If you know me, you know I LOVE painting rocks, so I thought it might be fun to share my top tips and tools for rock painting! This is an activity that my kids love to do, too!
While they might not paint the same intricate designs that I do, they love being involved in making their own beautiful creations to hide as part of the “Kindness Rocks” project.
Here’s what you need for some rock painting fun!
Rocks (duh)
You can paint rocks you find out in nature or buy a bag of them from a home improvement store. I choose to buy bags of them because I go through rocks so fast. No matter what you use, just be sure to give them a good wash and let them dry before you begin.
Paint 🎨
I prefer to paint the background of my rocks, but that’s not totally necessary. My favorite paint for good coverage is Apple Barrel acrylic paint from Walmart. You can use this type of paint to paint designs onto the rocks as well using small brushes, but over time I have found that acrylic paint pens work best for that.
Paint Pens 🎨✍️
Again, acrylic paint is best, so try to find some acrylic paint pens for this. The universal favorite among rock painters is by a brand called Uni-Posca – you can find them on Amazon and they have a variety of sizes of tips available. The initial sticker price may shock you, BUT they are fantastic quality and last a really long time (I still have my original set going strong from over 2 years ago).
Hashtags #️⃣
There are a billion rock painting groups online. Depending on which group you may want to join, they each tend to have their own hashtags that you can write on the back of your rocks. The hashtags enable those that find your rocks to hop online, search the hashtag, and then post a picture of the rock they found in the group! That is truly the most satisfying part of this whole thing – getting to hear about the joy your little rocks have brought to someone’s day! The rock group I personally follow is CWPD Rocks – they are associated with the Centerville-Washington Township Park District and their Facebook group page is managed by the park district. #CWPDrocks
Polyurethane Sealer
After your creations have dried, you’ll want to seal them to make them last! A coat or two of Rust-Oleum polyurethane sealer will do the trick. Be sure to allow roughly 30 minutes of drying time in between coats.
One More Important Note 📝
Never glue things onto rocks that could potentially fall off and create litter or a hazard to animals if you plan to hide the rocks. That means NO googly eyes, ribbon, string, stickers, etc. If you do not plan to hide your rocks and plan to keep them inside, then do whatever you like.
