LESSON 3: Simple Stones for Sharing
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In this lesson we will be completing four projects that are fairly simple to execute. Despite their apparent simplicity, the end products are powerful! They feature words of encouragement, affirmation, and empowerment and are sure to bring smiles to many faces.
PROJECT 1: Inhale Courage, Exhale Fear & You Are My Sunshine
For this project, we are going to use a black acrylic paint pen to write words of encouragement on the stones we prepped in Lesson 2 with a base coat and a background color. (If you skipped Lesson 2, go back and complete the base coat and background color steps.)
We will be free-handing the following designs on our yellow rocks:
Watch the above video and/or follow these steps:
Using a scrap piece of paper, practice drawing the “Inhale Courage” and “Sunshine” designs in pencil. If you practice beforehand, you are less likely to make mistakes on the real thing.
If you feel ready, grab your prepped rocks and a black acrylic paint pet! Begin to draw one of the designs on your rocks.
Change up the font sizes by using lower and upper case lettering.
Trace over the letters, making some lines thicker and darker to give it a more script-like or calligraphy effect. This makes your rock more interesting.
Follow the outer curve of the rock to curve your words. You don’t want them to be in a straight line.
The vine in the “courage” rock is a simple curved line with leaves staggered on each side.
The sun in the “sunshine” rock starts with a swirl in the middle, followed by sun rays that are different lengths.
Be sure to balance your design so that there are no big empty spaces on one side or the other. If you find you have left a lot of space and the design looks unbalanced, add an exclamation point or a tiny heart or some other element to fill in the space.
Once you are done, pat yourself on the back. CONGRATULATIONS! You just finished your first painted rocks!
Your rocks are ready for sealing. See the “Sealing Your Rocks” section below.
The techniques used in these designs can be applied to any kind of text or silhouette design. Play around with new things, and have fun!
PROJECT 2: You Rock!
This project walks you through creating a pocket-sized rock that says… you guessed it!… “you ROCK!” Clever, I know. But I’m sure I’m not the first one to use this pun.
Watch the video above and/or follow the steps below:
If you have not already done so, prep a small rock (around 2 inches in size) with a base coat and a background color of your choice. (I used a tan as my background color; you want a color that will allow black script to show.) Allow the background color to dry completely.
Using a black acrylic paint pen, write “you ROCK!” on the stone. I write the word “you” in lowercase and “rock” in uppercase just for visual effect.
Trace back over some of the lines of the letters for a more calligraphic effect.
Draw a little heart at the bottom of the exclamation point.
If there are any empty spaces that make the rock look off-balance, simply draw another heart in that space!
Using a red acrylic paint pen, fill in the hearts.
You are DONE! Your rocks are ready for sealing. See the “Sealing Your Rocks” section below.
PROJECT 3: Empowerment Pebbles Set
This project is a great one for kids! Your end product is 15 little stones, each featuring a word of empowerment. They can be shared at birthday parties, at school, at church, at hospitals, and basically anywhere!
Watch the video above and/or follow the steps below:
If you have not already done so, prep 15 small stones with a base coat and a background color of your choice. (I used a tan background; you want a color that will allow black script to show.) Allow the background to dry completely.
Using a black acrylic paint pen, write words and/or phrases of empowerment on your stones. You can use any kind of script you want, upper- or lowercase. Here is a list of possible words of Encouragement: courage, friend, believe, trust, beautiful, strong, fearless, brave, faith, hope, love, be you, kindness, you can, you got this, stay strong, you are enough, you are amazing, wisdom, shine, play, sing, laugh, smile, dance, peace… (you get the idea!)
Add a line of dots underneath each word or phrase. This gives the stones a bit of interest and serves as an “anchor” for the word(s).
When you are done with your words or phrases, your rocks are ready for sealing. See the “Sealing Your Rocks” section below.
PROJECT 4: Pocket Pebble Angels
This project is a special one for me. It features my “Alleluia Rocks Angel” that appears on a lot of my designs. These little stones are wonderful for kids and adults alike, and they are small enough to carry in a pocket, purse, or lunch bag! Many of my customers carry bags of these around to hand out as needed in schools, churches, hospitals, and the workplace.
Watch the video above and/or follow the steps below:
This project starts with 10 small rocks or pebbles (sized 1-2 inches) that are painted with TWO COATS of white paint. Allow the coats of paint to dry completely.
Gather the following supplies:
blue paint (I use sky blue) - for the dress
Skin-colored paint (I used peach, but you can use any skin tone shade you like) - for the face
Black paint - for the eyes
black paint pen - for the outline
red paint pen - for the heart
brown paint pen - for the hair
Paint tray
2 paint brushes with small tips
One ball stylus pen
Using the black paint pen, draw the outline of the angels on your rocks. The design starts with a circle for the head, a triangle with a scalloped edge for the dress, curved lines for the wings, curlieques for the hair, and an oval for the halo.
Draw a little heart beneath one wing of each angel.
Pour a small amount of blue paint into your paint tray. Dip a brush into the paint and fill in the dresses of the angels.
Use the skin-toned paint to fill in the face of the angel.
Use the red paint pen to fill in the hearts.
Use the brown paint pen to fill in the hair.
Once the faces are dry, dip the small end of the ball stylus pen into the black paint. Dot eyes on each angel.
Once all the paint is dry, use the black paint pen to go back over the outline of the angels. This makes the finished product look neater and complete. You can also use this step to cover up any stray paint that may have gone outside of your lines.
Your rocks are ready for sealing. See the “Sealing Your Rocks” section below.
SEALING YOUR ROCKS
It’s important to seal your rocks to protect your precious artwork from scratches, fading, and water damage. See Lesson 1 for more details about the exact sealant I use.
IMPORTANT: You must be sure to find a well-ventilated area to use a spray sealant. The vapors can be harmful. Wear a protective mask over your mouth, nose, and eyes.
Lay your rocks on a flat surface protected with a layer of paper. (I spread shipping paper on an old table and lay my rocks on that.) Spray your rocks with a sweeping motion. Wait 15 minutes and then spray a second coat. If, after the second coat is dry and the rocks are not as glossy as you want, you can spray a third coat. Allow the sealant to dry completely before handling the rocks. Depending on the temperature and humidity, this can take anywhere from a few hours to an entire day.
