DIY Projects

Date

May 10 2021

Written By

Gene Howard

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Textured & Layered Finish Using Milk Paints And Cracked Gesso

Written By Gene Howard - May 10 2021

Textured & Layered Finish Using Milk Paints And Cracked Gesso

Create a textured, layered, custom colored finish with me today! This finish will work on a piece of furniture with a factory finish or wood. I want to show you how to create custom colors with the Milk Paint, you will love it.

Here's Your List Of Products Needed

Bauhaus Buff

Milk Paint - Tuscany In The Summer, Noir, and Amalfi Coast

Pigment Powder in Loire Earth

Cracked Gesso

Antiquing Glaze

Step 1: Apply Your Base

We are going to use Bauhaus Buff One Step Paint as a base. You can paint this over a factory finish! Let this paint dry before going to the next step. 

Step 2: Your First Layer Of Your Milk Paint Custom Color

Take your Tuscany In The Summer Milk Paint and mix it with Loire Earth Pigment Powder in their dry form to get your custom color. Add water to get your Milk Paint ready - you want to mix 1 part water to 1 part paint. It will be thin!

Pounce and spread your Milk Paint onto your piece. There is no rhyme or reason for how to paint it, but you don't want a lot of bubbles. Let your paint dry. 

Step 3: Cracked Gesso

The Cracked Gesso will crack the Milk Paint. Mix one part Cracked Gesso to one part water (preferable lukewarm). I used 1/2 a cup of each, it will be the consistency of a thin sour cream. Take a chip brush, load it up, and pain the Cracked Gesso onto the piece. You want to pounce it on because that will add more texture.

Step 4: Your Second Custom Milk Paint Color

Mix 3 parts Amalfi Coast Milk Paint and 1/2 part of Noir Milk Paint. You want to mix them in their dry form and then add 1 part water to 1 part paint.

Paint your milk paint onto your piece with a chip brush. Let it dry 15-20 minutes.

 Step 5: Time To Antique!

Take your Antiquing Glaze and a sponge - do one pass of the glaze over your piece. Let it set for a few seconds. 

Now that the paint is ready to start lifting, take more glaze and pulling the paint.

If you take too much off - just take your finger, dip it in your milk paint, and re-add it to your piece.

Date

January 07 2021

Written By

Gene Howard

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Get This Look: Chippy Barnwood Painted Finish

Written By Gene Howard - January 07 2021

Get This Look: Chippy Barnwood Painted Finish

On Get This Look this week, Amy shows you how to recreate a Chippy Barnwood Painted Finish! Watch her video below and give it a try. You're going to LOVE how this turns out...

Products Needed:

Instructions:

1. If you're starting with raw wood you will want to stain it. Amy used English Walnut Gel Stain, apply it with the grain and liberally everywhere. Then lightly wipe it off with a lint free rag, be sure you don't have any streaks. Gel Stain will take about 30 minutes to dry on raw wood.

2. Now it's time for Cracked Gesso! Cracked Gesso is the key and allows us to get this gorgeous finish. You will want to mix the Gesso with water, you are looking for a consistency similar to thin sour cream or pancake batter. Amy took 2 hearty spoonfuls and mixed it with tap water. Be sure to stir the granules very well. The more cracks you want, the more Gesso you want to put on. 
  
3. Apply your Gesso with a chip brush, going with the grain. Be sure to get the Gesso all over the piece. Lighten up your touch as you are going over the piece, this way you will avoid brush strokes. Allow this to dry for 30-40 minutes. Now sand your Gesso with 220 grit sandpaper before your next coat, sand with the grain. There will be residue coming up, this is what we want! Apply your second coat of Cracked Gesso, let it dry, and sand.
4. Time to mix your Milk Paint. You want this to be much thinner than your Gesso, we will do a 1:1 ratio of Milk Paint and water. The Milk Paint will be runny, this is perfect! Take your Chip Brush and apply the Milk Paint over your Cracked Gesso, 100% coverage. Let your Milk Paint dry. 
 
