Painted Backdrop

Here is my brick wall I painted onto an opened-out cardboard box.  This was used in my Lost and found exhibition, as a backdrop for my creations.  I have just answered a FreeCycle query about 'brick wall paper', where I gave them the fllowing instructions and thought it would be good to post it here also.  So thanks Fred.

"Hi Fred,  I do not have brick paper, but can tell you how I did my own brick wall......  I took a car sponge and ripped it in half length-wise.  This gave me a striated rough side, with which I used as a printing tool.  I painted a background in mortar colour onto some corrugated cardboard and let it dry.  I then mixed some paint into my preferred brick colour and started printing my brick wall.  I did bricks in a few shades.  I should have kept a more careful eye on the spacing, as my mortar became thicker the further up my wall I went. I put some depth to it by using just the edge of the sponge and dipping it in light paint and printing along the top and left edge of each brick.  I followed the same idea only with dark paint along the bottom and right edge."

 This was great fun.  Another funny thing was that when I had finished printing the bricks a gentleman customer from 'The Room at the Top' came by and told me, "Of course, you know you've got too much mortar there.'  He is a retired builder and knows a dodgy wall when he sees one.