Amethyst Encrusted Brick Wall

Long time readers of this blog will know that I seem to have an obsession with brick. This project is the 3^rd brick veneer wall I have installed in my home and my 4^th project (the other one was a brick floor in my bathroom)

Every time my neighbor comes over she says, “Wow! You really like brick.”

Yes, yes I do.

This latest brick project is like my former thin brick wall but with a bit of a twist- I added amethyst crystals!

I knew I wanted to put up real brick in the bedroom since I added the white brick wall paper a few years ago.

A few months ago I was in Lowes shopping and found 10 cases of thin brick veneer for $12 case (normally $60 per case) so I bought them all. My husband gets an additional %10 off with the military discount so I saved even more money.

I swear if not paying full price on anything was an Olympic sport I would win gold.

I had this weird idea to attach amethyst crystals to the walls and have it look like they were sort of magically growing out of the brick wall where some old brick pieces had fallen off.

What I would have really liked to do was install an entire wall of amethyst chunks but that would have cost about $10,000 and having that kind of disposable income to spend on crystals isn’t about to happen anytime soon, so I settled with the chunks. I bought several flats of amethyst crystals clusters.

Check out the video below where I show you exactly how did this project and then follow the instructions below to do it  yourself.

Materials for the amethyst brick wall

• Thin brick veneer
• Tile adhesive
• Sanded grout
• Amethyst pieces
• Purple acrylic paint

Tools for installation and grouting

• trowel
• drywall/ putty knife
• grout mixer
• sponge bucket
• tile saw
• level
• E-6000 glue
• paintbrush
• Ziplock freezer bags

Instructions for the amethyst crystal brick wall

Prep before you begin

1. Remove wall paper from the wall (if there is any) and wash it with water to remove dirt and dust the day before you begin.
2. Decide where you are going to place the amethyst and mark those sections so you don’t accidentally install bricks in those areas.

Install the bricks

1. Apply brick tiles to wall with tile adhesive. Back butter the bricks and stick them to the wall. Use a level to make sure they are even.
2. Cut bricks with a tile saw as needed to make them fit. Or smash with a hammer to break them up.

Attach the amethyst crystals

1. Use the tile adhesive to attach the crystals the same way as the brick. Back butter and stick them in. Break up some of the crystals with a hammer to make them smaller and fit.
2. After the tile adhesive has dried for a day it's time to grout.

Grout the brick

To apply the grout I put the mixed grout into a regular Ziploc bag and cut off one corner. Then I squeezed the grout in between the cracks just like I was icing a cake. You can purchase special masonry grout bags for this purpose but I liked using the Ziploc bag’s better and they were way cheaper

1. Mix grout with water according to directions on bag.
2. Pour it into a plastic bag with the corner cut off and then apply the grout to the spaces between the bricks.
3. Use caution not to get grout on the crystals.
4. Clean up grout with a sponge and water.

Smooth out any areas with gloved fingers and use a sponge to clean up any grout that has gone rogue. The grout will set in a of couple hours and will be completely hard in a day or two.

Finish the amethyst details

1. Paint the white dried adhesive around the crystals with a small paintbrush and purple paint.
2. Use E6000 glue and small tweezers or pliers to add smaller chunks of amethyst into the cracks and make it look like one larger hunk of crystal.
3. Allow grout to dry for 3 days before sealing.

Notes:

Sealing grout on a wall is optional. If you choose to seal it you can use a water based sealer meant for stone and masonry.

I used this grout in Ivory. Remember friends, the rule of thumb with grout is: for spaces less than ⅛ of an inch use un-sanded grout and for ⅛ to ½ inch use sanded. When grouting brick I would always recommend using sanded grout.

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What do you think?

Check out more brick wall projects here:

• Thin brick wall tutorial
• Brick floor DIY
• Brick wall paper tutorial