The Paint-to-Sell Resource Page
3 Things for Paint-to-Sellers
Free Business Help
I understand what it’s like to “feel all alone” when you’re running a creative business. But believe me, you’re not. There a ton of people just like you and me out there!
As my business has grown, I’ve tried to keep things real, and also keep things practical. That’s why I write about business, not just pretty makeovers.
SCROLL DOWN below to find every business related post I’ve ever written. It should be a great place to find some help, or at least know you’re not the only crazy person out there trying to bless their family by doing what they love 😉
Save Money on Paint
If you’re a painter who orders their supplies online, then you might be interested in my PAINT PARTY CLUB.
I sell Fusion & MMS Milk Paint at lostandfounddecor.shop, and for serious painters like you, I provide a lifetime 15% off discount off any order of any size. That’s basically free shipping (and then some) off most medium to large orders.
The lifetime discount code is sent to you after you reach $500 in total orders (but…sneak peak…you’ll also get a few coupon codes to use way before you reach a $500 total).
Furniture Flipper eBook
Are just starting your business? Or have you been going for a while, but want to make sure you’re making as much profit as possible?
Furniture Flipper is a great resource that I wrote for people just like you. Painters with a passion for turning their hobby into a business.
GO HERE to check it out and see if it’s right for you.
Posts to help you with your business
Welcome to Lost & Found’s Studio
Hey Friends! Today is the day to take you on a tour of our new Painted Furniture & Home Decor Studio! This little space has been seven years in the making. From a rented antique booth space the size of a jacuzzi bathtub to our own brick and mortar shop,...
4 Steps to Take your Antique Booth from Hobby to Business
If you're a booth seller and you're ready to take your antique booth from hobby to business, then this article is just for you. When I started Lost & Found over 7 years ago, it was really more of a hobby than a business. Sure, I was hoping to make a...
4 Tips for taking your family to Disney World
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that our family recently did a little bit of traveling 🙂 We were able to spend a few days at Walt Disney World, also known as The Happiest Place on Earth (or the Hottest Place on Earth, Most Crowded Place...
My Top Business Tools for your Creative Business
Seven years ago, on a whim, I started my business - Lost & Found. I really was just looking for a hobby, something fun to do that would give me a creative outlet. But I knew that I needed to have it generate some income as well--I mean, why not have...
5 Reasons You Aren’t Making Money in Your Booth or Vendor Business
I LOVE a booth business! Starting my own 7 years ago was one of the best decisions I've ever made. It gave me the opportunity to put my creative skills to use and has been a consistent source of income for my family. All while letting me continue to be at home with...
Small Business Insights from My Trip to Niagara Falls (at the Fusion Mineral Paint Merchant Conference)
Hi Friends! While this post DOES have some small business insights, I'll confess that it's also about 80% pure eye candy 🙂 I had to share these amazing images with you from my recent trip to Niagara Falls. They are too amazing NOT to share! Have you ever been? It...
What I Learned from My Chat with Miss Mustard Seed
Yes . . . You read the title of this post correctly! I recently had the amazing privilege of sitting down for a chat with Marian Parsons, THE Miss Mustard Seed herself! If you've been following me for any amount of time, you know that this...
An Attempt to Stay Authentic in a Digital World
Just a few months ago, this blog turned five years old! In those five years, we've covered all sorts of topics--from how to shop at flea markets to how to do a DIY kitchen renovation, with tons and tons of furniture makeovers in between. It's kinda fun to look back...
Gearing Up to Help You Succeed – 4 New Things Coming in 2018
First off, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you who emailed me and commented on the last post I shared. This has been such a warm and encouraging community and I appreciate you all so much! As I mentioned at the end of that post, I have some new...
Business Changes & Major Family Events: My 2017 Year in Review
Wow, I honestly can’t believe the end of the year is here! I remember being a kid and how time seemed to move soooo slowly, and how my mom would always tell me that it would move much faster once I grew up and had a family of my own. She certainly was...
Why I’m Now Selling Milk Paint . . . In Case You’ve Been Wondering!
To all of my regular readers . . . I owe you an apology. I think I may have confused a lot of you! After two years of posting about Fusion Mineral Paint, all of a sudden I've started talking about something else entirely--Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint. Like a...
Meet Lost & Found’s Newest Retail Space | Lyla’s Clothing, Decor & More
So last week I promised you all a tour through my new retail space . . . Here it is! Today I am excited to walk you through Lyla's Clothing, Decor & More, a lovely little boutique in downtown, Plano Texas. Quick background on how I found this...
