Something Simple

This is not some big new technique I've run across, and it's also not anything I can exactly tell you how to do.  But I can show you what I mean.  This is just something I've noticed that I habitually do before deciding if I have reached the "done" point on an item I am working on.  I rely on the ole "eyeball" to tell me when what I've created is at a pleasing point and I need to stop.  Often times, some of my best work comes from something that started out just plain ugly and I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it.  Tonight was one of those nights.  Unfortunately, I didn't capture any of the too-ugly part, because I guess I was working on figuring out how to make it better.

I wrote a simple message on my rock:  Can I keep you?  Because that's a good message from a rock, wanting to adopt a human and all, and whose day wouldn't it make to want to be kept around a little longer in the midst of good company?  In my mind's eye, I saw this just done with black and white lettering on this shiny red rock...but my hand had other ideas, I guess.

So imagine that rock up there ^^^ being plain...with just the black and white lettering on it, all plain, no border, no nothing.  Yeah, ugly.  It's ok, you can say it.  I'll say it with you.  Super ugly.  So I did what I do when I make something ugly.  I started layering things.  I thought it needed a border to help, so I drew the black one.  Still ugly, if not, uglier.  thought maybe the daisies would work.  I did them in white....it just didn't cut it.  I put yellow centers.  Still not satisfied.  Added the white lining in with the black around the border.  Nope, not it.  Added black lining to the white petals.  Better.  (Note:  I do a lot of outlining.  I think I've mentioned this before.)  Added the green leaves...getting there....add the light green dots...like.  Still plain lettering is there, and it's still ugly.  Add light green dots to lettering...OK.  Snap "done" photo.  

Here's an important thing I do, a lot.  I don't know why, but it makes a difference in how I look at my work.  I take a pic and look at the pic.  Sometimes, I'll prop a canvas or something prop-able up to look at it from a distance.  Or, I'll ask Mr. Rock or Anna to hold up what I am working on so I can look at it across the room.  

Another important thing:  if I've done a lot of layering and adding and my "eye" is still not seeing a happy, "done" project, I will put it away and sleep on it.  I don't do this often, because it drives me nuts not to finish, but sometimes, it's just necessary.  

Now, back to the ugly rock.  I *thought* I was done, but there was still something...and through looking at the photo, I decided it was lack still of color on the lettering, so I took my yellow and added a small dot over top the light green on random dots on the lettering.  This, my friends, is what completed the image, and let my "eye" say "Done!"

Here it is...I apologize for the poor lighting...it's darker in here...I'll try to snap a pic over the weekend in the daylight and post for you to see better.

So, today's lesson?  Follow these steps:
1.  Keep on keeping on until you have something pleasing to your eye.
2.  Take a photo, step back, walk away, do what you need to do to come back to it if need be.
3.  Remember, you can't mess it up!  Just keep on painting!  :)

If you like my posts, please share them!  I post new updates on the Facebook group:  "615 Rocks Sumner County" and anyone is welcome to join.  I love comments, I love interactive-ness, and I love inspiration from others!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to come back often!

Lettering Lesson...

Another of the most popular questions, I think, is always about how to letter, what to letter with, and I seem to get compliments on this more than anything.  I'll try to share my secrets with you here.  As I do more lettering, I'll do more posts, but I have a few examples on hand for you.

First:  the tools of the trade...meet my newest two BFF's...

The white marker up there ^^^ is one of the Elmer's paint pens I was referred to by other rock painters who I wish I could tag on here.  You can get these in several sizes, and they come from Wal Mart for $1.97 in a multitude of colors.  They also last forever, and the tip doesn't get all funky.  The one I write with is the "Ultra Fine" tip.   Here is an example of the writing I do with this marker:

I also use the Elmer's one to do my highlighting on my bigger lettering, like this:

And to make teeny markings like this:

(For the record, once I got that finished, it no longer looked like a jellybean, but looked more like a dill pickle.  Poor rock.)

