Everyone Will Be Saving Cardboard When They See This Genius Idea!

People who sell rocks hate me for showing you this! I saved thousands of dollars on my backyard transformation by recycling cardboard into faux landscaping boulders! I used mortar mix and was able to make each fake stone or boulder in less than an hour. Landscaping boulders cost hundreds of dollars each but this method lets you save money and time by making fake rocks in your garage.

I hope to inspire you to create your own projects at home. If I can do it so can you! I want you to know that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Learn how to become self-reliant and have fun doing it!

[homeloveeverything]

For those of you with kids… My family didn’t have much money when I was a kid. So many of my friends were given Barbie houses for Christmas. I wanted one but my parents couldn’t afford it. I then came up with an idea when I went with my mom to go grocery shopping. I convinced her to let me bring home 8 boxes the store didn’t need that used to hold canned goods. I glued those boxes together, used my mom’s scrap fabric, used popsicle sticks, etc… I learned to look at things with a creative mind. I ended up building the coolest and best Barbie doll house ever. The neighborhood girls liked mine much more than their store bought ones. Two years later I babysat for some kids. The little girl wanted a dollhouse, but her family didn’t have the money for it. I surprised her one day when my brother helped me walk my homemade Barbie house over to her. This little girl was so thankful!

[DanVogt]

I'm a prop maker, here's how I would approach it. First stick, with any kind of tape, crumpled balls of newspaper (various sizes, anywhere from the size of a marble to a Bible) to the cardboard boxes, then wrap the form in chicken wire (zip ties to connect segments) THEN hit it with a mallet /hammer. This will retain the organic deformations best. Then plaster gause wrap two layers over the chicken wire. Hair dryer will set it in 5 mins. The result will be a feather light plaster form and you can reuse the boxes for the next one, even the chicken wire if you put a plastic dam in between. Then apply the cement (less dry volume will mean it doesn't set so fast, dry, or have to be applied so hurried, as you did, to keep it above the chicken wire - my method will save ingredients, money, and be vastly lighter). Concrete additives can be used for added strength (perhaps avoid fibreglass in favour of natural fibres like straw/ hemp or heshen cloth are all great). You can make the form complete (without an open base/hole) to give it more surface structural tension thus stress is better displaced. Optionally apply a texture with a rubber stamp (or I personally would just roll another stone over it to make the impression, stamping it to look real, talc to stop it sticking). That's how I would have approached it.

[jwiki]

I believe that those of us who don’t have a lot of money are the people with the best creative ideas. It’s awesome!!

[tamborambo]

As a delivery driver....bless you for making that address marking stone. So many people dont bother and expect to be found easily.

[rubentagaban]

One small suggestion that worked great for me: After setting up the chicken wire, I covered the entire set up with wet newspaper. It prevented the wet mortar mix from falling thru the chicken wire, and the moisture helped the mortar stick faster. The newspaper was a cheap way to get the job done.

[maryfisher]

Probably someone already said this, but if you make a wet slurry with cement or that mix and dip some pieces of an old bedsheet or rags in it, then you can drape it over your cardboard or chicken wire, and use less mix. I had a friend who made garden statues this way.

[whatsupdoc]

Own a pool management company and started making rocks for clients a few years ago... Through trial and error I found skip the boxes, use zip ties and chicken wire to get your shape, then paper mache the whole thing a few coats let dry in-between, and the mortar over the whole thing. I can do a dozen at a time start to finish in one day easily. Allows the h to build and fit them together at the same time.

[patriciabush]

Because I'm a weak little 5 ft 77 yr old woman I'd probably make it pretty close to where I want it. Thanks for this fun project for my flower garden.

[powertothesheeple]

😂 I've been slowly dragging boulders about this size off my yard and into the woods for the past 2 years. Maybe I need to put them up on marketplace 🤔

[aaronb]

Do i have a yard? No. Will i ever build boulders for a yard? Also no. But i still watched this till the end and was entertained and learned something! You sir are a Rock Star!

[englishrupe]

If you want it to blend and make it look it with a flour and water mix, and it will grow lichen on it and look natural.

[thefashionailistbyalexb]

Brilliant video and I haven't laughed like this in a long time hahaha! You are hilarious! Thanks for a great Sunday morning. I loved your content. First time I come across your channel and as a construction girl here that loves building things and designing in general, this was so much fun! I'll be back

[tallandcuteu]

You should have used the tombstone method (I'm a haunt decorator...lol) soak fabric in wet concrete and cover the chicken wire. THEN do whatever top coat you want. Also use drylock to seal it. I'm definitely doing this because I need a boulder to keep people from driving on my grass at the curve in my circle driveway. Thank you!! I never thought of this!!

[patrickbarrett]

I have a pathological hatred for cardboard. We have been battling each other since I can remember. I have seen millions of pounds worth of machinery jammed in place by a wet piece of cardboard. I have seen caterpillar tracks thrown off their sprockets by this ‘Devil’s papier-mache’. You have given me an excuse to repay this smug brown material by smothering it in cement and forcing it to be decorative. You have my eternal gratitude Haxman the Boxman.

[bc]

the sasquatch was a nice add --- my sincere condolences on your loss of jimmy, he seemed like a solid guy - cheers

[lyndak]

I need to build an Address Rock. Getting the granddaughters involved and putting their handprints, the dogs' paw prints, and established year on the back of the rock will make a core memory for them in later years 😊

[Hiker_who_Sews]

I lived near Gary Dahl when he made his millions selling Pet Rocks. Your heart breaking tale about losing your rock to accidental drowning shows the world that Gary's sense of humor is still relevant. Humorists like you keep his memory alive!

[Yagayo]

You should try soaking a dust sheet in mortar mix then drape it over your boxes. Love the content HAXMAN.

[ronmani]

when I was a kid I was really into model trains and dioramas.. used to make mountains, terrain, tunnels etc using basically the same idea. As an adult, Im really into my yard and ponds and have struggled trying to figure out some landscaping ideas and this just totally brought back those long forgotten tricks! Thanks for that.

[suemanghelli]

Landscaper's trick - bury a boulder 1/3 into the dirt so it looks natural. 👍 Both rocks look awesome!