updating the gallery wall and milk paint

Sorry if this post is very similar to a post I posted recently, you might have a slight case of deja vu !

Some time ago CJ at Juniper & Roses sent me some samples of MMS milk paint. She has become a salesperson over here and uses the paints with great skill (just take a look at her header, I wish I owned the plan chest).

I had always wanted the two large dark frames on the gallery wall to be painted a light colour, perfect for trying out the Ironstone sample. I also realised that I could probably squeeze a few extra things in on the right because the gallery wall wasn't quite central to the sofa (and I don't need much of an excuse to put more things on the wall).

I bought the frames years ago in a flea market in Brighton and got glass cut for them and put Klimt pictures in them.

They have no varnish, so were perfect for milk paint.

The milk paint didn't mix very easily and I got a few lumps but the lumps painted out. It also did exactly what it said it would, it stuck, because the frame wasn't sealed at all, so I used a scraper to get a more distressed look.

 

I didn't use the rest of the paint on the other frame, I used it on something very non-porous and shiny, a plastic coated basket, just to see the difference. It flaked off really well, in fact it was hard to get the paint to stick but I did it a couple of times and varnished it once I was happy with it.

 

 

The basket became a shelf in my bathroom, with a bit of wood pushed through the bottom, and although I originally put the toothbrushes here, my brother found it all a bit precarious, so I had to find another solution.

 

 

Anyway, I digress.

 

I used a matchpot on the other frame and distressed it, then stuck a map of Worcestershire to the back of the glass and discarded the back of the frame because I really like the 'floating' look.

 

Also, I love the look of hand-tinted prints, as this is.

 

So, the additions.

I got a No. 9 (I felt at the time that I chose it randomly but actually my birthday is on the 9th - doh !) covered it in a map of the Middle East, but didn't like the clean look, so I touched the edges with an ink pad, then sanded the whole thing gently, and it looked much better.

 

 

I put up my little green head, the one I wrote about here, that Cheryl in Wisconsin had inspired me to fix.

 

 

Then found a frame that was the right width and left it like that for a considerable amount of time.

 

It needed something else but I didn't want another small thing on the wall under the gold frame, so I moved everything down a bit, added white coral to the opening in the top of the green head to fill one gap and used the top of the gold frame like a shelf and put a favourite card on it.

While looking for Christmas presents, I found a little piece to put in the frame, a little glass 'thing' with the quote 'Fashion fades, only style remains the same' Coco Chanel.

Finally, it's finished and I really need to leave this part of the room alone and go do something else.

I definitely prefer the gallery wall without the dark frames, everything seems more mellow.

 

 

 

I managed to paint a whole chair for work with the MMS Tricycle sample, though I had to thin it down to make it cover, but yes, if you're wondering, I would use MMS milk paint again, I'd just buy one of those mini whisks for mixing.

 

THANKS for my samples CJ, I told you I'd do a post one day xx