How Waverly Semi-Gloss Paints Performed on a Rock

I learned about Waverly paints from a fellow rock painter and thought I'd give them a try. They're available exclusively at Walmart in 2 oz. plastic bottles for less than $1.50 per bottle.

Plaid (the manufacturer) describes the paint as:

• Semi-gloss
• Highly pigmented
• High-performance
• Durable
• Fade-resistant
• Ideal for indoor and outdoor DIY craft projects
• Works on decorative glass, wood, paper mache, terra cotta, concrete, and plastic

The hues I purchased were: Plaster (off white), Agave (blue), Rhubarb (coral), and Ink (black). (I was tempted to purchase more because all the colors were so pretty.)

For my test, I applied the plaster (off white) to one side of my stone as a base coat. I then painted small squares using the other 3 colors on both sides of the stone.

The results:

• The coverage was good on both sides of the stone (although it took 2 applications of paint)
• The paints had an ammonia odor which I did not like
• The size of the bottle's opening made it messy to pour onto a palette
• The paint is thick and would need to be thinned for detail painting
• This paint formula would have worked well for my bird bath project

Here are the Waverly Inspirations Super Premium Semi-Gloss Acrylic Paint hues, however, some shades may not be available at your local Walmart.

Waverly Inspirations Super Premium Semi-Gloss Acrylic Paint Hues

Have you used these paints? Let me know what you think of them or how you've used them on rocks. 

Helpful Link: Waverly Inspirations Super Premium Semi-Gloss Acrylic Paints web page

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks

How I Transformed a Stone Bird Bath with Outdoor Acrylic Paints

A few years ago a dear friend gave me a bird bath which he primed with gray and black so I could paint it as I wished. This Spring I finally decided to add some color to the bird bath.

Since the shape of the bowl and base reminded me of a flower, I decided to use the "Ring of Fire" Sunflower as my inspiration.

Photo courtesy of All-America Selections

2001 AAS Flower Award Winner:
Sunflower 'Ring of Fire'
National Winner

I have used outdoor acrylic paints on my rocks and thought they would work just as well on this stone bird bath. Here are the paints I used. (My choice of brand was solely based on the color I desired and these are all 2 oz. bottles.)

• Anita's Yard & Garden Durable Outdoor Paint - Marigold Garden
• DecoArt Crafter's Acrylic All-Purpose Acrylic Paint - Burnt Umber (not pictured)
• Anita's All Purpose Acrylic Craft Paint - Brick Red
• DecoArt Patio Paint Outdoor - Orange Poppy
• DecoArt Patio Paint Outdoor - Splendid Gold
• DecoArt Patio Paint Outdoor - Sweet Pea
• Anita's Yard & Garden Durable Outdoor Paint - Garden Gate White

Step 1

I did not want to take the time to re-prime the bird bath bowl. So, I first sanded the rough areas where the gray primer had worn away.

Step 2

I applied 4 coats of "Marigold Garden" (yellow) outdoor paint to cover the gray primer and added a brown center using "Burnt Umber" Crafter's Acrylic.

Step 3

To add a little pizazz, I painted a line of "Splendid Gold" Patio Paint around each petal shape.

Step 4

To paint the "ring of fire" around the brown center, I mixed "Orange Poppy" Patio Paint with "Brick Red" Acrylic Craft Paint and brushed strokes out from the center toward the petal shapes.

Next, I stroked lines over the reddish-orange "ring of fire" using the "Splendid Gold" and "Brick Red" paint.

Step 5

To finish up the bird bath bowl, I painted "Splendid Gold" around the brown center and dabbed the same color inside the brown circle. Lastly, I painted "Splendid Gold" ovals inside the petal shapes.

Step 6

Because the base was primed with black, I primed the petal shapes around the lower portion of the base with white outdoor paint. 

Next, I used the "Sweet Pea" (green) patio paint to cover the stem and leaf section of the base. Once I painted the light green hue over the base, the leaves sculpted in the stone base became more visible and I decided to leave them "as is" rather than detail them any further. 

"Splendid Gold" was painted around the top portion. (The very bottom remained the existing gray color.)

Step 7

Although I used paint formulated specifically for outdoor projects, I also sealed the bird bath base and bowl with 3 coats of Delta Ceramcoat Satin Exterior/Interior Varnish (a polyurethane sealer).

Here's a bird's eye view of the brightly-painted bird bath in the garden.

