Mix Any Color Milk Paint – A Tutorial

Hope you’ve all had a relaxing week. It started to hit me that it’s 2014… and not just 2014, but February 2014! And over halfway through February 2014! Already! Although I’m not complaining – the quicker Spring gets here, the better! Then it can slow down….

Back to business – last week I shared this table redo:

And I promised to share the mind blowing discovery which led me to achieve that perfect shade of aqua.

So first, let me tell you again, this was a custom order and my customer wanted a beachy aqua shade with a chippy finish… So? Milk paint, right? Where to find a shade of turquoise? Miss Mustard Seed’s Kitchen Scale may have come close, but my local retailer was over an hour away… I had Old Fashioned Milk Paint’s Federal Blue and Lexington Green… I tried mixing those. Although I loved the color, it was much darker than what my customer was looking for. I had some acrylic white (ok to mix with milk paint as it’s water soluble), so I added some slowly to see if that brought out the aqua tones. Alas, it did not. It changed my pretty, dark blue-green to an ugly shade of khaki. Blah. Redo. Similar outcome. Blah.

Hmmmm… think… think… THINK!  If only I had colorless milk paint and could add acrylic to it… Wait! Colorless milk paint! “Milk Paint Base”! I had seen this at my local Old Fashioned Milk Paint Retailer, and didn’t really pay too much attention as I wasn’t sure where to get “milk paint pigments”. Somewhere along the line, I picked up the little tid bit that water soluble paints can be mixed with milk paint but didn’t think anything of it until it was necessity.

So off I ran to Litchfield Paint & Wallpaper to pick up some Old Fashioned Milk Paint Base. And then to Walmart for acrylic shades. I would have preferred a craft store but we are waiting for our local Michael’s to open. Luckily Walmart had the basics, so I chose an aqua, dark green, dark blue, and a bunch of other colors simply because they were on clearance. And then I headed home to have some fun. The process of using the milk paint Base is pretty much the same as using a colored milk paint – it’s in powder form, mix it with some warm water – I know there are measurements, but I just eye-ball it until I get the consistency I like. Then I added the acrylic paint – did I mention I don’t really measure? A big squirt of aqua, few drops of green, and a drop or two of blue. Mix it all up and voila!

So envision the acrylic paint aisle in your head… See all those colors?! The sky is the limit. Milk Paint Base – amazing!

And to help out with mixing paint colors, I searched online and found this fabulous color mixing chart through Dick Blick that shows a wide variety of colors you can achieve when mixing two colors. Color #1 is on the left and color #2 is on the bottom, go up and across until they intersect (similar to playing Battleship) and that is the color your combination will render. Cool, right?

via Dick Blick

So there you have it! The next time you have a piece and don’t have the right color, make it! Get to mixing!  And if you do, please come back and share what you’re able to accomplish!

If you would like to find a local retailer for Old Fashioned Milk Paint, see the Dealer page on their website.

One additional note – thank you to everyone who has taken the time to follow my blog. This has been a wonderful experience and I am very appreciative of all the kind words! If you haven’t followed yet, there are many options on the right sidebar. I have so much in the works. You won’t be disappointed! And with that, bring on Spring!

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Monday:  Mod Vintage Life – Home Coming – Maison de Pax – Cupcakes and Crinoline – Beyond the Picket Fence – Stone Gable – Dwellings   Tuesday:  Elizabeth and Co. – Common Ground – My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia – Coastal Charm – Knick of Time – Cozy Little House – Tiny Sidekick   Wednesday:  Savvy Southern Style – Glamorous Affordable Life – City Farmhouse – The Dedicated House  Thursday:  No Minimalist Here – Imparting Grace – The Charm of Home – From My Front Porch to Yours – Craftberry Bush – Embracing Change – The Vintage Farmhouse – A Prudent Life   Friday:  Nancherrow – Funky Junk Interiors – Stylish Patina – Redoux Interiors – My Romantic Home – French Country Cottage  – The Shabby Nest – Jennifer Rizzo  – One Project Closer – I Heart Naptime – The Cottage Market   Saturday:  Life on Lakeshore Drive    Sunday:  Nifty Thrifty Things –  Do Small Things with Love – VMG206 – Finding Silver Pennies