Rocks in my Head

I know it's been quite a while between posts but I was pretty sure you wouldn't really be interested in watching various coats of paint dry. Having to fit in work of various sorts (dental, Rotary, yard, other projects etc...) stretched it out a bit as well, but finally there's some progress you can actually see.  

Making sure the walls are straight and not bowed then wait for the glue to set

Porch posts and railings - and wait for the glue to set

Insert post caps and front steps - and wait for the glue to set

Forgot to mention that before any of the porch bits were glued down I had to decide if it should be wood or concrete.  Decided to go with a concrete look to go with the porch caps and steps. All the pieces had to be painted and texturized first.

 I'm I'm thinking this look will be best with how the foundation and porch posts will be done.  

And this is where the egg cartons come in.  Thinking I have enough (thank you for your efforts Val!)

I wanted to give the house a contemporary look yet tie into it's Arts & Crafts roots.  Could have gone concrete but that would be boring and bricks wouldn't have given the right look.  Actual rocks would be way too heavy.  Egg carton rocks are light weight, sturdy and give you freedom of style.  

"My" brilliant idea came from my friend Casey who generously shares an amazing assortment of clever tips and tutorials on her entertaining blog. She is one of the most talented and versatile artists I've met. 

Do go and check her out - you'll be well entertained. Incidentally, her blog was voted Best Miniature Blog two years running. 

caseymini.blogspot.ca/search?q=rocks

Just one example of Casey's method of turning egg cartons into rocks.

Okay so it's a little time consuming but well worth the effort!  Karalee and I decided to go with a contemporary styling so went with  the long stacked cut rock you see everywhere now. In order to make life a little easier in scaling down the size, each 'rock' is a quarter of an inch by 1 3/4 inches.  Just slightly wider than they would be in real life.  I know that's not metric but when working in 1/12th scale old school is just more convenient not to mention easier.  I like easier.

One egg carton + four episodes on HGTV (2 hours) =
75 1/4" x 1 3/4 rocks plus about 40 smaller bits and one section of porch foundation glued.

This is what 75 rocks look like

Left overs for the recycle bin

 I stopped timing or counting after that.  

Two sections and one post done.  

View thru the door                          View from end of porch                        View from window

Loving the texture and how it looks so far and it's not even painted up 

to tie into the colour scheme and  to look like rocks yet  : )

Probably won't see me for awhile...have to go cut more rocks and carry on.