Beach themed painted rocks

Painted Rocks 101

More Ideas: Kid-Approved, Farmhouse-Themed Painted Story Rocks

Pick the Right Paint

Every Shape and Size

Farmhouse Story Rocks

Get More Ideas: Kid-Approved, Farmhouse-Themed Painted Story Rocks

Mix-and-Match Doll Rocks

Rainbows and Sunshine

Rock Perfect Letters

Learn How: Make Garden Spelling Stones

Word Rock Lessons

Get More Ideas: Make Garden Spelling Stones

Paint and Share Kindness Rocks

Get More Ideas: 10 Ways Your Kids Can Make Someone Smile This Summer

Marbled Marvels

Mixed Paint Palette

Black-and-White Mood

Go for the Gold

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Rock Out a Place Setting

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Simple Garden Stone Labels

Learn How: Garden Smart with Simple Stone Labels

Glam Up Your Garden Stones

Learn How: Garden Smart with Simple Stone Labels

Beach-Themed Rock Shark

Learn How: Beach-Themed Fairy Garden (Shark Included!)

Easy (Sham)Rocks

Learn How: St. Patrick's Day Craft: DIY Painted Rocks

Painting rocks is still a massively popular activity and these summer themed rock painting ideas for kids (or grown ups!) are a great way to keep you all busy during the school holidays with a bit of creative fun. These rock painting tutorials are perfect if you like hiding rocks or some of them can be used as story stones too.

RELATED – Christmas Rock Painting Ideas

Rock Painting Ideas for Kids: Materials

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I’ve painted rocks quite a few times with my kids and although lots of people recommend Sharpies or acrylic paints my personal favourites right now are Posca pens as they’re a lot easier to clean off my kids than permanent markers and both my kids are more used to drawing than they are to painting – go with whatever suits you and your kids best though!  If you are going to hide your painted rocks you’ll want to seal them first so that they’re not damaged by the weather – we use this spray (and obviously I keep the kids well out of the way when I’m using it).

Rock Painting Ideas for Kids: Summer Themed

All of the summer themed rock painting ideas for kids that I’m sharing today appear in the same order as they do in the two collages below, although as you will see there are more ideas than I’ve managed to include in the collages, I can assure you that they are all gorgeous though!

Want to make sure that you remember all these brilliant ideas? Make sure that you bookmark this page or pin an image so that you’ve got all this inspiration to hand when you and the kids need it the most!

Want more ideas for fun summer activities for kids? Make sure you check out the inspiration at the end of this post.

These camping themed painted rocks from Crafts on Sea make great story stones for encouraging creative writing too.

Easy Peasy and Fun’s bee rocks are super pretty and easy for kids to paint too.

These ladybird rocks would be fun to hide in woodlands or parks

I love the googly eyes on these painted cactus rocks from The Best Ideas for Kids

Sea story stones from Crafts on Sea

Brighten up your garden or local area with these painted rocks fairy doors from Adventure in a Box

Kids Craft Room uses shake painting to make these fun snail rocks

If you fancy a change from the normal pens then these mixed media flower rocks from The Craft Train look great, they’d make lovely paperweights too.

These butterfly number stones are super pretty and they’re educational too.

I’m more than a little bit in love with these painted rock fairy houses from Rhythms of Play

These painted rock garden markers are a great idea if you’re growing fruit or vegetables this year

Rock turtle from Easy Peasy and Fun

These painted vegetables and fruit rocks would be fun to hide by an allotment

Not so much one for hiding but these painted rock photo holders from Buggy and Buddy would be a fun project and you could pop a photo of one of your summer adventures in there

These garden rocks are super pretty

I love this sweet bird painted rock from Buggy and Buddy

More Summer Activities for Kids:

We love this super pretty frozen flowers ice activity that’s perfect for outdoor sensory play

I think watermelons might be the most summery of all fruits? This watermelon craft is simple, cheap and fun to make.

These seahorse crafts are super sweet and perfect if you’re looking at ocean or sea crafts for kids.

