Mixing Custom Shades of Green
All of the colors in the Miss Mustard Seed’s® Milk Paint are simply stunning. From the depths of Ink Blue to the fresh clean brightness of Farmhouse White, every color is sure to please! While our shades are beautiful straight out of the pouch, there are so many custom colors you can create by combining them in different ratios.
The possibilities truly are endless!
Today, we’d like to inspire you with some custom shades of green we’ve mixed up in the MMS Milk Paint “lab”!
Our Shades of Green
We currently have three main shades of green in our color palette - Layla’s Mint, Lucketts Green and Boxwood. Some of our blues have a green bend to them, like Teal Ocean, but for the purposes of this post, we’re going to focus on our main three greens.
If you’ve never mixed these colors before, you’re in for a surprise when you open their pouches! This is what they look like in powder form:
Lucketts Green is the most surprising of all!
While it may look like it’s going to mix up yellow, the gorgeous green hues make their appearance once the water hits the powdered pigments.
It’s kind of like a science experiment!
Let’s dive into the color profiles of these gorgeous greens so you get a better feel for them.
Layla’s Mint
Layla’s Mint was specially developed for Miss Mustard Seed’s blogging buddy, Layla Palmer of The Lettered Cottage.
This icy shade of green has a surprising warmth and is one of the colors in our European Collection.
Lucketts Green
Lucketts Green got its name from The Old Lucketts Store in Lucketts, Virginia.
Miss Mustard Seed was a star vendor at their annual Spring Market for years, and drew a big crowd every season. As a homage to this store that’s near and dear to her heart, she named this vintage shade of green after the siding on their store.
Boxwood
Boxwood is our rich grassy shade of green. It’s inspired by the varied tones found on the leaves of Boxwood topiaries and preserved wreaths.
We whipped up small batches of each of these greens to concoct our custom shades of green. It didn’t take much time at all!
How to Mix Custom Colors
If you’ve never mixed a custom color using Miss Mustard Seed’s® Milk Paint, here are a few tips:
Make sure you know how to mix Miss Mustard Seed’s® Milk Paint. This seems like a no-brainer, but if you’ve never mixed our paint before, give this tutorial video a watch.
Test your custom color on a scrap piece of wood like a stir stick, popsicle stick or piece of trim to make sure you like it.
Write down your formula so you can replicate it later. You think you’ll remember, but trust us…write it down :)
Understand our recipe formulas. They will read “2 parts this plus 3 parts that”. A “part” can be whatever unit of measurement you wish. It could be a tablespoon, pinch, cup, gram, etc. You determine your “part” by how much paint you need to mix. The unit of measurement isn’t as important as the ratio of one color to the next.
Don’t touch-up custom colors. If you need to fix a spot on your project, mix up enough paint so you can apply a whole new coat. Because custom colors are so specific, touch-ups will most likely stand out because they may be slightly off compared to your original mix.
Watch this video for more tips on mixing custom colors:
Custom Green Color Recipes
Now that you know how to mix custom colors, let’s get to the fun part - recipes!
Since we painted our custom green colors on paint stir sticks, our “part” was a tablespoon. We didn’t need much more than that!
In addition to mixing each of our greens with one another, we also mixed each one with Ironstone for a lighter version. Here are Layla’s Mint, Lucketts Green and Boxwood mixed with 2 parts Ironstone.
Then, we mixed each green with 1 part Typewriter. As you can tell, it doesn’t take much Typewriter to darken your greens!
How about that Layla’s Mint and Typewriter combo, eh? Isn’t that a stunner?
Factors That Impact How Colors Appear
It’s worth mentioning that your custom blends of green may look a bit different than ours. There are lots of factors that can impact how our colors look from one project to another. This is why we recommend you test your custom mixes on a scrap project to make sure you like them. Wooden paint stir sticks are great for this!
Plus some stores will give them to you for free!
The Surface
The surface you are painting has a BIG impact on how your final color looks. Our samples were painted on raw wood paint stir sticks that are rough-cut. The wood is blonde in color and very dry. The Milk Paint soaked right in and you can really see the texture of the wood.
If your project is dark wood, has an existing clear finish or is already painted, your final color may vary from these samples.
Lighting
How many times have you gone to the paint store and chosen a paint chip you absolutely loved, only to find out it looks COMPLETELY different on your walls at home? That’s because the light in your home isn’t the same as what’s in the paint store. Some light bulbs lean more blue and others are warmer.
Even the time of day will change how paint looks! Our samples were photographed near an East-facing window around 10:00 AM. The light was very blue and cool as it bounced off our white porcelain tile background. If you follow our recipes, your end result may not look 100% like ours.
Your screen settings can also effect how color appears to your eyes. Your smartphone, tablet, laptop or monitor can all be set at different temperatures, brightness, contrast and shadow levels.
Topcoat Choices
We topped our sample sticks with hydrating Hemp Oil. This makes our Milk Paint the richest and darkest it can possibly be. Hemp Oil makes our already-gorgeous greens look fantastic, so we couldn’t resist!
If you opt for our clear Furniture Wax, or perhaps some warm brown Antiquing Wax, your final results will be just as gorgeous, but not exactly like these samples.
While all of these factors are good to keep in mind when trying to recreate custom mixes, they are opportunities for you to explore an endless array of combinations! Let your mind run wild and give yourself permission to be creative. Dive into the world of greens and go mix up something beautiful!
