Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » diy project: gold leaf rocks

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i’ve always had a soft spot for rock art. there’s something about it that reminds of of summer camp west virginia and drawing with paint on river rocks. so when kate did a linocut stamp project with rocks the other week i started looking around for great rock-related projects. one of the projects i loved came from claire chauvin, a photography teacher in texas. her gold leaf river rock project is elevates rock-art to a whole new level and sure beats the painted rocks i made when i was younger. this would be such a fun way to personalize a tabletop, give a quirky gift to a friend (monogrammed?), or just spend an afternoon making something pretty for your home.

CLICK HERE for the full project instructions.

[ps: emergency wedding project help-- does anyone know a place in manhattan where i can buy fabric for an ink jet printer? i need to print on some asap for a wedding project and the place i ordered from just told me they're back-ordered. ack!] (found some at city quilter near ac’s office! thanks twitter friends and everyone here!)

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hi… you might just want to try ironing some butcher paper to cotton or canvas and feeding that directly into your printer (be sure to trim the butcher paper/cloth sandwich edges after ironing, so they are even). i do this all the time and it works great. feel free to email me if you need add’l instructions… good luck with your project!

follow up to earlier post:
you can buy butcher paper in the grocery store (it has wax on just one side; do not use wax paper, which has wax on both sides). also, once printed, the butcher paper can be easily removed from your printed fabric :)

FYI, that gold line has got to be inspired by nature artist Andy Goldsworthy, except that he would line up rocks with existing mineral seams to get this effect.
I guess it’s a different effect, but to me, having seen his work, this version seems a little faked.

reanna

if you read the post on her site you’ll see mention of andy goldsworthy- i don’t think she’s trying to pull one over on anybody. i think any version that’s not his is going to technically be “faked” but i’m a fan of projects inspired by artists. i don’t think it’s necessarily someone copying or faking something, just creating their own version, like she has here.

grace

I LOVE this idea! It’s a pity that I haven’t got any wedding in view, otherwise I would suggest it as a “casual” gift for the guests (I’m thinking about rocks decorated with the initials of the bride and the groom).

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