Crafty As L

The theme for this week’s Design Team posts is “Food & Drinks”.   For some reason it got me to thinking about the pandemic lockdown of 2020 and when people started to build their own bar in the garden when they couldn’t go to the pub.   We don’t have a garden bar but we do have a small, west-facing balcony where we like to partake of a sundowner - a glass of fizz or a G&T are our favourite tipples.   During a recent tidy-out of my craft room, I discovered some MDF door hangers that I’d bought many years ago at a craft fayre so the idea for some home décor was sown. To get things started, I painted the door hanger with black gesso as I didn’t fancy the brown background.   Of course, you can paint it whatever colour you fancy! Next, to add a bit of bling (and because I LOVE them!) I positioned the  Painted Grid stencil over the hanger and sprayed some Distress Spritz in Twisted Citron, Fossilized Amber, Uncharted Mariner and Barn Door.   On t...

It was my Father-in-law’s birthday earlier this month so Mr L had requested a computer-themed card.   I don’t have much in that line but I remembered that the Visible Image Robot Data stamp set featured some computer elements plus there’s also the Short Circuit stencil. Rather than a brand-new shiny robot, I wanted to try to create a rusty robot so I started spraying Distress Stains and Spritzes in shades of red, orange, gold and brown onto a piece of card.   The Spritzes gave some lovely shimmer - although I appreciate the irony as rust is dull!   I stamped the large robot in black ink, clear heat-embossed it and then fussy cut along the lines.   Using a small blending brush and brown ink, I went around the edges of the robot and also added some black fineliner squiggles and shading to add some dimension.   I also stamped the top of the head and copper heat-embossed that before cutting out with the matching die.   The rusty robot was then glued in plac...

When I saw the Breaking Glass stencil, it immediately occurred to me to pair it with the Time To Par-tee stamps, with a golf ball breaking the glass.   I’m no golfer but I am partial to a round of crazy golf! I started by making a background using Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio and Broken China Distress Spray Stains. Once the background was dry, I stamped the golfer and the flag on it.   On a separate piece of card, I stamped and clear heat-embossed the large golf ball and the words. My tip when using stencils with very fine details is to apply a temporary adhesive to the back of them first.   This will stop the stencil lifting from the card and letting the paste seep under.   I use Crafter’s Companion Stick and Spray and let it dry for a couple of minutes before using the stencil.   I then used a translucent stencil paste and removed the stencil.  Don't forget to wash the stencil immediately in hot, soapy water! I added white iridescent glit...