I love planning a special birthday gift for my Mom.

Years ago when I lived in Des Moines, Iowa I took her to a Hibachi restaurant. The picture taken at the end of the meal was the chef standing behind us, wielding his 12 inch long, sharp, glistening machete over our heads. We had no idea he was posing until we saw the picture.  A great memento from a fun and yummy evening.

After moving to the Minneapolis area, for several years the gift was a ticket to The Minneapolis Homes Tours. Decorators from the metro would showcase their vision for the different rooms of the house they were assigned.  We took many ideas from those multi-million dollar homes, watered them down and applied them to our own decor.

This year I wanted to do something a little different.

I have mentioned many times that I am an avid reader of the Miss Mustard Seed blog.  Marian Parsons is Miss Mustard Seed and she is based out of the Pennsylvania area.  Among other things, she shares amazing furniture finds, many purchased from Craigslist ads.  Marian then gives these pieces a second chance in life by painting them from her personal milk paint line.

I swore if I ever got the chance to meet her and her assistant Kristie, I would not pass it up.  Well the gods heard me and a shop in Wisconsin named The Ironstone Nest was selling tickets for a Miss Mustard Seed workshop.

My parents live in Wisconsin, the date of the workshop was three days after my Mom’s birthday and my Mom reads Miss Mustard Seed also.

Win, win and win.

The workshop was from 2-6pm and very well organized.

There were about 38 people attending.  37 women, all with different painting skill levels and one very creative man.

Laura, the owner of The Ironstone Nest welcomed everyone and then introduced Marian.

Marian briefly told the story behind her paint line development and introduced Kristie, who is just as amazing and a creative force in her own right.

Included in the workshop fee was a piece of furniture, plus all of the paint, waxes, oils, brushes and supplies. The pieces to choose from were all surprisingly impressive. There were side tables, small coffee tables, chairs, nic nac shelves and stools all placed together and available for pre-workshop viewing.

Little side story…whoever had come the farthest got to go first in selecting which piece of furniture they wanted to work on. You guessed it, I got to go first!

My Mom picked an oak chair and I picked a small side table.

So as we were lightly sanding our pieces and mixing our milk paint, Marian and Kristie walked around answering questions and teaching several types of finishes that could be created using the milk paint line.

I thought it would be a little intimidating painting a piece as two professionals stood by but they were both so gracious and humble in letting you create your vision.

As I mentioned, this was a four hour workshop. The time flew by!

Here is my official before and after picture from the day.

And here is the detail shot along with the finished product sitting in my family room.  🙂

If you have a painting project you need to work on I highly recommend the Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint line.

Maybe even ask your Mom over to work on a project with you.  🙂

Love you Mom, I hope you had a Happy Birthday!