Classic Design Ideas for Painted Rocks

Don't only rely on rock painting books for design ideas. Classic designs from books published years ago can easily be painted on rocks also.

For instance, the book "Pat Olson's Holiday Classics 1" (published in 1994) contains 37 designs (mostly bunnies) but also includes several patterns for Valentine's, St. Patrick's, and Patriotic-themed paint projects.

Note: When you click on certain links in this post, I may receive a commission for the purchase of products. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

In addition to the 37 patterns, "Pat Olson's Holiday Classics 1" also includes general info about acrylic painting, painting terms, fabric painting, "watercoloring" with acrylics and an acrylic paint color comparison chart.

Each design pattern lists the brand of paint and colors to use, step-by-step, written instructions and indicates the page where the painted, finished design appears in the book.

Look at what I painted on a rock using two of the design patterns from Pat Olson's book!

I used these designs from the book - "Chunkie Bunny with a Heart" and "Sending My Love" - to paint this rock. One side featured the cute bunny and I took advantage of the reverse, heart-shaped side to paint a plaid heart.

"Chunkie Bunny with a Heart" and "Sending My Love"

For a St. Patrick's Day rock, I used the "Irish Children Chunkies" design and painted the girl on one side of the rock and painted the boy on the rock's reverse side.

"Irish Children Chunkies"

So, don't ignore out-of-print design and pattern books. They can be a valuable source of inspiration for your rock painting projects.

Helpful Links

• Additional Pat Olson Books
• Rock Painting Tips for Beginners
• Helpful Rock Painting Tools and Supplies

Note: When you click on certain links in this post, I may receive a commission for the purchase of products. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks

Free Rock Painting Lesson - Simple Owls

Painted owl rocks are very popular and this easy, free project has unlimited possibilities.

I painted this owl in 10 minutes using this tutorial.

My painted rock owl

I used 3-D fabric paint for the whites of the owl's eyes

Metallic purple & silver craft paint was used for this owl

Other ideas for painting these rock owls:

• vary the colors
• outline the feathers and body with black or a darker color
• fill in the beak with yellow
• instead of circles on the chest, try another design
• vary the size of the eyes
• attach magnets to small stones

My owl variations

This project is simple enough for children and beginning rock painters and is a great idea when you need quick, home-made painted rock gifts.


© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks

Rock Painting Ideas and Patterns Can be Changed Easily to Create Unique Pieces

What I enjoy about rock painting is that one rock painting idea or pattern can create many unique painted rock objects by changing up the paint colors and a few design elements.

Recently, I came across a  Baby Bluebird of Happiness rock painting pattern and painted this baby bluebird.

Painted Rock Baby Bluebird of Happiness

Next, I hand painted two more baby bluebird rocks. By painting the birds with larger mouths and placing them in a basket, I now had a set of Hungry Baby Bluebirds of Happiness.

Painted Rocks - Hungry Baby Bluebirds of Happiness

I then painted another variation from the same rock painting pattern using the colors of robins, and placed them in a twig basket with moss.

Robins in a Basket Painted Rocks

Yet another variation of baby bird rocks was hand painted using shades of tan. I placed these painted baby bird rocks into a green basket.

Tan Hungry Birds Painted Rocks 

In the photo below, you can see how one rock painting pattern and idea produced several unique, painted rock sets by: 

• Using differently-shaped rocks
• Changing the paint colors   
• Varying the design for mouth shapes
• Adding interest with baskets. 

Painted Rocks - A Collection of Hungry Baby Birds

Baby bird rock painting ideas are endless thanks to a simple rock painting pattern, nature, and the inspiration that is all around me.


© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks