DIY Network

Cobblestone Floor Create a unique faux cobblestone floor with papier-mâché pulp. From "Craft Lab" episode DCLB-124

Guest Linda Merica joins host Jennifer Perkins in DIY's Craft Lab to demonstrate how to use papier-mâché and stones to create a faux cobblestone floor. This floor is durable and water-resistant and will last for years with only a nominal amount of maintenance. It can be created directly on concrete, wood, linoleum—or even tile.

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	Guest Linda Merica shows you how to make a cobblestone floor, seen here in back, made with paper.
	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

Project designed by Linda Merica.

Materials:

Note: All ingredients are non-toxic.

shredded paper (from a newspaper or an office shredder)
water
white glue
powder wheat paste (for children's crafts)
powder tempera paint—bronze, light brown, grey
acrylic paints—gold, taupe, dark brown
polyurethane gloss varnish sealer
small smooth pebbles or gravel
piece of PVC pipe
blender or food processor
strainer or screen
portable sander and sandpaper
dust mask
fan(s)

Cobblestone Floor

1. Making the Pulp—Use an old blender or food processor add paper and water and blend to a pulp. Remove the pulp and drain on a screen. Repeat this procedure until you have a sizeable amount of pulp. For the quantities used in this project sample, they used a five gallon bucket filled with paper pulp.

2. Making papier-mâché—For the five gallon bucket of paper, you will need two parts water, to one part glue and dry wheat paste. Mix the glue, wheat paste, and a bit of water together until fairly smooth like pancake batter, adding the powder to the liquid in small amounts at a time, to eliminate lumps. Add the glue mix to paper pulp (make sure pulp is not dripping water, but should be moist) and mix with hands in a large container, just like you would bread dough. Take about a gallon of pulp out and reserve in another bowl for the grout.

3. Separate the remaining pulp into three separate sections, without taking any of it out of the large container. To each section add powder tempera or acrylic paint one bronze, one light brown, and one gray. Work the colors in (figure A).

4. Creating Stones—Taking pulp from each of the different piles, and even from more than one pile at a time, lay the paper "plops" in random areas next to each other (figure B). Continue this process, leaving about an inch or so between the stones—this will be for the grout. Make small finger indentions to create a more natural surface. (If you are doing a large area, work in phases, drying with fans, a section at a time.)

5. When your area is covered with "paper stones", roll a piece of PVC pipe like a rolling pin to smooth out the surfaces and to squeeze out excess water. Try to make them as level as possible before drying. Remember to take into account that the paper will shrink slightly when dried, so if you need the stones to be a certain height, make them about ten percent higher to start with, so they will dry up to the correct height. (You can always sand them down later if they are too high.)

6. Drying the Floor—Take a high-powdered fan, and depending on the size of your surface, maybe more than one, and start drying the stones. This will take a few days to dry. Keep on moving the fan(s) around to dry all surfaces.

7. Prepping the Floor—When the floor is dry enough to stand on in bare feet (no shoes!), walk over it and determine where areas are not level or smooth. Take a portable sander and smooth out the rough spots. Be sure to wear a mask so as not to inhale paper dust. When smooth, vacuum up all the dust.

8. Painting the Floor—Floor stones should already be of different color tones, but to add more depth, randomly add touches of dark brown, gold, and taupe acrylic paint to the stone surfaces using a sponge and very little paint.

9. Grouting Stones—Take reserved pulp and add more white glue. Mix well. Take it and press it in between the paper stones, so that it comes to only half as high as the paper stones in height. Press the small pebbles on top of the grout. Continue until the stones are completely surrounded by the grouted pebbles. Re-direct fan(s) onto grouted surfaces to dry.

10. Varnishing and Caring for the New Floor—Take varnish and either paint it on with a large brush, or use a paint roller. Do not let varnish pool. Let it dry according to the manufacturer's instructions, and when possible apply three to four successive coats, allowing drying between coats.

Note: Even though the floor feels dry to walk on, do not wear shoes on the floor for at least two weeks—just bare or socked feet. Every two years, apply two to three coats of varnish to maintain the beauty of your floor and enjoy.

GUESTS :

Linda Merica
Paper Mache Magic
Website: www.papermachemagic.com