New Finds for the Antique Mall: What I’m Selling
Hey friends! It's been awhile since I have posted about any of my finds. To be honest, I'm not out on the hunt quite as often as I used to be simply because I struggle to find the time! But I did make it to a few markets over the past month and did some Facebook...
5 Tips to Stage Your Flipped Furniture Photos
Today I want to talk a little business with you all, specifically about how to set up and stage attractive, well-thought-out, professional looking photos of your furniture makeovers. Some of you may cringe as I mention photography, thinking "I'm just a painter!...
New Display at Antique Company Mall Booth & Surgery Update
Today marks the 9th day since my spinal surgery (wondering why? Read about that here), and it's for sure been the best day yet! Thank you so much to everyone who left encouraging comments here as well as on my Facebook page and Instagram feed! I really felt the...
Growing Pains | Changes Coming in 2017
Let me start off by saying I don't really have anything practical to share in this post. No decorating ideas, or furniture painting tips, or antique finds. In a way, this is an "old school" post--more like the posts I wrote back when I first started this blog,...
Top Posts of 2016
Happy New Year!! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday time. For our family, this past holiday season was as full as ever--with trips to see family, kids' Christmas programs, and what seemed like a million gifts bought and wrapped! I don't know about you, but...
Christmas Wishes and New Year Dreams
Hello dear friends! I am sending along with this post the warmest of Christmas wishes for you and all of your loved ones. Wherever the year has taken you, my hope is that you can spend some time resting in the Joy and Hope of the Season. ...
How To Take Better Blog Photos Without Breaking the Bank
When I started blogging over four years ago, I was lucky because I had a lot of photography experience already under my belt. I had a great DSLR camera that I knew how to work well, and had been taught the basics of photography staging and editing. So right from...
Let’s Talk Options: Where to Sell your Flipped Furniture Makeovers
A little over 9 years ago I made my first attempt at selling some of my painted furniture makeovers. We were living in a small town in Arkansas, in this adorable, historic Craftsman bungalow home. I set up in my yard pieces I had collected and made over, along with...
Achieving Big Dreams with Free Printable
Do you have big dreams? I do. I dream about one day writing a book--not an ebook, but one of those old-fashioned paper ones, on some deep, meaningful topic. I dream about being a traveling speaker; about going to women's conferences around the country and...
Family Beach Trip and Blog Update
Hey friends! Summer is officially in full-swing! I hope you and yours are enjoying these long, slow days and maybe grabbing some extra family time. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you probably saw that our family spent a little time at the beach about 2...
Can You Make Money Selling at an Antique Mall?
I read a post on a blog a few years ago that detailed all of the expenses that go along with renting a booth space to sell at an antique mall. According to this blogger, it was not good news--most people who sell at an antique mall rarely, if ever, actually make...
Brand New Fusion Mineral Paint Colors–Tones for Tots Collection
Happy Weekend everyone!! I'm helping to spread the news about Fusion Mineral Paint's brand-spankin' new line of colors! This is the Tones for Tots Collection, and the color palette is designed with infant nurseries and children's spaces in mind...
A Stop in My Antique Booth – The Story Behind the Stuff
There are 4 different parts of my business, Lost & Found:Writing the blogSelling the paintPainting custom work furnitureStocking my antique boothIt all started with my antique booth though, and even though I don't put as much time into that aspect...
Just some Thoughts
We had a nasty hail storm last night right around dinnertime. It had been raining on and off all day, and around 6:00 pm it got really dark again and the weather sirens started going off. Sadly, those things have kinda become like the Boy...
It All Started with the Antique Booth
This February marks 4 years since I started Lost & Found. The anniversary is easy to remember, because I moved into my booth space at Antique Company Mall just a few months before my third son was born (kinda nuts, I know!) So every year that he...
Water Your Own Grass
I spent a good part of this past weekend at a women's gathering hosted by my church. In the flurry of various speakers, discussion questions, and breakout sessions, there was one statement made that grabbed my attention and drove itself down into my...
Salvaging the Lost Little House
I love old things. I am more comfortable in a dilapidated, run-down neighborhood than I am surrounded by clean, fresh, modern buildings. I feel at home when I am in an old place. With that said, it's kinda comical that I have landed in a very sanitized,...
How To Start Your Own Furniture Painting Business – Furniture Flipper eBook Release!
Today is the day!!! Furniture Flipper: A Short Guide to Starting Your Own Furniture Painting Business My ebook is now available for download! I feel giddy 🙂 I have always wanted to write a book. But I never thought the first book I write though would be about...
