Rock
& Lapidary Unusual Ideas, How to Guide
If you’re a rockhound or lapidary person, you likely have
made a cabochon or polished a rock with some sort of material or with a rock
tumbler. But have you ever wondered what else can you make or create with those
rocks, well I have? With that in mind we have created a list of ideas, some you
may have heard of, some that are not so well know, some that I came up with and
some that were from our Facebook Radical Rocks Group members. We would love to
hear your ideas and thoughts links below. Let’s rock and roll into the ideas!
Antler and Bone decorations: credit to Adam King
Arrow Heads & Spheres; usually this is
done by Knapping or a chipping technique. If this appeals to you do some
research on Knapping.
Bible Story display; This could be any gemstones rocks
or minerals from the bible. The rocks could be placed in a display such as is
used for miniature, such as a printed draw mounted on a wall, or just glued to
a backing and hung like a picture or put on a shelf.
Bird Bath; Do the same as in the section “Garden
Rocks/ Stacked” then add a pan on the base, or the catch basin of a large
flowerpot will look good. Or if you have a concrete bird bath you can affix
stones or slabs to it.
Bird House; A simple wood bird house can be decorated
or completely covered with slabs and or stones simply by adhering the stone,
and the wow factor just went to the birds.
Bola tie; Maybe not that unusual, but you don’t see
these much.
Book Ends; This is another one common to rockhounds,
but still desired by the masses. It can be as simple as cubing angled or
squares, any shape that will hold the books in place. Also, a l shape of nice
wood with a sweet geode or other display rock affixed makes a great gift, two
similar stoned agates or each half of a good-sized geode work great. Be sure to
glue felt or something to the bottom, to protect whatever shelf material it
will be placed on.
Business Card holder; It takes a minimum of three
slabs glue/epoxied together, on as the base and two going vertically spaced
apart for the napkins to fit in between.
Cabinet knobs; usually a knob that has one machine
screw, drill a hole and use an epoxy for the stud and when its dry’s put it on.
A great way to customize.
Candle stand; As with the section on “Garden
Rocks/ Stacked” Just have a flat or concaved top stone for your candle.
Slabs can also be used as described in the “Pin/Pencil holder” section.
Cane or walking stick; My friend Tony made a supper
nice walking stick and used gemstones inlayed, he even made a spider with two
stones and used some claws as the spider’s legs.
Carvings; Rockhounds and lapidary folks
sometimes forget about carving thinking it’s too hard, just start off with
something simple like a leaf. Do a search and watch a video on it. Maybe I
should do one.
Christmas Tree Ornament; A slab with a hole in it can
look nice with an agate slice, or cut and carve a Christmas tree, or a cross,
whatever you like. Also tumbled stones with a hole drilled through and an
ornament wire you’re done.
Clocks; Clock kits are used in a nice specimen, agate
slice is good, but any material can be used, also a bigger block of rock can be
used several ways with available clock kits. Drilling a hole in a slab can be done
by just submerging your polished slab on top of a block of wood, and a Dremel
with a diamond bit, be sure not to have the water to deep or you may slip and
get electrocuted. An alternative is to spray the spot your drilling, but again
don’t get any water into your Dremel or you will get electrocuted. (Our link
for the clock work. https://amzn.to/3bcn08c Thank you for using the links it cost the
same)
Cozies; Slabs cut to size, use felt or cork on the
bottom or cold drinks will sweat on to the surface of the table. I find that
the top of the cozy’s sweats with cold drinks, maybe a layer of plastic affixed
could reduce the sweating, but they look great and you will not have that issue
with hot drinks.
Cross; Any image of one’s faith can be inlayed,
covered, or carved.
Door stop; This can be supper easy, put a rock by the
door, customize it by engraving with your Dremel or painting “Welcome” or your
family name.
Engraved Rocks; Small to large stones or slabs can be
engraved or painted with words, after you have many words, they can be put on a
table usually outside you, your family and your visitors can arrange the word
to make fun sentences. This was common at some coffee shops however they used
magnets or other materials.
Eye Glass or sunglass; Inlay or affix small or thin
gemstone or stones to the sides.
Family Rock Display; Plane rocks can be used, just
engrave one usually the biggest one with your family name or a saying such as
“Our Family Rocks” Use one rock for each family members name, with paint or
engrave with a diamond bit in your Dremel.
