And also a chimney!

In an earlier post, I mentioned the mysterious cedar stake things that I found at Home Depot and decided to repurpose for my chimney. Here they are in original form, though you can only see about 1/3 of the length:

And here they are cut up and assembled into a chimney shape:

Last weekend I went to the art supply store after dropping Josh off at work in the morning. I got to the art store right before they opened, so I did the awkward hanging-around-outside-trying-to-look-casual-and-not-putting-any-pressure-on-anyone thing until they opened. Then I went in and had the great privilege of being the only customer with about ten staff members hanging around, which was great because I asked them for some advice on materials and they were helpful. It was a fun conversation:

Me: "Excuse me, could you point me to your pumice gel mediums? And also a paint that will look like old brick? I'm making a chimney out of cedar."
Then later: "What should I use to seal this or coat it when I'm done? It will be outside."
Him: "Oh, it should be fine.... like, outside for how long?"
Me: "...indefinitely?"
Him: "Oh... then you should probably seal it. You might try Home Depot for an exterior sealant..."

That was fine, I was on my way back to Home Depot anyway, because you remember those two-long-skinny-and-one-shorter-wider poplar boards I got? Well, they split the second I tried to screw into them, even though I had pre-drilled, so they didn't work. I decided to just cut down some of my extra plywood to the right size at Home Depot, where they have been very nice about sawing things for me (I also had to re-cut the roof there last week, as I had miscalculated the size I needed after changing some other measurements, long story). After another trip to Home Depot, I had the right boards, some exterior caulk for the seams of the house, and a few other odds and ends. Success!

Then I started experimenting with carving the bricks, using a piece of leftover scrap for the tests. The best system has been using a chisel and screwdriver to make the indentations:

Now I'm working on the best method for applying and adjusting the brick coating.