Archives for May 2015

where can you find us?

May 29, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: News

We post many updates on Facebook and send out this email once a week (thanks for reading)! You can find us on other online sites as well…

Instagram is my new favorite social media platform because I am a visual person. I love to look at the photos and hashtags are always fun to play around with. My Instagram feed is a mixture of finished and in work furniture pieces, people or scenes that catch my eye and my family!

We have been revamping our Pinterest boards for a while now and would love for you to check out what we’ve painted and what inspires us! We are going to work on Pinterest more this Summer and would love feedback from you!

I’ve been a Twitter hold out for a while now, but we are making more of an effort to join the Twitterverse on a regular basis! Keeping myself to 140 characters can sometimes be a problem…

mother/daughter stool re-do for a rental

May 27, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: Before & After, News

I had the great pleasure of hosting a mother/daughter (and granddaughter) for a special class last Saturday! I’ve known Jodi and her family for a few years now – our kids were in preschool together. She and her husband would stop by the store with the kids or I’d see them walking home from a Main Street event. I’d been thinking for a few months that I hadn’t seen them lately, and then Jodi contacted me about a class to re-do some bar stools for their new rental property. They have been working on the rental property for many months and THAT is why I hadn’t seen them. Check out these amazing before and after shots of the house – time well spent, I’d say!

I was thrilled to set up the class! It was Jodi’s Mother’s Day present to her mom. Here is where we started…

These stools have sturdy construction and great legs, but were lacking a polished, finished look that they wanted for the kitchen in the rental house. We looked at our sample boards and decided on Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in Typewriter to match the fabric on the upholstered seat.

Here they are working hard – I admire a lady who can balance a cup of tea and a wax brush…

And, here’s how they turned out, up close and in the space…

It was a fun class for all of us! And, the ladies learned all about mixing, applying and finishing milk paint! If you are looking for a rental home in the Village of Zionsville, please contact Jodi at jodi@eponian.com. If you are interested in scheduling a special Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint class, please contact me at erica@fivethirtyhome.com.

before and after: china cabinet in marzipan

May 25, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: Before & After, Milk Paint, News

When this china cabinet arrived at the barn, I knew it needed a special, soft finish. One of our great customers, Roseanne, came in the store a few weeks ago looking for a china cabinet. After I showed her the “before” picture, we came up with a plan. Roseanne really liked the french provincial set of furniture we had in the store back in the spring, so we decided to finish the same way. Two coats of Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint and a protective coat of white wax later, here she is…

before and after: black cabinet

May 25, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: Before & After, News

Now that we’ve been in the store for a while, we get asked if we are interested in purchasing items from our customers. (The answer is yes, just send a picture to erica@fivethirtyhome.com). I bought a few pieces from one of our great customers, Tracy, and we gave it two coats of Heirloom Traditions Black Bean. We finished with Miss Mustard Seed’s Antiquing Wax and here she is…

We decided to paint over the decorative painting that was on the piece originally because there were lots of knicks and rough spots. I love the way it turned out and so do the new owners!!

new hardware, pillows and signs

May 21, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: News

We debuted our newest Zionsville goods at the Brick Street Market last weekend. We are very excited to introduce Zionsville longitude and latitude signs and pillows as part of our growing collection of Indiana and Zionsville home decor! The signs are available in black with white lettering and the pillows are burlap with black lettering. Stop in soon to pick one up for a gift or for yourself. Zionsville items make great teacher gifts!

Also new in the store this week, lots and lots of new hardware! We just received a large collection of new ceramic and metal knobs. When you come in to pick up some Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint, be sure to check out the hardware bin for some sweet knobs to finish your masterpiece. Aqua, blue, red, teal, hammered brass, glass. . . the list goes on and on!

Brick Street Market Recap

May 20, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: Events, Milk Paint, News

What a fun, fun day we had on Saturday! It was rainy, but the vendors and shoppers seemed to have a great time!

I really loved our outdoor setup this year. The letters were a big hit (so big that Jim is going to meet with the salvage guy again this week for more!) And, we planter herbs in these vintage teacups and mugs…

We also brought out a huge shelf filled with pillows, our Zionsville bags and dough bowls…

The inside of the store was packed almost all day and we have some new furniture to share with you later this week. Here’s a funny picture of sweet Maddie picking one of our Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint Starter kits…isn’t she the cutest?

A huge shoutout and thank you to Dusky and Julie of the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce for another fantastic event! (and my demo was fine – yikes)

before and after: secretary in typewriter

May 18, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: Before & After, News

They really are my favorites. In fact, the next secretary may have to come to my house. I’m not sure if it’s the lines or the fact that you can close all of your junk away and hide it from the world? We probably have about five per year. but we are on pace to double that this year (as long as we can keep finding them!).

We found this secretary at Old Picket Fence in Noblesville, where we are both vendor and shopper! It was in good shape, but I thought it would really pop if painted. Because it was a deep mahogany, we decided on Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in Typewriter on most of the piece. We did leave the lattice, the shelves and the inside storage in the natural wood and rejuvenated those areas with Miss Mustard Seed’s Hemp Oil. Isn’t she a beaut?

before and after: trophy sofa table

May 18, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: Before & After

Sometimes we just don’t know what color to paint a piece. This sofa table was really stumping us, so we looked back at some of our favorite pieces we’ve painted and decided Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint Trophy paired with this sweet little turquoise knob deserved another look on another piece. We painted 1 coat of trophy with a little touch up and finished with furniture wax. The knob is the perfect exclamation point, don’t you think?

classes

May 15, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: Events, Milk Paint, News

Our classes are so much fun! Just ask our students:

“My friends and I had so much fun meeting up in Zionsville for the class at fivethirty home last week. Just a quick note to say thanks – I’ve done one table at home and I am hooked. I need to find more things to paint!”