Painted Rocks Beach on Oregon Coast A Garden of Different Colors at Seaside

Updated Periodically
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Seaside, Oregon) – Call it a trend, a fad or something a little more complex, but an interesting offshoot from social media and even the collective consciousness is a thing referred to as “leaving painted rocks.” It goes by many names, actually, among them The Kindness Rocks Project. This slightly mysterious but definitely positive activity seems to have gotten its start within the last ten years or less. But on the Oregon coast it may have been around for decades. (Rock garden photos courtesy Angi D Wildt Gallery of Astoria, see more photos at bottom of article).

There’s really two ways this is happening along these shores: folks are dropping these cheery little rocks at various locations all over beach towns, and often forming little groups for each area; and then there’s that big garden of them in Seaside.

In a town with many subtleties and secrets hiding in plain sight, Seaside has yet another that’s particularly charming. It’s tucked away behind a small set of shrubbery, a ways beyond the southern end of the Promenade. This garden of colored stones has all manner of designs on them, often with dates. Some go back to the ‘80s.

Around the rest of the Oregon coast, indeed the rest of the U.S., people are simply decorating them artfully and then setting them in a random place. All are hand painted with varying degrees of quirkiness, and the point is mostly to bring a moment of cheer and surprise to those discovering them, with the choice of moving them somewhere else or keeping them.

Throughout the country it’s a sort of common knowledge thing: an un-helmed idea and cause to simply spread cheer.

In Seaside, the rock garden is a bit of a mystery, and certainly one tucked away. But it’s enormous now. Seaside resident and historian Robin Montero has looked into it a little bit, but it’s impossible to discover much.

She, as well as others in town, believe it comes down to one or two families with homes right near the garden that have been doing it for years. Maybe decades, if the dates are to be believed.

“It’s a trend or something, but not quite like Beanie Babies,” Montero said. “For kids, it’s almost like a treasure hunt, or geocaching without disturbing anything at all. It’s somewhat of a movement now: painting rocks and then hiding them or placing them for the next person to pass or keep.”

Montero said she came upon her first one in Cannon Beach last year. There’s apparently a group there, and another one in Astoria. Numerous clans of these rock-droppers are all over Facebook.

They can reportedly be found in other spots around Seaside, but the painted rocks garden at the end of Avenue W is enormous, and it’s now spread to both sides of the pathway to the beach.

“You’ve never seen so many painted rocks in your life,” Montero said. “The family’s been keeping them up for years.”

How long they’ve been doing it depends on who you talk to. Some say it goes back farther than the 1980s. Whatever the case, it seems others have joined in. The layers of these beach stones keep growing.

In the meantime, it’s a pleasant but slightly secretive mystery. While the movement of painted rocks continues to grow around the country, the rocky garden of Seaside seems to pile ever higher as well. Oregon Coast Lodgings for this - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours

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Rock Art Ideas and Inspiration

There’s something special about rock painting. Instead of having a big canvas or a blank piece of paper to work with, rock art forces you to come up with a creative idea that will fit one particular shape and size.

While this can be extremely fun, sometimes coming up with rock painting designs and ideas can be pretty difficult. If you’re having a creative block and you need some rock painting inspiration to get your juices flowing, you came to the right place!

We’ve gathered a ton of awesome and easy rock painting ideas that you can try out by yourself, or with your family, and we think they’ll get you inspired to come up with some of your own unique ideas too.

My own kids have especially loved going outside, hunting for rocks in a dried up canal, and painting them while basking in the sun. It’s been a fun family project! And we kept it pretty simple and just used some acrylic paint we had in our craft closet.

How to Paint On Rocks

If you’re a rock painting beginner, you should know that there’s a bit more to painting rocks than just grabbing one from outside and putting paint on it. In fact, some paint won’t work very well on rocks, so you have to be careful with what you use. If you want your painted rocks to last longer, you should also make sure to apply a sealer after painting to protect your piece of art! Krylon Clear Coating Spray is a great and trusted varnish that you can use to seal your painted rocks.

To learn more before you get started, I recommend reading this helpful article which will give you more information on where to find good rocks, what kind of paint to use, and more.

Now let’s get into the ideas!

50 Easy Things to Paint on Rocks

1. M&M Painted Rocks

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I absolutely LOVE these M&M painted rocks. The fact that the rocks have small “bites” taken out of them as well is an amazing touch.

