In London, on the Patio with Fay.

I absolutely loved this project and couldn’t wait to get started. I had so many ideas running around my head! I thought maybe a country cottage garden, a Tunisian inspired garden with bright blues and oranges or a modern London pad. I decided on the latter. 

 I started the project by laying out all the pieces. I read through the whole instructions before starting so I knew what needed to be painted first and which pieces I needed to draw around before sticking together to allow me to have a template for future decorating. 

Immediately I removed the waste pieces from the window I knew I wanted to use them to create paving stones. I kept some of the waste pieces the same size and others I cut to create variation. I mixed the modeling paste with a light brown paint, scraped it onto the floor base and then pushed the waste wood pieces into the wet paste. Once dry, I painted the wood with brown paint. 

I also used the paste to add texture to the outside wall before adding cut up egg boxes. I coloured the paste with a light brown paint before roughly slapping it on the outside. I then used the Coolkatz glue to stick cut up brick shaped egg box on top of the dried paste.

 I gave the whole lot a wash of watered down dark brown and then added lighter brown and red paint to create depth. 

Once I had added the paving and trellis I decided that I needed to add more interest and texture. I still had a mass of coffee stirring sticks (I try and add these to every coolkatz projects!) so I cut them to size and added them onto the back internal wall. 

I created the main box and then started creating the features. I painted the chair pieces before sticking together and then touched up after. I’m a messy crafter with fat fingers so this works best for me and creates a neater finish. I gave the glasses, bottle and planters a coat of clear nail varnish to give them a gloss finish. 

I decided that most gardens in London have gravel rather than grass so added gravel (actually cat litter - unused of course!) I created a fire pit with the basket included and made plants for the planters using Coolkatz dies. I thought lights would add that final touch. I used leftover mdf from the kit to create a box to hold the battery pack and drilled a hole through to allow wire to neatly be placed around the pergola. It would have been easier if I had stuck the battery box to the nook before adding the egg box bricks! 

This is a perfect kit and I absolutely loved making this one. You can easily personalise by adding plants, lights and planters.

How clever to turn  a hanging basket into a firepit and the use of all the leftover MDF is perfect.

If Fay has inspired you to recreate her version or create one of your own, you can find all of the details and links below.

https://www.coolkatzcraft.com/book-nook-intrigue-on-the-patio-complete-kit

https://www.coolkatzcraft.com/coolkatz-bookbinding-glue-150ml

https://www.coolkatzcraft.com/pebeo-acrylic-modelling-paste

https://www.coolkatzcraft.com/foliage-and-flower-die-bundle

https://www.youtube.com/@CoolKatzCraft
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CoolKatz
https://www.coolkatzcraft.com/home

Happy Crafting.

The CoolKatz Gang x