DIY Painted Rocks For Grandkid’s Garden Area

I have a secret project planned for the grandkids and I hope they love it!

Ever since we had our new decks built last year, I have been imagining a special play area for the Grandkids underneath the front deck.

My vision for this secret garden area will include several fun crafts like this DIY painted garden rocks project.   Combined with several repurposed items transformed into garden art, this is a fun project to plan. 

This post contains affiliate links that help to support this blog at no additional cost to you if you purchase anything through these links.  I hope you find something amazing for your home through these links.

 

 

This post is part of the monthly Creative Craft Blog Hop, where I cohost each month with Sara of Birdz Of A Feather blog. 

At the bottom of this post, I will direct you to the next blogger on the list to continue your journey of some wonderful and creative projects. 

 

If you are visiting from Sara’s site, Birdz Of A Feather, welcome!  I know you will enjoy her project for Word Art Design this month.

 

 

Waiting out the weather to bring it all together.

The details of how the secret garden will look are still in the planning stages but we hope to be able to add in some turf grass, a sandbox tent, and at least one swing.

Weeks ago I took advantage of the Spring mulch sales and purchased nearly 100 bags of mulch to get started on the kid’s garden project.  But it has been raining several days a week for the last month so my outdoor landscaping and cleanup plans keep getting pushed back. 

So, my new plan is to refocus on the kid’s garden area on the first of June.  After I finish the Spring One Room Challenge® and the 1970s bathroom renovation we are working on. 

Despite the delays in the weather, I figured I could still find small chunks of time to get some of the little details of this secret kid garden done to be ahead of the game before June 1st.

These DIY-painted rocks are one of those little projects.

 

 

 

The Grandkids are inspiring me to create new things.

There is nothing like the arrival of grandkids in the family to make you change your mind about whimsical things such as fairy gardens and painted rocks. 

I am proof that you can change your mind about such things because my kids blessed me with the sweetest little grandkids in the last three years and it inspired me to create a fairy garden and a secret garden for them around our house.

In the past three years, I have gone from someone who thought these things were cute but was not interested in creating a whimsical garden of any kind.  But now, here I am just crushing it and having a good time while attempting to make these whimsical little painted rocks that my grandkids will love.

 

 

 

Before I could start on my painted rocks outdoor project I needed to find some smooth stones or small rocks.  Luckily my daughter’s house has two large flowerbeds full of small rounded stones and she permitted me to use however many I wanted.

If you are not as lucky to have someone in the family with flowerbeds full of rocks you can use, then you will need to go shopping at your local craft stores or online to find some great options for small stones.

 

 

Whether you forage for the rocks and small stones or buy them, the first step before adding any paint is to wash and clean them.  On Pinterest, I saw all kinds of suggestions on how to clean the small stones, including washing them with soapy water. 

 

 

My rocks were already fairly clean so I gave them a good rinse in hot water and allowed them to dry out for several hours before applying paint.

 

 

The next step was to give all the small stones a base coat of black paint. 

When I used to paint ceramics with my mom, we always started with a coat of black paint as the base paint.  The black base coat added dimension to the nooks and crannies of the ceramic piece.  I figured painting rocks wasn’t much different so I started with a full covering of black paint over the smooth stones.

 

 

 

After the black base coat on the rocks had dried for a few hours, I started playing around with design ideas by grouping the small stones by shape or laying them out on wax paper in various shapes.

 

 

I had many painted rock ideas floating around in my head that I wanted to try. 

What I painted on each rock was determined more by the shape of the rocks than any of the rock painting ideas I had gathered. 

However, to get a kid’s attention, each hand-painted rock needed to be either funny rocks or creatures that kids could recognize.  Bright colors that stand out amongst the flower beds were also a requirement for my rock art. 

 

 

Ladybugs and bees were obvious choices for my painted rock ideas, but I also included little pink pigs, flower petals, and small stones linked together to resemble friendly caterpillars.   All of them would have smiling faces.   

A few of the more oddly shaped rocks I added a four-leaf clover and cute little dog paws.  Our family loves dogs so the grandkids would relate to little stones with dog paws painted on them.

 

 

Next time I indulge in more garden crafts and garden decor, I will paint rocks with an inspirational message. 

The painting process was a little hard to photograph while working with them.  I hope you understand the lack of in-process pictures.

 

 

To apply the acrylic paints to the rocks, I used simple craft paint brushes and cotton swabs to make the round eyes.  For some of the smaller details, I found that a fine-point black Sharpie was also a great way to accentuate the details.  If I had been painting larger rocks, I would have probably used a foam brush to make the job quicker. 

 

 

Once the acrylic paints have time to dry, the last step is to apply a clear coat of sealant to prepare the painted rocks for outdoor use.  My preferred product is Rust-Oleum’s Triple Thick Glaze, an easy-to-apply high gloss coating. 

 

 

 

As mentioned in the opening of this post, the weather is strongly affecting my ability to complete my outdoor projects.  Under the threat of rain, I placed several of the finished painted rocks temporarily in random places in my flowerbeds to show you how cute they are in place. 

They will be even more adorable once I finish the secret garden area underneath the front deck soon. 

 

This would be a great project to continue with the grandkids.

Painting rocks is a fun way to take small rocks and decorate them with different colors and small details that make your garden space come alive with character.   You don’t have to be a skilled artist, or even especially good at the whole painting process, to create your rock garden.  Just have fun with it.

 

 

 

Pin For Later

 

 

 

I would like to invite you to visit all the other talented bloggers who participated in the Creative Craft Hop this month.

Starting with Cecila’s project for Fragrant Honeysuckle and Rosemary Luminary.

 

 

Glue Gun Caddy

Easy and Quick Way to Recover an Outdoor Bench Cushion

Lavender Frost Daisy Catchall Dish

Repurposed Old Window

Word Art Design

DIY Painted Rocks For Grandkid’s Garden Area

Fragrant Honeysuckle and Rosemary Luminary

Easy Inexpensive Swing Frame Art

 

Hugs,

Matthew 7:8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.