10 Ways to Develop Your Home Based Business This Year
Here is one of the biggest lessons I've learned while trying to run my home-based business: To see the growth I want to see, I needed to treat my work like an actual business. It's not just something I do in my spare time while I'm hanging out at...
Lighting Giveaway and Announcement!
I have a thing for lighting. For me, the kind of lighting in a space makes a big impact on how I feel when I'm in there. For example, big, bright, overhead flourescent lights make me want to crawl into a hole and never come out. Soft, glowing table lamps make me...
How to Remember Your Passion While Running a Small Business
This past year has really been amazing for Lost & Found. What started 3 years ago as somewhat of a hobby has grown into a real, all-out small business. And honestly, while watching Lost & Found grow has been amazing, it's also been a...
Suncreek Market Wrap-Up
This past week I set up a small display at a local church holiday market. I wasn't planning on it being a huge moneymaker, but rather a chance to interact with more customers about the benefits of working with Fusion Mineral Paint. Since I mainly sell Fusion out...
Finding Fall Link Party
It hasn't happened yet, but it won't be much longer . . . The moment my heart jumps for joy! It's when I show up at the grocery store and see the rows upon rows of mums for sale outside the front doors. Even though it may still be in the 90's, when the mums show up...
5 Simple Tips for Better Photos
I don't claim to have this whole "successful blog" thing figured out, but one thing I do know for sure is that to have a great blog in the Home Decor/DIY world, you have to have great photos. That may seem intimidating to you--it certainly did to me when I first...
Small Business Spotlight
When I say "shop small" to you, what comes to mind? Does "shop small" mean "shop expensive" to you? Do you think "shop small" as just a marketing slogan created by a not-so-small credit card company? Or does hassle and inconvenience come to your mind when I say...
Reality Check| 5 Facts About Running my Home-Based Business that May Surprise You
One of the things I enjoyed so much at the Haven Conference was getting to "peek behind the curtain," if you will, to see the real lives of these home decor bloggers I have been following for years. What you see online is so often the staged, edited,...
My First Haven Conference
I got to the hotel a little later than I originally had planned, and so rushed up to my room to do a quick re-fresh. After reapplying some lipstick, spraying on some perfume, and giving myself a little "You can do this!" pep talk, I rode the elevator downstairs to...
Chalk-Type Paint vs Fusion Mineral Paint | What’s the Difference?
I get so many questions every day from people I interact with, both in person and online, about what makes Fusion Mineral Paint different. When people first see it or hear of it, there is an assumption that it is just another chalk-type furniture paint to hit...
Why I am Attending the Haven Conference
A week from today I fly out to Atlanta for the 2015 Haven Conference. It will be my first Haven, and more than that, my first blog conference ever. Last year as Haven approached, I debated with myself and with my husband about whether or not to attend. The cost is...
A Day in the Life of a Small Business Mompreneur
6:30 am: Wake up to children patting your face and asking, "Are you awake?" Wonder why in the world said children are awake so early after being up extra late the night before due to a trip to the ballpark. Stumble downstairs to fulfill immediate requests for...
Our Family Ft. Worth Staycation
I was always envious growing up of the families who went to the beach every summer. It seemed like such a fun tradition to have--every year meeting up with aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins, all while spending the days relaxing on the beach. For whatever...
First Fusion Mineral Paint Workshop
This past Saturday, 6 ladies from my church gathered at my home for a Fusion Mineral Paint 101 Workshop. They were kind enough to be my "guinea pigs" by attending a workshop in my home, where I could practice and work out the kinks before I begin to teach the class...
Setting Boundaries at Work in Your Home-Based Business
I have loved creating my own home-based business. The process of starting and growing Lost & Found has been an adventure and a great blessing to my family. As a mom who stays at home with my young children, the ability to use my talents and skills...
Vintage Market Days Recap
Hi everyone! I had to take a few days "off" after having my first set-up show this past weekend at the Dallas-McKinney Vintage Market Days. I was working from dawn till dusk Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and my brain and body just needed a few days of detox! I...
Am I Going to Make It? – 5 More Tips to Make Money Painting Furniture
The other day I was scrolling through a Facebook group board where furniture flippers from all over the North Texas area go to buy and sell their pieces, as well as ask questions and get advice from fellow flippers. I came upon a post written by one of the more...
Planting Plants & Fusion Paint Workshops
On a whim my husband and I decided recently it was finally time to do something about our home's landscaping (or really, lack thereof . . . ) This is the right side of our house, and there has been absolutely no landscaping along that portion for almost five years....
