I used cardboard-type egg cartons as the basic material to make the bricks for my "For the Birds" project. The bumpier the cardboard the better. I used the inside surface of the carton for the top of the brick. Any kind of printing on the carton will get covered by paint. You can use just the lid to cut your bricks from, or any area of the carton that is flat enough to get a few bricks from. Some of the best, bumpier type bricks come from the "cone" areas down the middle of the carton. You only get a few from each side of the cone, but they make the best bricks.

First you need to get rid of all the areas of the carton you won't be using by cutting it apart. Next you need to cut the carton pieces into strips 7/32" wide. You can use a scissor or a rotary cutter. Then cut each strip into bricks 5/8" long.

This next step you can either do or skip, depending on your patience level. I then take each brick and cut off all four sharp corners. Make sure you only trim off a tiny, tiny bit. You will basically end up with a bunch of grey dust when finished cutting all the corners. This will soften the look of the brick and make it look more real. You should now have a pile of bricks, hopefully all the same size.

I decided for my "For the Birds" path, I wanted the brick to be surrounded by flagstone. I first glued down 1/8" graph paper to the base so I would keep the brick pattern straight as I laid them. Then I tested out the flagstone, fitting them together like a puzzle. Once I had them all laid out, I then glued them all down using Elmer's glue.

Here is a close-up of the flagstone with the unpainted brick glued in place. I laid the brick in a herringbone pattern to match the floor inside the birdhouse. The brick can be laid in any brick pattern you desire and is very easily cut to go around any obstacles.

Here I was wondering if I should have laid all the bricks first and painted them before putting down the flagstone. I could have laid down the flagstone and cut around them, cutting the brick and peeling it away. I guess I'll never know which way is easier unless I decide to do this look again.

Anyways...as you see I had to tape off all the flagstone so when I sponge painted the brick I wouldn't get any paint on the flagstone.

I sponge painted Burnt Sienna on as the base color, it goes a lot faster than with a brush.

Then I took more Burnt Sienna, also Raw Sienna and Yellow Ochre, and placed small blobs of each color all over a paper plate. You want to be able to pick up all the colors every time you dip your sea sponge. Dab off a bit, then start dabbing it onto your bricks. The colors mix together and blend as you dab. Once your paint is dry, spray the bricks with a matte sealer.

Here is a close-up of the brick and flagstone after it has been painted, but before grouting.

I used "Dap Fast and Final" for my grout. I think you can use any brand of grout, but I had this on hand from an earlier project (The Secret Garden). I like the consistency of it, it's like frosting, and if it's a bit dry, you can just add water to get it the right consistency again. I then added a bit of black and Raw Sienna paint to warm the color up. You can make the grout any color you want, just like painting the bricks any color, that's what I like about it. Spread it onto the bricks with your fingers, then wipe off excess with a damp sponge. You can leave some grout in the crevices and bumps of your bricks for added realism.

Here is a closeup of the floor and steps of the birdhouse. As you can see, I combined a herringbone pattern, a straight running brick pattern and also curved bricking around the edges of the steps. The brick layout possibilities are endless!

Here are some good sites for pictures of brick patterns.

Gavin Historical Bricks

Brick Industry Assoc.

Historic Landmarks Commission

Brick Masonry Arches

Finally the birdhouse is put in place with the finished brick and flagstone path.

Here is another way to use cardboard egg cartons.
They have been cut in the shape of flagstone, individually painted, then laid in a dirt floor.
The egg cartons have the look and feel of real stone. Floor made by Dori Hatfield.

Here are a couple other tutorials for making stones using egg cartons.

Stone Floor Tutorial by Dori

Stone Wall or Floor Tutorial by Carol Jones

Brick Tutorial by Carol Jones

Here is a wonderful wine cellar, made by Betsie Treurnicht. She used egg cartons for all the walls.
To see more photos of her wine cellar, plese click link below.

Betsie Treurnicht's Wine Cellar