2. Minion Rocks

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You know we love our minion crafts so we just had to include these Minion rocks on this list of stone painting ideas! These should be super easy to make and the kids will have a blast with this craft.

3. Fish Holding Shark Fin

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This is a simple and cute rock art idea that I think would go great in a beach-themed room or house. For example, you could fill a centerpiece with different sea themed painted rocks.

4. Groot Painted Rock

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If you’ve seen the Guardians Of The Galaxy movie you already know who Groot is, but basically, he’s a living tree. This project looks a bit more intricate than some of the others on this list but the end result is amazing.

5. Pet Cactus Rocks

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Ok, we’ve reached a whole new level of cuteness here guys. Not only are these cactus rocks going to be really easy to paint, but you can also customize them in all sorts of different ways. The tiny terracotta pots really add a nice touch too.

6. Dinosaur Rock

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Painting dinosaurs on rocks just makes sense. It’s sort of like creating your own fun and colorful fossil! You could even paint multiple rocks to build one big dinosaur.

7. Vintage Camper Painted Rocks

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If you’re an avid RV camper, a simple vintage camper rock may be the perfect decoration to put somewhere around your home (or even in your RV).

8. Toy Story Alien Rocks

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The little aliens in Toy Story are super cute and funny, plus they’re easy to paint, so why not put them on a rock (or multiple)? These painted rocks would make a great kids room decoration.

9. Magic 8-Ball Rock

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Everyone needs a little bit of magic in their life! And, while you won’t be able to receive any magical answers from your 8-ball rock, it still looks pretty cool.

10. Rock Sharks

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These would go great with the fish rock from #3! You could also hide them around a beach just for fun.

11. Rock Ghosts

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This is probably one of the easiest rock painting ideas on this list and also the spookiest! Ok, well not that spooky, but still a great Halloween DIY idea.

12. Strawberry Rocks

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We’ve already written a post on how to make strawberries last longer, but we’re pretty sure these rock strawberries will last forever! Just make sure no one tries to eat one or they might lose some teeth…

In all seriousness though, these strawberry painted rocks are great! You could decorate your garden with them and make other plant painted rocks as well to mark different areas of your garden.

13. Sports Rocks

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You’ll have to find some pretty particularly shaped rocks if you want to try and make these, but that’s part of the fun! Use them afterward to decorate a sports-themed room. 🙂

14. Chick Rock

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This would be a great Easter craft for kids! If you’re looking for more Easter content, make sure to check out our Easter recipes, DIYs and deals!

15. Candy Corn Rock

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This is another rock design that you’ll need a pretty particularly shaped rock for, so get hunting! Try to find multiple rocks to make a bowl of candy corn for a great DIY Halloween decoration!

16. Taco ‘Bout Awesome Rock

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I know there are a lot of taco lovers out there so I just had to include this taco rock idea.

17. Fairy Door Rocks

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This is one of the harder rock painting designs on this list and it’s more geared towards adults, but the end result is amazing. The rocks will fit right in with your garden and add a slight fantasy feel!

18. Ladybug Rocks

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Ok, these rocks are ones the kids can help with AND you can use them as additional decor in your garden. They say ladybugs are good luck too so maybe these rocks will bring you some good fortune!

19. Flower Rocks

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I love how colorful and fun these flower rocks are! This is another easy one for kids too.

20. Christmas Rocks

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Christmas is a great time to do some indoor rock painting! You could paint a picture of snowmen, a wreath, a stocking, or any of these other Christmas rock ideas.

21. Zombie Rocks

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Ok, this is the last of the Halloween ideas! To go along with your ghosts and candy, these zombie rocks really add a nice touch of spooky/goofy to the Halloween theme.

22. Flag Rocks

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This is such an amazing idea! You can either choose to paint just your own countries flag on a rock or you can try doing other countries too. With kids, this would be pretty educational!

23. Owl Rocks

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Ok, these owl rocks look a bit harder to make than some of the other rock art ideas on this list, but they are so adorable! There are so many different color combos and designs you could do for your owls too. Plus, these would make great home decor.

24. Donut Rocks

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Here’s an easy rock painting idea that I think kids will love (I mean, who doesn’t love donuts?).