To Market, To Market
Hello everybody! Wondering where I've been? Well, at the end of last week my laptop died, and I just got it back from the repair shop today. Yes, I know there are other working computers out there to use, but you're looking at a creature of habit here! I just...
Five Favorite Furniture Painting Business Posts
Garage sale and flea market season is here! And you know what that means . . . lots of great vintage furniture is out there just waiting for a new owner and a new look. Have you ever thought about starting your own business remaking old furniture? Whether it's...
Comparisons and Compliments: The Ups and Downs of Running Your Own Business
I had a nice little pity party for myself this past Sunday. To be fair, it had been a rough few days and I wasn't my best self. The Friday before, my middle son had surgery to have his adenoids removed and his airways and throat scoped to look for possible...
Restocking the Booth
Sales have been a little slow lately in my Antique Company Mall booth space. They usually take a dip around November and start to slowly rise back up by mid-March. This year though, my sales seem to be taking longer than normal to recover,...
A Big Learning Curve
Life around here the past few weeks has been somewhat out of the ordinary. With the addition of my new job as a Fusion Mineral Paint Merchant, stuff like crazy is coming in and out of my house--which means figuring out new ways to store it, keep track of it, and...
4 Questions to Ask Before Expanding Your Home Based Business
If you follow me on Facebook, then you have already seen my big announcement . . . I have a new partnership as a retailer with Fusion Mineral Paint! Haven't heard of Fusion ? Don't worry, I'm prepared to tell you alllllll about it in the next...
DIY Plywood Plank Flooring and Booth Makeover Reveal
I'm finally finished with my booth makeover project! Last Thursday and Friday I spent most of the day up at my Antique Company Mall space installing my salvaged-siding wall and new "plank" flooring. I left you last week with a picture of my painted siding...
Looking back, looking ahead
Happy 2015 everyone! I have taken a good 10 day (unplanned) break from blogging, and it feels nice to be back. Christmastime in our house was a whirlwind, and I just wasn't able to keep up with new posts and the like. My creative side needed a little...
Race Results & Lessons Learned
Before, we get started, if you haven't entered the Lemony Stitch Christmas Banner Giveaway, be sure to click here to enter! The giveaway runs through the end of this weekend only! I finished! This past weekend was the St. Jude Memphis Marathon, which I had been...
New Online Store!
I have been working hard these past few days to get a new online storefront up for Lost & Found. I'm excited to share that the shop is up and running! It still needs a little work and I am in the process of adding more items, but the basics are there. I put the...
Vintage Christmas Decorations: Christmas at the Booth
Last week I gave you all a tease of Christmas up at my Antique Company Mall space when I showed you my milk paint hutch. I have the rest of my photos edited, watermarked, and ready to go now, so I can show you the whole space! It was a major redo that...
St. Jude Marathon and Urgent Team Garrett Update
Hi friends! I wanted to get in another quick post this week updating you all on my training for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon. The race is a little over 6 weeks away and I have entered into the really time-consuming part of my training. We're talking like 25-35...
Fulfilling a Three Year Dream
In 2 days, my family will leave for Disney World. Sshhh, my boys don't know, it's a surprise!I have been working feverishly this week trying to get everything ready, all the while trying to not make it obvious to the kids that we are about to leave town. But now,...
Behind the Paint | Next Stop on the DIY Blog Tour
When I started blogging two years ago, I had no idea how social blogland would be. I thought it would just always be me, sitting at my computer, throwing out my ideas to "you" out there but never really connecting with anybody through it. Boy, was I wrong!...
Expanding the Business
It's been an interesting summer, in many ways for my family, but especially with regards to my business. New and different opportunities continue to open up. I have been offered quite a bit of custom work. Friends and others have asked me if I can paint their...
Selling Out, in a Good Way
I'm having a hard time keeping up lately . . . That's probably normal for the summertime, but it's been extra crazy lately. Furniture is flying out of my ACM booth space faster than I can replenish it. Since April, I have sold 10 pieces of furniture....
Why I Run
If you would have asked me 5 years ago what I thought about "runners," I would have told you that they are crazy people. The idea of waking up insanely early in the morning, running ridiculous amounts of miles, and exercising outside in all sorts of weather just...
Behind the Scenes
I'm sorry I've been a little MIA lately . . . I had to make an unplanned trip last weekend back down to Georgia to visit with some family. Remember the little town I gave you a quick tour of in my post Small Town, Deep South? I had the...
4 Tips for Buying Old Furniture to Restore
It seems that I have become the local "expert" on all things old and junky, particularly buying old furniture.Not a week goes by without a friend or family member asking me about some old table they want to redo or an old dresser they saw on Craigslist.While I...
