Welcome to Rockville - Village that Rocks

One summer I discovered the fun of painting on rocks. A lot of my inspiration comes from the books by Lin Wellford. I have never painted anything like this before ... so if I can do this, so can you! Remember all the fun you had as a child collecting rocks? Now you can do that all over again. You will be looking at rocks in a whole different way. Now I'm thinking, "Hm-m-m what sort of house can I paint on this rock?" You should look for rocks that inspire you to think of a house or a building. Be sure it has a flat bottom so that it can be displayed properly, either in the garden on in your home. First you need to clean off your rock in some warm soapy water and let it dry thoroughly before attempting any painting.  I found that painting these houses isn't done in one sitting.   You first have to paint the base coat on.  Then it is a matter of building up the layers.  Each layer must dry thoroughly before you add the next one. I used acrylic paint with several different sizes of paint brushes.  Be patient as each layer needs to dry thoroughly before adding the next one.  You need to seal the rocks before displaying them in the garden.  I use a product from Americana which is a sealer/finisher that I bought at a craft store.

For the beige cottage, first I did the main coat, then the brown of the roof.  The chimney was added before the roof was started.  It is made from wood filler, formed and fastened onto the roof. Then the basic outline of the windows and door was added.  Lines and features were added after all layers were dry.   The trees were done in several layers, each in a different shade of green.  The fine lines were added at the very end with a fine tipped marker.

The school that rocks! The school house was first done by painting on the red layer.  The light gray of the roof was added next.  Windows, doors, signs, and the bell were added one by one.  Features such as lines, door knobs, and lines on the roof were added one at a time.

The little blue cottage is still a wip (work in progress) or a ufo (unfinished object).  I'm also working on a few more over the winter.

Here is another additon to the Village that Rocks.

I even painted the backs of my rock buildings. Just adding a window at the back finishes off the building. I have some touching up to do on these two buildings, especially on the school around the windows. Once I am totally happy with them I will seal them so they can be displayed out in the garden.    Do you think the garden fairies and garden gnomes will like them?

See some more of my gnome homes and have a peek at the fairy door.

The Gardens ~ The Craft Room ~ Garden Whimsy ~  Seeds & Plants ~ craftygardener.ca

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