Tips & Ideas

One, 2-oz. bottle of paint (in the colors mentioned above) was enough to cover the bird bath with plenty left over for other projects.

Bird bath bowls can become slimy and icky. I've been told hydrogen peroxide can be used to clean the bowl. In addition, salt or baking soda can be used to scrub off the slime.

My solution to a slimy bird bath bowl is to place a plastic coffee can lid in the center. The lid is easily removed to toss the old water into the garden and add fresh water for the birds.

I also surround the plastic lid with stones as a perch for the birds. I have noticed my visiting birds prefer drinking over bathing. 

Useful Link

• FAQs for DecoArt Patio Paint

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks 

Rock Painting Tip: How to Identify Colors from a Photo

 
This recent rock painting project called for cadmium yellow deep acrylic paint. I did not own that color and I had no clue what it looked like other than a shade of yellow.

An internet search for cadmium yellow deep returned several different shades.

Which of these deep cadmium yellows was I supposed to use?

Here's a helpful tip to identify colors and color match using the Microsoft Paint program and the color picker tool.

For my example, I'm using a photo of Cadi, my favorite Corgi.

Open the photo you're working from in MS Paint or other painting program and click the eyedropper (circled below).

When you click on a section of your photo with the eyedropper, the color of that section appears in the "Color 1" box (circled below). You can then use the brush tool or draw a box and fill it with that color. Do the same thing for other sections of your photo.

 
Now you have the hues you need to paint your rock project. You can print the photo and use it as a guide for purchasing your acrylic colors or use the photo as a guide for mixing your own colors.


Useful Resources

• Color Conversion Charts
• Shading/Highlighting Chart 
• How to Test Your Design Before Painting it on a Rock
• Microsoft Paint - Wikipedia
• How to Work with Paint in Windows 7 & 8
• How to Use Windows 7 MS Paint Part 1 (YouTube)
• How to Use Windows 7 MS Paint Part 2 (YouTube) 

A special thanks to Lisa from ROCK ART USA for the idea and Shirley for permission to use Cadi's photo. 

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks

Rock Painting Kits

Not sure if rock painting is for you?

I was in my local Barnes & Noble today and discovered three rock painting kits with everything you need to get started. And they were on sale for the bargain price of $7.95.

I purchased this kit...

...which contained:

• Full-color booklet with project ideas (Note: the booklet does not provide step-by-step painting instructions)
• Smooth river stones
• Acrylic paints
• Paint brush

Items included in my rock painting kit

Each kit was a little different but they all contained a booklet, paints, stones and a brush or two. 

Rock painting kits are an inexpensive way to experiment with painted rocks and a great gift for kids.

Painted Rocks: No Drawing Skills Required

I needed a break from detailed rock painting and created these colorful stones using an easy, no-drawing technique.

  
The only items required were a brush, some paint, masking tape, and, of course, stones.

I love to collect color palettes to inspire future rock painting projects. However, I often don't have the opportunity to try out the color combinations. (You can find beautiful color palettes here.) 

This simple, rock painting technique serves many purposes:

• Method for trying out new color palettes
• Easy project to undertake after time-consuming, detailed rock painting
• Use for stones with no definitive subject in mind
• Adds colorful stones to a give-away collection

You'll need:

• Smooth, flat stones
• Flat brush
• Masking tape
• Acrylic paint

Step 1: Use masking tape to section off a portion of the stone 

Step 2: Apply acrylic paint in your choice of color. 

Step 3: Once the paint is dry (you may need 1-3 coats), carefully remove the tape.

Repeat the process for each section you wish to cover with paint.

2 Sections have been completed

Geometric-painted stone with unpainted center section

Tips

• Smooth, flat stones work best

• Limit paint colors to 2-4 hues.
• Make sure the masking tape is firmly pressed onto the stone so no paint leaks underneath.
• Pull the tape off carefully after the paint has dried.
• You may need to touch up some areas when tape is pulled off.
• When painting between sections, a thin piece of masking tape can be used to section off the area. This will minimize the risk of removing paint from a dried section.

Ideas

• Embellish your geometric stones with dots, dashes, floral vines, etc.
• Leave a section of the stone unpainted
• Paint stones in flag colors of your country, sports team, etc.
• Use metallic, glitter, or other specialty paints for a different effect
• Mod Podge a saying, pretty flower, etc. onto the stone

No drawing skills. No problem. You can still have fun painting colorful rocks and stones.

Embellished geometric-painted stones

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks

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