25. Watermelon Painted Rocks

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Last but not least we have some happy looking watermelon rocks! These are easy for kids to make and you can pair them with the strawberry rocks from #12!

26. Bunny in a Field

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This is another great one for Easter. I love how it takes advantage of the entire rock, and you can really do it on any shape!

27. Turtle

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This one is really neat because it uses multiple rocks to bring the entire vision together. That means you’ll have to hunt for some pretty specific shapes and sizes, which adds to the fun!

28. Fish Rock

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Painting fish on rocks is a great way to get started as a beginner. There are SO many different looks you could do, and you can make fun backgrounds too!

29. Alien Face

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This one is really simple and there are a lot of different ways you could do it. To come up with something unique of your own, be sure to use the shape of your rock to influence the type of alien face you make.

And remember, not all aliens have to be green! Get creative with your colors 🙂

30. Tic Tac Toe

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I love this idea. It starts as a rock hunting activity, then turns into a crafting session, and then a game! So many hours of entertainment in one simple rock painting idea.

31. Pumpkins

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Perfect for Halloween, these would make a great decoration for around the house or in the garden. You could make a whole slew of them (with help from the kids) for a big rock pumpkin patch!

32. Easter Egg Rocks

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There are a lot of different ways to color Easter eggs, but why not make some rock Easter eggs too? These will last for years and you can bring them out every Easter!

33. Panda

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Pandas are absolutely adorable and they make for great rock paintings! Just look at how funny and cute they look.

34. Sunny-Side Up

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This one would be a great addition to any kitchen. It’s even got a nice little uplifting quote that will put a smile on your face in the morning 🙂

35. Eyeballs

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These are a tiny bit creepy, but also really cool looking. And they’re perfect for Halloween.

36. Rock Faces

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Taking it back to a classic idea: rock faces. You can get elaborate here or keep it simple, it’s up to you. Make the pet rock of your dreams!

37. Emojis

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These are just so fun. I could see these being a great desk decoration too. Start with your favorite emoji and keep going until you have an entire collection!

38. Pokemon

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If your kids love Pokemon, they could probably paint rocks of their favorite characters for hours. The image above is just scratching the surface of what’s possible here!

39. Sugar Skulls

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These are super cool and day of the dead-esque. Put on some Coco (great Disney movie) and get inspired!

40. Snake

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Here’s another rock painting idea that involves multiple rocks instead of just one, and this one is really cool! It basically allows you to mix and match different rocks as well. Come up with different patterns and ideas!

41. Gnomes

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Perfect for the garden, these gnome rocks look great and they should be pretty easy to paint too!

42. Snail

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Rocks are pretty much perfect for snail paintings, as long as you can find one with a nice round shape. Be sure to get creative with how you paint the shell!

43. Bees

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Bee’s are another one of those rock painting ideas that might just automatically pop into your mind. Most rocks are perfect for making little bee bodies! This is another great garden rock idea too.

44. Superhero Rocks

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Just as with the Pokemon rocks, if you have superhero fans in your house, this is another idea that will inspire tons more ideas. There are many different superhero logos and characters to paint!

I’ve even seen some people use two rocks to create a superhero head + body. Try that out if you want an extra challenge!

45. Star Wars

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Ok, I had to include these as well. I know there are a lot of Star Wars fans out there! Think of other ideas too: you could paint lightsabers, Star Wars vehicles, and more.

46. Peanuts Characters

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I don’t know about you, but I love Snoopy and Charlie Brown. These characters are also quite easy to draw so you shouldn’t have any trouble even as a beginner!

47. Sesame Street

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How can you not love the sesame street characters? Such a great show! I think these were actually painted on buttons, but who says you couldn’t put them on rocks?

48. Harry Potter

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Ok, last TV show/movie idea. I just know a lot of Harry Potter fans out there will appreciate these rocks!

49. Nintendo Rocks

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If you’re a Nintendo fan, these will definitely need to be added to your collection! Would make a great addition to a gaming room 🙂

50. Painters Palette

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To end things off, this idea seems pretty perfect. A painters palette painted on a rock. It’s like rock painting inception or something. Ha!

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, you’re now feeling inspired to go out and hunt some new rocks for painting! These rock art ideas should all be pretty easy to make (even for kids) so get together and do some family rock painting!