Flowerpot; A clay pot will work best, affix stones or
cut polished slabs to the pot as desired. For the special plant in your life.
Foot Rock; Think of a foot an elongated rock and five
roundish stones for the toes. This can be placed in the garden or inlayed in a
patio or incorporated into wall or other art ideas. How about one for each
family member?
Garden Rocks/ Stacked; Any rocks can be used, rocks
can be stacked and affixed with epoxy or drilled, with a rock as a cap. Also,
mortar can be used, but the look of just rocks stacked adds zin to the garden
or space.
Geometric Shapes; It takes a sphere machine to make a
sphere, but cubes and other shapes can be made with a saw and simple sanding or
a lapping unit. It can be all one block of material; however, I have seen a
pyramid made with multiple thick slabs of various colors affixed to one another
and shaped, this can give a modern look or just a cornucopia of variety to the
piece.
Guitar pick; credit Erik Rintamaki
Hairbrush Inlay; I recall seeing wood handled hairbrushes,
just carefully grind out areas on the handle the epoxy stones into the cavity.
For a display hairbrush put the stones on the side that will be up.
Hair Clip; A small stone or custom thin slice of
stone epoxied to a hair clip that matches her eyes, or other jewelry will be a
winner of a gift. (Hair clip link https://amzn.to/2RvGvkm
Thank you)
Home Address; Slabs or stones formed or cut out of
your address, this could be done on a wall or a material as a sign, then affix
the stones. Kits for hanging sign modified with your rocks would look great.
Jewelry hangers; This could be tumbled stones with
one size grinded flat, Double sided tape will work for placement on a wall, or
a larger framed rustic, stained or painted material, it could be framed, and
attach stones as with the wall. You need the stone to be oblong enough so the
neckless or jewelry will stay on, or the stone could be grounded with a notch.
Jewelry or Knick knack Box; Cut slabs and form
squares and rectangles glue/epoxy sides and bottom and affix hinges for the lid,
beautiful!
Key Chain; Very easy if you have tumbled stones, just
affix to the keychain made for this purpose.( Key Chain finding link; https://amzn.to/2Rti72Z Same cost to use
help our mission, Thank you)
Kitchen utensil handles; Anything with a
handle is worth considering, simply replace the handle with rock and affix.
Knife; Credit for Knife blade Adam King. Not so unusual
anymore. I have seen gemstone used for the handle of knifes. I have seen knife
blades made with gemstone, usually agate. A very nice display.
Ladle holder; My wife has a place to put the spoon or
ladle on, so just cut a thick slab shape and grind out an indentation for the
drippings to collect.
Mailbox; It seems like mailboxes take a lot of abuse
now days, but if you think you’re in an area that will respect your mailbox,
cover or decorate it with rock.
Movie Prop; Credit Kim Hutsell, Kim made a Movie prop
it was an elaborate cup decorated with stones fit for a Viking king.
Napkin Holder; It takes a minimum of three slabs
glue/epoxied together, on as the base and two going vertically spaced apart for
the napkins to fit in between.
Napkin rings; Cut blocks or cylinders and hollow out
the inside with Dremel.
Night Light; I have seen these at craft shows, modify
the cover or kits should be available. Be sure if you use glues that they can
handle any heat from the light, with small LED type there should not be a heat
issue. (Night Light Kit Link https://amzn.to/2yRy2le
Cost no more to use our link, Thank you)
Paper weight; Supper easy if you just use a smooth
stone. More can be done, a flat area on the bottom and glue some felt to
protect the user’s desk, also a cube or other shape, even a sphere with a flat
bottom looks supper.
Pet Rock; Usually a regular rock painted as an
animal, imagination is key.
Picture; Use your imagination and affix rocks or cut
slabs to create a picture or indoor sign.
Picture frame; A picture frame can be purchase with a
space for this type of embellishment, or you can simply affix polished slabs
cut to size, or tumbled stone. By the way tumble stones cut in half work well
for these types of projects.( Picture frame link https://amzn.to/2V1TyMS Thank you)
Pin/Pencil holder; For a single high-quality pin use
a nice polished rock or form a shape and put a flat bottom and glue some felt.
For several pins and pencils drill more holes or bore out your rock. Also, you
could glue slabs to for a square, rectangle or triangle cup like container.
Place mate; Plastic rigid or thin wood and affix
stones or slabs.
