Monday, June 25, 2012

Americana Collection Preview

We've been playing in the paint again...
Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP) to be exact!


 We typically turn to milk paint
when we want a very old, distressed finish


I wanted to demonstrate how well 
ASCP is suited to this look, as well

Although Annie's colors are inspired
by Europe and beyond,
they work equally well
on farmhouse pieces such as this
 

We had to do some moderate repairs on this piece
before painting it in a custom blended color
 

My husband and partner in crime, Kenny, 
is busy working on the studio, 
so I've been doing ALL the painting...

as you know, I'm partial to turquoise 
or any blue/green, for that matter..
 

So this piece started out painted entirely
 in the blue green you see peeking out


Kenny pointed out that I've been painting 
EVERYTHING 
some variation on this color lately..
and suggested I repaint it
 

OK, so maybe he had a point...
I decided to work with the base color
and cover it in Old White
 

I applied the Old White quite thick
and let it dry in the sun


The paint crackles on it's own..
it's not as predictable as when I use
the Craqueleur, but in this case
I wanted rustic and random


I did a fair amount of distressing
using a variety of mediums
to achieve the finish I wanted

We do all our distressing by hand
as swirl marks from a mechanical sander
aren't the look we hope to achieve!

We prefer something a bit more organic
that COULD have happened naturally, over time
 

The hardware is original
and I left it untouched
 




I'm thrilled with the outcome
Every aspect works together
to create an eclectic yet classic
piece of furniture

You can find this item in our ETSY shop

Monday, June 18, 2012

Emile Mix

 We had a very hard time capturing 
the soft, smokey violet of this piece

  The hardware, I think, is beyond amazing
We started out with a champagne colored wax
but it sort of vanished against the purple...
The soft gold makes the hardware sing...

 We custom mixed the color
(most accurate in the first photo)
 
 This gorgeous dresser
is off to it's new home in Michigan
for Miss Eden...
her first "big girl" piece!

 We didn't manage to photograph the mirror
but it's equally gorgeous!
This was another custom piece
(same client as that amazing claw-foot chest)
We hope mommy and Eden both LOVE it!

Milkin' it

We wanted to show
how milk paint can be used
for a moderate-to-non distressed look


This amazing piece was 
selected for a particular client
We custom mixed the color
 

The lines and details are simply amazing
 

As you can see from the photos,
Milk Paint can provide full coverage...
 

We did use an additive to help it bond
(the piece was wood, but had varnish)
We did not strip or sand the piece
 

We used Annie Sloan's Craqueleur
over the Milk Paint
and it worked great
 

Milk paint distresses easily
but requires a bit more effort
if you add the bonding agent
 

 To complete our "experiment"
we added a touch of gilding wax
to tie in the awesome original hardware
 

We're thrilled with how this piece turned out...
and equally thrilled to find that 
our favorite products all play nice together!

Sunday, June 17, 2012


We've been feeling a bit adventurous lately
...mixing it up
so to speak

 I actually scored this awesome buffet
thanks to my also awesome friend 
Jen of Jennifer Paris Designs
She saw it and thought of me!


We really wanted to play around with products
milk paint with chalk paint
ASCP wax over milk paint
milk paint clearathane over ASCP

This piece is ASCP
in custom mixed colors

There is no wax on this piece

Instead, we used layers of color wash
to add depth


We sealed the finish
with a water based product



Tomorrow, we'll share
the piece we did with milk pant and ASCP wax

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Call us CRAZY

But we're ALMOST ready...

Mark your calendars

Stiltskin Studios 

Open House!


Sunday, July 1st

Wander in at your leisure
10am-6pm



Check out our CRAZY Warehouse

Relax in our Gallery

And see where we work! 

29712 US 19 North
Clearwater
Suite 413

Questions?


Sunday, June 10, 2012



The generous folks at 
Were kind enough to send us some milk paint...



And we had the PERFECT project for it!



This sad little dry sink was BEGGING for paint...
milk paint, to be exact




 Milk paint is the perfect choice
over old, untreated wood
when your desired look
is distressed and worn
(you can also create other finishes with milk paint,
 but it really is ideally suited for this application)


 We selected "Marigold" for this project


 We wanted some depth, 
so we painted it OVER
 ASCP in Olive...
yep, you read that right...
we mixed ASCP and milk paint
with great results!




Milk paint comes in powder form
and at first, may seem a little intimidating...
just jump in and go for it!

It's a fun product...
and Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company
offers fabulous colors and great service

They also feature a new product called 
"SafePaint" which is best suited for walls...
We'll be trying that, as well...

Wanna try Milk Paint or SafePaint?

Here are the rules for entry:
(US and Canada only, folks)

1. Visit OFMPC and tell us which product/colors you'd love to try, via comment on THIS blog

2. Check out OFMPC on FaceBook and like them if you haven't already

3. Leave another comment letting us know you've "liked" OFMPC

4. Share this giveaway on your blog for an extra entry! 
 Don't forget to leave a separate post letting us know you did!

That's it!

What's up for grabs?

Your choice of the following:

One Gallon of SafePaint
OR
Four Pints of Milk Paint 

Contest ends next Sunday, 6/17

Good luck!!! 


Sunday, May 27, 2012

I KNOW, I KNOW...
YOU WANT A STENCIL, TOO!


Guess what?

Royal Design Studio is awesome...
so awesome, in fact,
 that they are sponsoring a give-away!

A stencil of your choosing, up to $50!

Wanna win?

OF COURSE YOU DO!

Here is what you need to do:
(each counts for one entry!)

1. Pay a visit to Royal Design Studio's website and leave ME 
a post about which stencil you would choose

2."Like" RDS on Facebook then come back here and let me know

3. Follow Royal Design Studio on Twitter then let me know you did

4. Check out Royal Design Studio on Pinterest then let me know you did

Easy Peasy, right??

We'll be selecting a winner on Thursday evening
May 31st

GOOD LUCK!