Why You Should Fluff & Shuffle Your Antique Booth Display
I'm not sure if fluffing is a universal dealer term, or just something said around my mall. But that's what we call it when we do a little rearranging of our booth inventory. If things sit around in the same place for too long, they tend to become...
Falling Behind and New Table
Hi everyone! I know the blog has been light on content these past 10 days, I'm sorry! I have gotten so behind on my business projects and on life in general. My goal this week is to slowly make my way back to a "normal" schedule for our family (although nothing is...
Debt Free and Disney
When I started this business a little over two years ago, I was 6 months pregnant with my third child and had a little tiny booth space (I always say about the size of a jacuzzi bathtub) that I was stocking with small vintage decorative items. I sold a lot of...
Tips for Making Money Painting Furniture
I've been re-doing old, cast-off furniture for about 7 years now. It all started as an affordable way for my husband and I to furnish our home. Then, I discovered that other people were interested in the pieces I had painted, so I decided to try my hand at making...
Freshening Up
I think Spring is finally here in Texas. The weather this week has been beautiful and it's motivated me to do some freshening up both at home and up at my booth. I'm not much of a gardener, but I do try to have a little herb garden each year. I had a...
Spring Break and Wholemade Giveaway!
We are finishing up our spring break week, and I am so thankful that our household is finally healthy. It has been a nice break from the hustle and bustle of school mornings and afternoon pick-ups. Our big event was a trip to the Zoo today, and we were blessed...
Announcement and Painting Progress
Happy St. Patrick's Day! It seems appropriate on this day that celebrates the Irish and all things green, to tell you all about a fantastic green company. Please let me introduce to you Wholemade by Jen, an organic, all-natural line of personal skin care...
4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Becoming an Antique Dealer?
I have been renting booth spaces on and off for 7 years now, and have held my space at ACM for the past several years. During that time, I have learned many things through my experience that I think would be helpful to share.So I've compiled a list of 4...
Inside Antique Company Mall
My little retail space is located at the Antique Company Mall, which is right off the quaint downtown square in McKinney, Texas. McKinney is a suburb of Dallas, about 10 minutes north of my own suburb, Allen. I love going to McKinney because Allen...
Selecting Fabric for Reupholstery | French Chair Makeover
I have made some great progress with my French chair this week! Yay! Last week was way too busy to accomplish anything with it, so it's nice to be making some headway. Selecting fabric for reupholstery can be a headache, so I thought I would tell a little more...
The Other Side of Life
We just finished up the third week on Lost & Found's new blog platform! It has been a lot of work establishing new traffic and getting the site up and running, but I'm so happy with its progress. My faithful wordpress.com followers have come with me, and 20 of...
The Story of a Business
This month is the two year anniversary of the start of my business. In those two years I have sifted through alot of "junk", painted alot of furniture, and learned alot about running your own creative business. I've always enjoyed hearing the stories of other...
Welcome to the New Lost & Found!
I'm so excited to debut my new site, LostandFoundDecor.com! I have been blogging about my antique and furniture refinishing business, Lost & Found at my old site for a year now and learned so much about the blog world in that time. However, I started to see...
Running vs. Painting
We are in between cold spells here in N. Texas. Two weekends ago we were iced in for 4 days, but since then the temperature has been steadily rising to the peak today of a pleasant 70 degrees. The cold and rain is supposed to return this weekend though, so I've...
Christmas | Just Around the Corner
I'm behind in the retail world . . . Christmas started showing up at my mall three weeks ago and until yesterday, I had nothing. I have been collecting a few Christmas items here and there over the past few months, but I hadn't given any thought yet to putting...
A good problem to have
It's been a challenging week here in our TX household. Last week, my hubby left the country for a trip that would take him to a remote place on other side of the world for 12 days. Our ability to communicate would be spotty, and totally dependent upon when he...
Here Comes Peter Cottontail . . .
In the retail business, holidays always appear a few weeks (or months!) early. With that in mind, springtime and Easter appeared last night in my space at Antique Company Mall. I am so ready for spring! Thankfully, I live in Texas, so winter doesn't last too long...
Welcome to Lost & Found
Thank you so much for visiting my blog! My name is Melanie and I recently opened a vintage home décor shop at a local antique mall. I have always loved “junk” and decorating my home with the unique. I am loving hunting for those special pieces now and stocking my...
Contact Me
Lost & Found
lostandfounddecor.com
melanie@lostandfounddecor.com
My Uniques Can Be Found at
Antique Company Mall
Historic Downtown McKinney, TX
