1). MAKE 500 TO 1000 DOLLHOUSE BRICKS (OR MORE) WITH
LESS THAN TWENTY DOLLARS...
THIS project takes a little bit of work at first to make the mold. But after that, its worth its weight
in gold.
FIRST, buy one 7 pound box of "PolyBlend Sanded Tile Grout", "quikrete concrete acrylic
fortifier" ( The fortifier is needed for use with small projects to keep them from crumbling ),
and "concrete color", To mix it all together, just follow the instructions that come with them,
I experimented with the mix to fit my needs and wants.
MAKE (cheaper to make your own) or buy 1/8th inch wood strips (can be whatever size you
want, I used 1/8 inch). Make a grid about 5" by 5" (makes approximately 70 bricks at a time)
with the wood strips so that each square is the same size as your bricks (notch each
intersection of the grid so they fit together and lay flat).
IMPORTANT-You have to coat the entire mold with ( I use ) Wesson non-stick cooking spray,
so the bricks won't stick to the mold. I also use a small piece of scrap wood to lay the grid on
and spray it too so the grout doesn't stick to the scrap wood.
AFTER mixing your grout, fortifier and color, pour it into the mold and make sure every brick
section is filled.
USE a scrap piece of wood to lay across the mold and scrape off any excess grout.
LET dry completely, in my erea thats about 9 hours.
TILT your mold up on one side, supporting it with your fingers and gently push each brick out of
the mold using a push stick the same size as one of the bricks so it will go through each little
square. So far though, my bricks have been practically falling out by themselves.
GLUE or hot-glue them to your project and spray them with a clear coat (not glossy) to seal
them so you can add the mortar lines... sanded tile grout works fine for this too. It can be
applied easily and is easy to clean off the sealed bricks with a damp sponge.
NOTE: I was fortunate enough to be able to apply the bricks directly to my project. Another idea is, to cut
1/32" or 1/64" ply-wood ( plywood or something laminated so it doesn't warp) sheets in sections
and attach/finish the bricks to that while working in comfort on a desk etc. and glue them in
sections onto the project like a jigsaw puzzle around windows,doors, etc. Just be careful to
account for the extra thickness of wood it will add to the project and, stagger the bricks so they
will fit together if you have more than one section to assemble.
SPRAY the grid each time with non-stick before making more bricks. So far my total cost has
been less than twenty dollars and I have made almost 700 bricks using about half a box of
sanded grout.
RECENTLY , I purchased a small sheet of plexy glass approx. 1/4" thick (cost two dollars at
Home Depot) and made my mold from that using 5 minute epoxy ( less than two dollars at
Wal-Mart) to glue it together. It takes a little more work but lasts a lot longer than a wooden
mold. So far, its working great. Your mold can be made from wider material to give you a larger
glueing surface when putting it together. Its the thickness of the mold that is important, that will
determine how thick your bricks will be.
The look and feel of these bricks add a realism to the house that is hard to explain. After the
bricks are installed and I add the grout between them, I like to finish them with an even more
realistic touch by cutting a sponge or something similar to the rectangular shape of the bricks
and use different shades of the coloring to make them look that much more realistic by dabbing
over each brick to give the color patterns of real brick on real houses.