5. Take your Antiquing Glaze and get two cups, one that is water and one that is Antiquing Glaze. Amy cut her Antiquing Glaze with a little bit of water for this project. Take your sea sponge and dip it in your water, then dip it in your Antiquing Glaze. Start pouncing your sponge on your piece and work in sections, work in organic sections. Wet the entire section with your Glaze. Put your sponge in your water to clean it, dip in the Antiquing Glaze and do another pass. Pat with a lint-free rag so you can see how the paint is being pulled. Add more glaze to areas where you want the paint to be pulled more. 
 
6. If too much product came off when you were Antiquing, easily fix it with your Milk Paint! Use the side of your chip brush to re-apply. Let this dry for 15 minutes.
 
7. Take your Light Wax and Chip Brush, load up your brush and offload. Lightly apply the wax here and there. You do not want heavy coverage. Take your Dark Wax on a different brush, load it up and offload. Come around the edges of your piece and dust the wax then fan it into the center. 
 
8. Sprinkle some Dust of Ages onto your piece and work it into the finish with a Chip Brush. Then buff it with a lint-free rag, in the same direction as how you painted and antiqued the piece. 
 
ENJOY THE BRAGGING RIGHTS!

Date

September 02 2020

Written By

Gene Howard

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Turn Your Pine Table From Drab To Fab

Written By Gene Howard - September 02 2020

Turn Your Pine Table From Drab To Fab

 

Amy Howard At Home Contributor, Tamara Hudson, is here to show you how to take your drab Pine table and make it fab! She uses various techniques to give the table a new life with some of the original wood peeking through. 

Products Used:

Step 1 - Clean:

Clean with Clean Slate. Needed some elbow grease.

Step 2 - Stain:

Apply Gel Stain in English Walnut. I used a chip brush to apply and a stain pad to wipe off after it started to dry a little bit.

Step 3 - Paint The Legs:

While that dried, I painted 2 coats of One Step Paint in Black on the legs and apron of the table.

Step 4 - Paint The Top:

I dry brushed a coat of One Step Paint in Ballet White to the tabletop a couple of days after the stain was good and dry. I chose to dry brush because my client wanted some of that darker wood showing through.

Step 5 - Cracked Patina:

Then I applied Cracked Patina just here and there in different places on the tabletop. When that dried, I came back in and laid down another light coat of One Step Paint in Ballet White and let it do its thing.

Step 6 - Cracked Gesso:

I probably could have left it alone here, but it just didn't have the depth and character my client was after. So I tried adding something else. I mixed up some Cracked Gesso and painted the whole tabletop.

Step 7 - Milk Paint:

After the Cracked Gesso dried I added a layer of Toscana Milk Paint in Strasbourg White. I really like the different colors and textures of white that were layered on top of each other.

Step 8 - Sand:

I used 220 grit sandpaper to lightly sand the tabletop. I just wanted to knock down some of the heavy cracking to soften the look a bit.

Step 9 - Seal:

I would normally use light and dark antiquing wax next, but my client plans to use this piece on their covered porch. I chose to do 3 coats of Matte Sealer to protect it from the elements.

Step 10 - ENJOY THE BRAGGING RIGHTS!

Set the table, fire up the BBQ Grill, and ENJOY THE BRAGGING RIGHTS!

Date

August 12 2020

Written By

Gene Howard

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How To Use Milk Paints | Finish Friday

Written By Gene Howard - August 12 2020

How To Use Milk Paints | Finish Friday

Amy goes through different ways you can use our Toscana Milk Paints during the latest Finish Friday! 

Click Here To Shop Toscana Milk Paints

Amy's Tip: You want to make sure your Milk Paint is not too thick. You want it to drip, this will make it easier to antique! You do not want your Milk Paint to be the same consistency as One Step Paint.

 

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