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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

A Rockin' Good Time!

I don't have the faintest idea who first thought of the egg carton rocks idea. It has been around more that twenty years. It is the bestest, fastest way to do rock walls that has so far been invented.

I decided to use it on the fireplace in the bedroom. I like it so much that I may just do it in the living room and on the exterior chimney also. I haven't used it for a long time and I had forgotten how easy it is to do. And yes, I am saving the carved surrounds to use somewhere else.

Tessie has "lost" the wand again and has been very bored all morning. I asked her to fetch me a piece of heavy paper. I forgot to specify the color.....Yup. Purple. Rather than search for gray, I got out the Ceramcoat Hippo Gray and painted it. Needless to say, that didn't make her happy.

For any wall or other surface that you want to cover with rock this way, you can apply directly to said wall or cut a template. I choose to do a template for the fireplace since it is already in place and I didn't want to stand on my head to install it. I do use a gray background for this. It makes the process so much easier.

I used the carved fireplace surround as a template. After painting, I let it dry so that it wouldn't curl. Then I proceeded to cut random rocks. In this case, I wanted them to look as if they had been shaped. I used regular scissors to cut the shapes and nipped off the corners. If you have to cut angles, be sure that you have the rough side facing up so that the angles are going in the direction that you want them. For example, I had to have pie shaped pieces to curve around the top. I made sure that the rough side was facing me so that I would get them going in the right direction.


As you can see, I didn't try to make the pieces fit exactly. They can easily be trimmed after they are glued to the template.

I started at the center top and worked out to the bottom of each side. I made sure that the inside of each piece overlapped the paper. That way when I get it glued in place I will be able to glue matching pieces inside the fireplace for dimension.

Tessie is sitting on a pile of the egg carton tops that I have saved. Some people save the bottom parts as well for more curved rocks. I don't. If I ever need those, they are easy enough to collect. You can also save the carry out cup trays from theaters and fast food places. They are a little rougher texture if that is what you need.

Here is the painted surround. I used a pallet of charcoal, hippo gray, trail tan, old parchment, light ivory and leaf green. They are all Ceramcoat. I just dabbed and dabbed with a stiff brush. I don't clean between colors. I will hit the stones with a couple of coats of flat varnish to finish and protect them.

Tessie is now raising a fuss because she doesn't have a fireplace in her cottage. I knew this was going to happen. To quote her,"A witch needs a place to keep her cauldron! Spiderwort Manor is
going to have a big stone fireplace! Is that understood??? After all, it's so easy I could do it myself!".
I replied, "Have at it Tessie!"

I am leaving soon. I have to go to Wednesday Witches mini meeting. I don't want to listen to her complain all afternoon! Sweet relief. I just hope that she doesn't find the wand while I am away...

See you tomorrow.

7 comments:

Crafts From The Stash said...

Casey I never knew you could do this with egg cartons. So simple. Thank you.

Debie xxxxx

Katie said...

Neat!! And Tessie's Right! She'll definitly need a big fireplace....maybe one that's detached from the house or something, lol:)

Pubdoll said...

Great tutorial (actually seems as something I could manage as well) and nice painteffect, looks just like real stone!
And as always I love to hear about Tessie (and Zar), your funny little stories brightens my day!

Jo Raines said...

I have seen this done but you've explained it much better. I have tried my hand at Paperclay stonework with mixed results. Usually, as it dries, it cracks and I cannot seem to create straight lines but they sort of sag downward on one end or the others. I was trying to be all Tracy from Minis on the Edge but sadly, maybe I should stick with egg cartons myself!

Jody
http://minileapsandbounds.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

Hi Casey,I wanted to lett you know that I always come and visit your blog,and I always have a good time reading all the adventures Tessie has! The egg cartons are so great to work with,I'm using them for the outside walls of the store.

Thank you for all the fun!
X,Sabiha

Deni said...

Oh this is fabulous Casey!
Luv all you do with Tessie!
she is a bit bossy though a bit like Gran on my blog
Still working on that!

MiniKat said...

Love the effect! Can't wait to see it in place.