This is my other BFF, my black medium point POSCA marker.  There are not quite accessible, but worth the weight, and they aren't too costly.  Posca has fine tips as well, but for the price and the performance, I'd get the medium Posca ones and the Elmer's for the writing.  One way to make writing pop is to write in the thicker color, like I have done with the black here:

and then use the thinner Elmers to write a smaller line inside the thicker lettering.  This seems to be what most people ask about, as far as specific lettering questions go.  There are actually very few times that one will see my work not outlined, or lettering done in only one color.  I am big on highlighting.  You'll notice now that I've pointed it out that my other lettering I've already shared has this "feature" to it as well.

Receiving compliments specifically on my handwriting happens, too.  But let me tell you something...the only time I remember getting in trouble at school was when my 5th grade math teacher, Mr. Prichard, called my dad and showed him my sloppy papers.  I got a spanking for that, and a good tongue lashing, too.  And I had to miss recess, but that was never really my favorite anyways.  My writing got marginally neater after that, and I'm being generous by saying "marginally".  Fast forward a decade and a half, and I find myself teacher Kindergarten.  People, if you want neat handwriting, RUN to your nearest dollar-type store and buy a book with lettering practice for little people, and DO IT.  Practice.  Make a conscious effort to design your letters correctly.  It's a learned skill, and I believe with the right effort and want-to, anyone can master it.  LET ME ALSO SAY THIS:  Your handwriting is cherished by your loved ones, even if they don't know it.  Think back over prized possessions you have...or have come across over the years....I bet you've encountered hand-written recipes, letters, and what-nots by your loved ones that made you remember them in a special way.  I still have a Yahtzee card that my Gramps filled out, and I'd trade it for nothing on this earth.  I still have letters and cards from my great grandmother, my Granny, and my Grandma.  It was THEIR handwriting, that they thought wasn't good, that I love.  So don't discount your own handwriting, ya hear?

If I could offer up any other handwriting tips, it would be to loosen your hand up.  Write what you want to write for good as practice with pencil and paper.  Let it flow...don't "try"...it will look shaky.  And also remember..."perfect" is not the look we are working for.  Work with what you've got...you'll learn and love it.  If you don't find that you can write in a straight manner, draw lines, paint them, too.  I"ll make an example tonight.  Thanks!  Ya'll just gave me inspiration for the evening!

Last, I like the way different letters look be it capital, lower-case, or my own touches that make my lettering recognizable as...well, mine!

Decoupage?

I thought it would be fun to do a little lesson today on how to add paper items to our rocks.  I had an old sheet of vintage clown cutouts that if they were new when I purchased them are definitely classified as "vintage" now...yipes!  I wanted to use them up, to be honest, as they have not been treated the best, so they were wrinkled, but I happen to think of clowns as happy things, because in my childhood, clowns *were* happy.  Circus clowns, clowns at the parades my town had, which were pretty awesome parades, the clown that hung on my granny's wall, that when you twisted its nose, it played "Send in the Clowns" which is still one of my favorite songs to hear...and the title of the piano arrangement I played in the talent show in the 3rd grade that won me a large pizza from Pizza Hut was called "Clowns" and it was a fast-paced song that reminded me of clowns on a tight rope or something.  Happy memories, each and every one.

OK, off Memory Lane and back to rocks...I posted this this week, and it received a lot of comments.  

This is NOT my painting, this is one of those cut outs I was just talking about.  These are a little thicker, between sticker and card stock thickness, if that makes any sense.  Even with a good coat of Mod Podge for them to stick to and then a good coat over, if the items are very thick, I find that they like to soak up enough of the moisture from the Podge to start wrinkling.  This never makes me smile with glee.

Insert good ole Aleene here:

Tacky Glue, in my opinionation, is something that every household should have.  Sort of like duct tape, or super glue.  It'll darn near stick anything to anything.  Dries clear, doesn't expand...and CHEAP!  I squirted out just a small amount, think pencil eraser in size, got out my paint brush, and painted the back of my clown all over.  Then I smoothed that clown down on my already-smooth rock and let it dry like that.  No bumps, no wrinkles, no peeling around the corners...just looks like my clown was printed on my rock.