What do you like to do with your painted rocks? Do you keep them for yourself or do you go out and hide them around outside? Let me know!

Other Posts You Might Like:

You might have come across painted rocks before but I can assure you, you haven’t seen these fabulous babies yet! I especially love the idea of painting pretty or inspirational pictures on them since it’s a cheap DIY idea that is great to get the kids and family involved too.

Or, maybe if you’re looking for ways to upgrade your home decor, then I highly recommend you to check out these painted rocks below and head over here if you’d like know how to use sharpies on rocks.

Plus, these kinds of DIY projects are a great way to let go of daily life stresses and just relax. We all need some downtime once in a while, right?

Just a quick tip: If you’re a newbie to this, then you might one to make sure to use a clean rock that has a flat surface, something like river rocks.

You might also need a few other things like different size paint brushes, acrylic paint, spray paint, and mod podge outdoor sealant (this is very important, especially if you’re going to display the rocks outside. It would be a sad sight to see your hard work and beautiful design get washed away by the rain).

Inspiring words to spread kindness via hellowonderful

Owl painted rocks via frugalfun4boys

Moon via etsy

Beach Themed via etsy

Productivity quote via pinterest

Today is my day via pinterest

Ladybug via craftsbyamanda

Fish painted stones via flicker

Adorable bird via hesellsshesells

Rock photo holder via onelittleproject

Minimalistic drawings via flicker

Fox painted rock via lilblueboo

Cute characters via Instagram

Motifs of blue via freshdesignpedia

Inspirational quote via etsy

Galaxy painted rock via colormadehappy

Adorable penguin via etsy

Whale painted stone via pinterest

Polka dot rainbow via iconosquare

Cute little whales via Etsy

Autumn theme stones via handpaintedrocks

Snowman via Instagram

Snowflakes painted stones via taraleave

Hedgehog painted stone via easypeasyandfun

Hope via etsy

Painted heart via Etsy

Cute monster via purplecandy

Words via instagram

Hand-painted rock for garden via etsy

Kindness painted rock via modpodgerocksblog

Little bird via livingvintageco

Coffee themed via Instagram

Painted flowers via ebay

Painted cat via pinterest

Emoji Rocks via cbf-fund

White and blue mandala via cave-spring-crafts

Be you quote via Instagram

Colorful rocks via thecraftyblogstalker

Galaxy heart via colormadehappy

You can move mountains via etsy

Harry Potter quotes via pinterest

Harry Potter via Instagram

Love via etsy

Stress quote via theodysseyonline

Painted cactus via thewhoot

PIN FOR LATER

One of my absolute favorite things to do on a sunny day is walk along the beach. Spending my days exploring the rocks and sea life on the shore is truly living a dream. My creative spirit finds inspiration for new projects and my soul finds peace as I wander.  I am moved by the beauty of the nature surrounding me. So much so, that my house is a beach-themed oasis filled with many ocean-inspired crafts!

Not too long ago I fell in love with dot painting. It’s become one of my most prioritized crafting activities and no doubt I had to bring the love of the seashore into this passion as well. I love mandala painting on rocks with beautiful greens and blues (I know, I know I really need to branch out and explore more colors and I will, I promise!)

Recently I decided to play around with some other coastal ideas incorporating dot painting, aside from the traditional mandala painting. Similar to my post Ocean Dot Painting Project! Thus my starfish and sand dollar dot painted rocks were created!

I also explored creating a video to go with this post! I have seen so many people posting small clips on their how-to’s and I thought I would give it a go! Below are the step by step pictures of a few completed projects during their creation, followed by video clips of the process.

I hope you enjoy and will be inspired to create your own beautiful dot painted rocks! Stay tuned for more dot painting posts soon! My list of inspiration for projects is long and I can’t wait to share them with you!

It’s interesting how the lighting from the camera picks up the blue tones and makes the completed projects look so different than the process pictures, isn’t it?

Below are two little video clips of my dot painting projects in process! 🙂

To see more dot painting projects and other helpful hints and tips with this painting style visit my artist website www.kellytheresa.com

Painted Beach Rocks by Salty Girl from Maine that featured sayings. Shop them or take these painted beach rocks as inspiration for your own fun creations.