Painted Rocks - An Experiment with Shaving Cream and Acrylics

Coloring eggs is a traditional Easter holiday activity that children enjoy and I wondered if something different could be done using rocks instead of hard-boiled eggs. 

I came across this idea using shaving cream and acrylic paints and decided to experiment with stones instead of paper.

This video also shows the process.

My 1st try using shaving cream & acrylic paint on paper

 My 1st result using a stone (smeared by my finger)

My 2nd stone with a little peach color added (streaked by squeegee)

 
I experimented a second time using different stones:

Primed, egg-shaped smooth stones and natural, flat porous stones

and a new shaving cream/acrylic paint color combination:

Shaving cream and acrylic paint swirled and ready to go

Here's the result of both attempts using the shaving cream/acrylic paint process on stones.

My results using primed and unprimed stones

What I learned:

• Stones are heavy and sink into the shaving cream so the finished design is not as pretty and marbleized as when done using paper
• If your stones are very smooth, you'll need to paint 1-2 coats of white, acrylic paint to prime them first
• Painting the stones white helps the other colors show up better 

• The stones are slippery when removing them from the shaving cream/acrylic and your fingers can "smear" some of the area when you remove them from the tray

• Removing the shaving cream with a squeegee left streaks on the rocks (I also used string and an index card and had the same results)
• This project is messy so you'll need to protect your work surface and have plenty of paper towels handy 
• Once dry, you can protect the stones with a clear, polyurethane or acrylic sealer

Even though the results weren't as pretty as I hoped, this would still be a fun painting project for kids whether you use paper or stones.

Do you have any ideas for making this work better? 

Please comment. 

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks