Painted Pebbles are Pet Rocks with Personality!

Crafts like fashion trends constantly recycle into new carnations. Pet rocks were a fad when I was child although I don't remember them being particularly colorful or fun to make. I've decided to bring a new breed of pet rock to the Brunswick Maine this summer. I'm loading up buckets of beach rocks to bring into the library so that creative youngsters can transform them into in vibrant sea creatures.

 My four year old assistant officially tested the project and gives is a double thumbs up painting three rocks, and asking for more the next day.

This craft will be the first of my six free Monday morning craft workshops for kids, a part of Curtis Memorial Library 'Make a Splash, Read!' summer programming.  Please pre-register for this 10:30 am June 21st event with the childrens desk starting 6/7. Proceeds from the book sale at the junior high helps support children and teen programs so be sure to hit up the sale June 25-27.

These are my rocks after one and a half coats of paint.

If you're unable to join us at the library there's no reason that you can't have a rock painting party of your own. All you need is a rock, acrylic paint, paint brush, some plastic eyes, Aleene's metal jewelery glue, and Krylon Waterproof spray sealer to keep your rock in high shine. Make sure you wash your brush between colors and dry it on a paper towel. While painting my test rocks I discovered that a low moisture acrylic paint would dry faster and require less coats. I've received some great 'facebook' suggestions for an alternative brand of paint and am currently on the hunt for Patio Paints to see if they'll do the trick in a single coat.

 This a combination of both our creations, you can see that there's no wrong way to paint a rock or make a pet!

Once the paint has dried, glue on the eyes and let the glue set. Adults should spray the rocks in a well ventilated area, use a paper towel to quickly remove the spray film from the plastic eyes.