Painting Rocks!: October 2020

Little Boy in a Bunny Costume

Thank you for being here for this rock painting tutorial!

'Little Boy in a Bunny Costume'
by nancymaggielee

By using my methods, anyone can learn how to paint rocks and turn them into beautiful decorative pieces of art. I sure hope you will give it a try!

In this tutorial, I will lay out for you step by step through outlines, video demonstrations and links to articles how I took an image (pictured below) and transferred it onto a rock. The result is the rock in the image above.

Sidenote: The videos or articles showing the process for this tutorial, 'Little Boy in a Bunny Costume' may use different images.

This is the picture I used to transfer to my rock
for a base image to embellish

There may seem to be a lot of steps, but the process is fairly simple. You will be using Mod Podge gel medium to coat the image and let it dry onto the surface of the rock.

Also provided will be a list of supplies I used with links to where you can purchase them online for your convenience. Just as a sidenote, you can also purchase most of the supplies used in this project tutorial at your local craft store.

Please note that you may not need all of the supplies I included in the list below, but I wanted to include links to additional products to give you a choice and to demonstrate the wide variety of products that can assist you in creating beautiful painted rocks.

Before you transfer the image, you will need to do a few things to prepare your rock for the transfer of the image…

1. Find a rock you want to paint, wash and dry your rock.

2. Paint the rock with at least two coats of white acrylic paint.

3. Select a picture you would like on your rock and print it out onto freezer paper.

Read "Learn How to Find and Print Any Picture from Your Computer" linked here (and below) to learn more about where you can find prints for your rock.

After you find a picture you would like to transfer, you will have to download it into a word processing document using a simple copy and paste method which you can learn about by clicking the links below this paragraph.

How to Transfer an Image to a Rock Using Freezer Paper, White Paint and Mod Podge!

Learn How to Find Pictures on Your Computer, Resize and Print from a Word Processing Document

Where Can I Find Rocks to Paint on?

Using a Stencil to Transfer a Design to a Rock

You may also want to watch the following videos before you get started…

How to Make Freezer Paper Sheets for your Inkjet Printer

Printing Commands Tutorial for Printing onto Freezer Paper

(also called: Little Boy in Bunny Costume Rock - PART 2 - "Printing Extra Flowers onto Freezer Paper")

Are you ready rock painters??? Let's get started...here we go!

DIRECTIONS:

Read and follow the written directions in each STEP, and watch the videos linked in each STEP below for visual demonstrations.

Make sure to refer to the articles and videos linked above the DIRECTIONS BEFORE moving forward.

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STEP #1

In this video, I explain how to take a picture from the internet (Pinterest), and by using my simple copy and paste method print out the image on an inkjet printer. I downloaded a picture into a word processing document so that it could be resized and reformatted easily. You can use this method to print out most any picture you can find online.

Watch the video below and after following the directions, then move on to Step #2...

"Downloading Image into Word Processing Document"

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STEP #2

In this video I will demonstrate the print commands for printing on a piece of freezer paper that you will have manually placed into the rear tray of your inkjet printer.

I filmed this in real time with my phone, so I apologize for the shakiness of the video. In any case I hope that you will find it helpful and informative.

Using ordinary kitchen freezer paper is a great way to get an awesome transfer of ink onto another surface, in this video I am using freezer paper to transfer an image onto a rock.

FYI...If you don't have freezer paper, I would just like to say that the image transfer method outlined in this rock painting tutorial also works using regular computer paper. The freezer paper works better, but both will work well.

You can buy pre-made freezer paper for your computer (also linked below in ‘RELATED VIDEOS' section) if you don't want to go through the process of making your own sheets and attaching them to computer paper to print.

However, if you would like to learn how to make freezer paper sheets for your computer, watch this video which will also be linked below (in the ‘RELATED VIDEOS' section). I believe that this is a more cost-effective way to go, but it's up to you.

"Printing Extra Flowers onto Freezer Paper"

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STEP #3

In this video I will demonstrate how I took smaller pansy images that I had printed on freezer paper and added them to the outside edge of my rock.

Adding flowers to the edges, in my opinion, gives the painting more depth. It makes it look as though whoever is looking at the painting is seeing it from a distance, in other words peeking through the flowers in the meadow to see the bunnies and butterflies.

"Adding Additional Flowers with Mod Podge"

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STEP #4

In this video I will demonstrate how to peel the paper back to reveal the images. Computer paper has about 7 layers, freezer paper too. While this process takes a while to get a great transfer of ink to the rock, it also takes great patience.

"Revealing the Images"

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See Also...

"How to Make Freezer Paper Sheets for your Inkjet Printer"

"How to Print on Freezer Paper from the Rear Tray of your Printer"

(same video as PART 2 above)

How to Transfer an Image to a Rock Using Freezer Paper, White Paint and Mod Podge!

Learn How to Find Pictures on Your Computer, Resize and Print from a Word Processing Document

Where Can I Find Rocks to Paint on?

Using a Stencil to Transfer a Design to a Rock

SUPPLIES: (Not all are needed)

8.5 "x 11" Freezer Paper Sheets https://amzn.to/39zebEZ (*optional)

Reynolds Kitchen Freezer Paper https://amzn.to/2TTT1M6

Double-Sided Scotch Tape https://amzn.to/3bQM1Xw

Rocks for Painting https://amzn.to/2YmClyT

Inkjet Printer https://amzn.to/391bXx7

Computer Paper https://amzn.to/3ir89L1

Mod Podge Matte Gel Medium https://amzn.to/2Xh1idD

Painting Flowers on Rocks https://amzn.to/2Zwl87g

White acrylic paint https://amzn.to/3b4d00G

Paintbrushes https://amzn.to/3d6uScL

Arteza Paint Pens https://amzn.to/3cqpEYt

Sharpie Permanent Markers https://amzn.to/3eStQ4a

Sharpie Ultra Fine Black Marker (for outlines) https://amzn.to/2DOIkot

Art Markers https://amzn.to/30waJIX

Shuttle Art Markers https://amzn.to/31p8SoI

Peel and Stick Flower Stencil https://amzn.to/2C83JZo

Leaf and Ivy Stencil https://amzn.to/3km2vv7

Deco Art White Paint Pen https://amzn.to/2DzQX6D

Paint Markers https://amzn.to/2XGYzep

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Supplies Sidenote: Not all of the above products will be needed for this particular tutorial. I have linked to some supplies that I use in my rock paintings so that you can have access to some of my favorite products, but you can find most of these in your local craft store.

Here are the links to other rock painting tutorials on this blog:

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #1 - A Basket of Pansies