stored them in the broom closet.....

 It had big gouges dug out of the two center leaves.....

How that happened is a long story.....

(OK, it had to do with the way I stored the leaves in my old house.

 As I said, they were in the broom closet, 

and every time the vacuum was pulled out and put back in,

 it rubbed against the leaves.)

(I didn't know this was happening.......

because I was not the person doing the vacuuming!!!!!)

The end of the table was missing a big piece of veneer. 

I used to have this piece.

I KNOW I saved this  piece.

SOMEBODY LOST IT!!!!!

Since I live by myself, I wonder who that was?????

So to cover up this mess, I used a white linen tablecloth.....

I have my large family over to dinner on a regular basis, and it really is a pain always having to wash the damn thing.

So I decided to 

REMEDY THE SITUATION!!!!!

MISS MUSTARD SEED TO THE RESCUE!!!!!

I got the brilliant (in my opinion) idea to paint the top.

I was going to use chalk paint because it requires no prep work.

 (Other than filling in the holes.)

But then, Marion of Miss Mustard Seed fame decided to come out with her own line of milk paint.

Well.....

I am a big fan of the way her stuff chips.

(and it doesn't need any prep work, either!!!)

Yes in deedy do!!!!!

My good buddy Amy Chalmers at Maison Decor is going to be selling this fab paint.

However.....

Marion was not expecting every one and her sister to be chomping at the bit to buy this paint.

SOOOOOOO.......

It's launch date keeps getting pushed back, 'cuz Marion has created a monster!!!!

Well.....

I really wanted to try the chippy look on my table.

But I didn't want to wait any longer, 'cuz my house is getting scouted for Traditional Home Magazine.

So I checked that it would be OK with Amy, and I wrote Marion an email

BEGGING

to sell me some of that there Lucketts Green 

RIGHT NOW, THIS MINUTE, NO MORE WAITING, I'M NOT KIDDING AROUND.....

But before I heard back from her, I started panicking, so ran down to my basement workroom, and mixed up some Annie Sloan paint, working up a color green I could use in my dining room.....

 Then I waxed the paper with dark wax to see what it would look like.....

And I was liking how this was turning out.....

and then I got an email back from Marion!!!!!

Well.....

Marion is a real trooper, and she worked it out with her factory to sell me some of that there stuff!!!!!

Too Cool for School!!!!!!!

Sooooooo.......

I filled the gouges and places with missing veneer with a putty that Amy Chalmers told me about.....

the way her filler came was in a small tube that squeezes out a bead of filler.

My hardware store didn't sell it that way.

Amy is cooler than I am.

I was stuck with this big tub.

 So, I filled and sanded and wiped off the dust.

Moved the leaves down to the basement.....

Put some large cardboard pieces under the table.....

 Then I was ready to go!!!!!

Just had to wait for the paint to arrive!!!!!

It arrived Tuesday!!!

I painted yesterday!!!!!

And I blog today!!!!!

The paint came in a baggy.....

The paint came in a baggy.....

The paint came in a baggy!!!!!

It comes in powder form.....

So it's easy to store, 

won't dry out from old age 

(like I am.)

And doesn't take up a lot of room...

 And it was yellow!!!!!

I freaked!!!!!

I wanted Lucketts Green!!!!!

sooooooo

I called the really nice and patient lady at the factory, 

her name is Jennylyn Pringle.

It's supposed to be yellow!!!!!

It turns green when you mix it with water!!!!!

 So, I got my supplies out, ready to mix this baby up!!!

Made sure I had my phone, so I could call Amy with any questions, or odd comment, or just to say hi.....

Amy suggested I look at Marion's tutorial.....

Sooooo.....

Then I watched Marion's tutorial, and decided to mix it by hand....

 And I painted the first leaf.....

It went on 

So Easy!!!!

 Ran upstairs and painted the table.

Here it is with the first coat.....

Here's the second coat.....

I brought up the leaves that I had painted with two coats....

Put them back in the table, and waited for the paint to start chipping.

'Cuz that's what milk paint does.

It chips.

That's why we like it.

'Cuz it chips.

Why wasn't it chipping????

 Well, sometimes it doesn't.

OY...

So, I started distressing it.

It distresses really nicely.....

So, I kept going, and went too far, as usual.

It would have been OK if the damn thing had chipped. 

(Keep telling yourself that, Betsy)

 No, matter, I could add some more paint!!!

Then I checked my email.

Well!!!!!

Marion had emailed me a REALLY COOL tip!!!!

You can run a putty knife lightly over the surface, to create the chippy look.

She will be making a tutorial to show how to do this.

So I tried it, 

and it was magic!!!!!

I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT!!!!!

It looks like the top is a hundred years old.

Older than Me!!!

(Actually, the table is older than I am, now that I think about it.....)

(Actually, it's over 100 years old now.)

(It wasn't when I bought it....)

(sheesh!!!!)

I need to add a finish coat to the top, and have ordered Miss Mustard Seeds hemp oil. It will come next week, and I am having my family to dinner next weekend.

This time, 

NO TABLE CLOTH!!!!!

This was a very long post.....

Latah, Gatah

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