Milk Paint 101 is a great class to learn the basics plus a little extra! We will teach you how to mix, paint and finish your piece. We will let you in on a few of our secrets (what kind of sandpaper do we use? how do we mix waxes together to get different finishes? how can you get the chippy look on raw wood?)

We also can do certain specific classes upon request. Have a group of ladies who would like to do a sign class on a Friday evening? Let us know! We’ve done a few specialty classes like this one for sisters who were stenciling old cabinet doors for their family cabin…

I’m doing a class this month for a mother, daughter and grandmother who are going to give new life to two older bar stools! I can’s wait.

Our scheduled 101 classes are: May 22 (2 spots left), June 19, July 17

We hope to see you in the store soon!

new products: cavallini papers

May 13, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: News, Paper Goods

Paper crafting was my first craft love. Long before I picked up a paint brush, I would spend hours in Michaels, Hobby Lobby and specialty scrapbooking stores. I loved looking at the stickers and stamps, the punches and paper. It was a great field trip when my kids were little and I still have the Thomas the Tank Engine scrapbook paper to prove it!

Since we started the store, I’ve mostly left the paper crafts to my friends who make the cards for the store. My pal, Kristen, made cards when we first opened and I was lucky enough to enlist another friend, Lynn, when Kristen needed to step away!

I’ve wanted to add to the cards for a while — if you’ve been in the store lately, you know we have! We are so pleased to carry Cavallini & Co. papers. We are starting with more wrapping paper (we’ve had a few styles since Christmas and people seem to like them). Here’s a sample…

We are also carrying a large assortment of map items – wrap, journals, sticky notes, multi-packs…

We have lots of great spring journals and accessories also — here’s our paper display in the store!

Come in and check it out! Available online soon!!

before and after: eualie’s sky radio table

May 11, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: Before & After

This piece came to us with the faded cream and gold of the 1960’s era finishes. One of the many things I love about Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint is painting directly over the old finish. We mixed up 1/2 cup of Eulalie’s Sky paint powder, 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of bonding agent and got great adhesion with no prep work! Finished with a light sand and a coat of furniture wax, this old radio table has a brand new look…I think it would be great as a side table or a nightstand in a little girl’s room!

before and after: lucketts green rustic table

May 11, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: News

This little rustic table didn’t take long at all to do! Two coats of Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in Lucketts Green, a coat of Furniture Wax and two of our knobs from the Hardware Bin. Look at how cute she is!

upcoming event: brick street market – may 16th

May 8, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: Events, News

This year is the 30th anniversary of Zionsville’s Brick Street Market. It has always been one of my favorite events in Zionsville – I was even a vendor in 2003 with my stationary and cards! Since we’ve opened the store, I’ve learned some of the stories about the origins and I’m so happy to know some of the people that started it 30 years ago: Sandy Rogers, owner of the Butler’s Pantry; Jan and Ralph Stacy, former owners of Stacy LaBolt’s and the Duckworths, Indianapolis area antique legends.

On May 16, 2015, our Main Street will host over 175 vendors, have a community stage with music and demos, and have lots of great food and fun! And, as always, it is free admission! Come for the whole day, walk around and enjoy the great shopping to be had!

If you are coming, be sure to be near Cedar and Main at 10 am where Maddie and I will be doing a Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint Demo! We would love to see lots of our customers in the crowd and there may even be a giveaway or two!

We can’t wait to see you!

Colors of the Month: Eulalie’s Sky and Linen

May 6, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: Color of the Month, News

Happy Spring! What a glorious week it has been! The sun is shining (mostly), the birds are singing (very, very early) and the temps are warm (finally)! We have two beautiful, soft colors as the Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint Colors of the Month for May: Eulalie’s Sky and Linen.

Eulalie’s Sky is a light aqua named for the sky in one of Marian’s cow paintings in her home. We love the softness and blue hues of this color. We often finish with Miss Mustard Seed’s White Wax for a beautiful white washed look. Here are some of our favorites in Eulalie’s Sky:

Linen is the off-white or creamy white of our line. It has a base of yellow tones and is beautiful with a soft Antiquing Wax finish. Here are some of our favorites in Linen:

before and after: the cutest little table I ever did see

May 4, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: News

This is literally the tiniest, cutest table I’ve ever laid eyes on! It is about 8″ square on top and maybe 18″ tall. But, wow, add a coat of Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in French Enamel and something really tiny makes a BIG impact. How cute would this be in a guest bathroom or old fashioned parlor?

before and after: mora side tables

May 4, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: News

These side tables were a great find because they have a large top but look delicate because of the turned leg. They were pretty dark so we decided to go with one of the new Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint colors, Mora. It is a green-gray and changes to more green or more gray depending on the light. We think they turned out quite nicely with a light coat of our custom mix of Antiquing Wax and Furniture Wax! What do you think??

before and after: grain sack sideboard

May 1, 2015 by Erica Carpenter Filed Under: News

These are my faves, with the curved front and original Chippendale hardware, it’s hard to do better. We did a coat of Miss Mustard Seed’s Tough Coat to stop any bleed through that may pop up. Tough Coat is a newer addition to the Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint line. It can be used as a sealer as well as a primer. We recommend Tough Coat for pieces requiring water cleanup (kitchen table) or cabinets exposed to lots of moisture (bathroom).

Immediately after the Tough Coat was dry (30 minutes or so), we applied two coats of Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in Grain Sack with bonding agent mixed in. We add bonding agent to most of the pieces we paint because our customers seem to like the lightly distressed edge look more than the chippy look. We then finished with our custom mix of Furniture and Antiquing waxes.

And, this piece came with a piece of custom pre-cut glass that we are selling along with it. The glass alone is probably well over $150! It is still available.