Plates, Cups, Bowles; This would be a lot of work
without special equipment.
Refrigerator magnate; Supper easy thin slices or
stones affixed to a magnet.
Rock art; Smaller stones or slabs can be affixed with
double-sided tape to a wall or window frame, or fireplace. On a wall this can
be a pattern or swirls to create an artistic look. As with many of these ides
use your imagination.
Rock Lamp stand; This could be polished slabs
attached glued or mortared or even acrylic to an existing lamp base, or you can
cut slabs polish and glue to form a box or any shape to form your base and buy
a lamp kit online. Also, just rough stones, river worn would be very good to,
just grind a flat spot on the bottom and on top enough to use an epoxy to make
a stack of stones drill the center and put in your lamp kit. (Lamp Kit Link; https://amzn.to/2Xy5FD3 Thank you for using
the link it cost the same)
Rock Painting; Using slabs or stones of different
colors affixed to a material and framed as a picture.
Rock Tree; These are becoming common. usually a flat
block of wood as a base, wire usually copper attached to the base with limbs
going out extra-long so you can wrap them around the small tumbled stones, and
trim excess wire after wrapping each stone.
Rock wall decoration; Acrylic blocks with your rocks
inside, use your imagination. This can be put on a shelf or on the wall.
Specimen stand. If you have a nice specimen or a
collector plate that you need a stand for, why not just make it out of rock? It
can be a simple as two large sabs epoxied to gather like a “L” shape and add a
thin slice to create a lip so your display will stand up nice and not slide off
the edge of your display.
Stained Glass; My grandfather made birds and other
nice stained-glass items, usually we would hang these in a window or near one
so the sun would shine through. This same thing could be done with rocks,
translucent ones would be best.
Stepping stones; Buy a custom form for steeping
stone, or just frame one with 2” x 4”s, a bag off regular concrete will work,
just push slabs or tumbled stones into wet cement just at the surface, and a
wipe off residue as soon as concrete is firm and polish after its dry and
cured. These can be random or designed or family names can be spelled out, use
your imagination.
Stone tipped bullets; I saw this on Etsy. Find
some empty shells, probably a shooting range with sell some to you at a fair
price and measure and shape and glue the bullet tip in. very novel conversating
piece.
Suisekis/viewing stone; Credit Stan Richardson.
Popular in Japan, Chain and other Asian countries. You may have seen these are
rocks placed on a wood base, ones from China are usually the most ornate.
Sometimes the stones can be placed in a bonsai container with sand around it.
Stan describes them as a “natural Sculpture”. Go to http://www.vsana.org/ to find out more about
this wonderful way to enjoy for rocks and stones.
Tabletop; A coffee table would not be a tone of work
or of rocks. Inlay or adhere to a tabletop, polished slabs or tumbled stones,
these could be affixed to glass or wood, just be aware of how much weight you
put on the table. You could finish the table with a polymer or urethane, or you
could finish it with grout as is done with tile work. An inlay would be time
consuming but beautiful. If using some translucent slabs use good water, clear
epoxy on glass to get the effect. Lots of options
Tic-Tac-Toe; The board can be made of wood, tree ring
slice or stone, just engrave or pain the pattern for tic-tac-toe and 5 each of
two different color stones and see who gets tic-tac-toe three in a row.
Transfers on stone; Images can be transferred to
stones and rocks. Check links below for DYI crafts instructions and link.
Wall Holder; You will need two “L bracket” minimum,
cut two slabs and affix the L brackets to fashion a L shaped shelf, anchor the
L shaped bracket as desired then use double sided tape for the base and the
backing slabs.
Wind Chimes; I still have the one my grandfather
made. Translucent stones are nice, but any agate will work. Natural or cut wood
with fine holes to run string through to attach the slabs to. Just drill a hole
through each slab with a Dremel, keep it cool with water and be safe.
Wood decoration; A old aged piece of wood or
natural limb or tree round can be decorated with inlay or stones, also favorite
hobby or such can be added, for example for horse lovers some spurs a rope
barbed wire can be included with colorful stone embellishments a s a rustic
wall decoration.
Yard Rock Sign; I would not use a supper valuable
rock, but a larger rock can be painted or engraved with a positive message
like, “Our Garden” “Welcome” “The Rocks Cry Out” “No Goffers allowed!” be
creative.
“Remember
Rockhounds don’t Die They petrify”
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