Here are some pointers to go along with this lesson:
*It is necessary to put a coat of Mod Podge over the whole rock, including the item put down, because the clear coat and paper don't really mix that well.  AFTER the coat of Podge, THEN coat with clear coat in light doses, misting a few times until you think it's good.
*I find it helpful to put the tacky glue on the backs of stickers as well.  Yes, they are sticky, but for me, they still come up.  Not all do, but to save myself from ruining a rock and to save the trouble of trying to make it work, I put a coat on the back of each sticker before placing it as well.
*Tacky Glue is only needed for thicker paper items.  (I have a future lesson coming up with thinner papers and how-to's.)
*I haven't done one in a while to photograph, but this is fun to do with fortunes from your Chinese cookies as well.  Who doesn't love reading those silly things?  :)

For making it all the way to the end, I'm sharing with you another clown that I put together this morning:

"See" ya tomorrow, and happy 4th of July!  I'm so grateful to live in the Land of the Free...because of the BRAVE.  Don't forget to thank a Veteran, active military, and the families of those who have to share their loved ones so that we can be free to pick and paint our rocks while they are out there fighting for our country!

Lesson 5...it's in the details...

The never-ending question seems to be "What do you paint with?" or "What did you use to create that look?" And I kept asking and kept asking until I got answers that worked for me.  This would be thanks to several knowledgeable and generous-with-that-knowledge people.  I find myself wishing I had a "tag" button so I could tag people as I write, like on FaceBook.  It's got me a bit spoiled.

These are not in any particular order....

1.  Posca pens:  These are the bomb diggity of coloring with paint and still having control.  They flow, the nib does not stop up or quit writing...they really are just completely awesome.  They even come in fine tip, and larger tips.  Here is the Posca website:  http://www.posca.com/uk   For some reason, I can't make the link work by clicking; it acts like it is broken, but if you will copy and paste, it should work.  It did for me.  These are a *must* for any kind of painting, in my books.  Here are a couple examples of things I've made with my Posca pens:

 The lettering above was done with my medium Posca in light blue, and if you can zoom up, you can see the the highlighting done on these letters in white was done by my fine point one.  The surface is canvas, and they worked like a charm.

Mr. Fishy was done with Posca for the red, and the thicker lines, while the fine-tuning in white and black were done with Elmer's paint pens, which you can purchase at Wal Mart in varying sizes for a whopping buck .97.  Run.  Get one of every kind.  You won't be disappointed.  They look like this:

http://www.elmers.com/products/paint-pens-and-other-supplies?filters=paint-markers

Here is another example with the Elmer's paint pens:

I know I've used this rock as an example before, but this shows the writing with the paint pen really well, so I'm using it again.  Also, I use my Elmers markers to write on the backs of my rocks.  Don't forget to clearcoat that part, too, so you can see just how far your rock travels.

Again, not sure why the links aren't working, but copy and paste.  These come individually at Wal Mart, or I see you can buy them in sets now.  (Mr. Rock might not care for that new knowledge...then again, getting them all at once will save him from the paint marker area, so he may be glad.)  LOL

Another item that you can use to decorate rocks is gel pens.  For real!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M0F4U2S/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the set I purchased.  They work great...my warning is LET THEM DRY WELL!!!  When you *think* they are dry, let them dry LONGER.

Here are two that I did with them:

 The example of why you should let them dry-a lot- right up there ^^^^^.  (I wrote "embrace imperfection" on the back and we hid it anyways.)

The light pink I used for lettering on this one is the Posca pen, but all the rest of the pink and green are done with the gel pens.

Last but not least, THIS.

The orange of the lettering is Posca, and the white is gel.  Third time's a charm. :)  After letting this dry for an eternity, I lightly misted with clear spray.  Very lightly misted.  I repeated this process probably 6 0r 8 times until I felt certain the rock was covered well.

Last on the list for today is Sharpie OIL paint pens.  They look like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Paint-Marker-Point-Based/dp/B005QEZ9YW/ref=sr_1_3?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1499099998&sr=1-3&keywords=sharpie+oil+base

And they tend to have a bit more brilliant color to them, like this:

While they are "OK" and some claim them to be their favorite, and you could, too, I don't like the way they glide? move across? paint? on the rock.  It's not as smooth a motion as the Poscas.  And the paint doesn't flow as easily.  But I do own every color, and I do use them.  They are just not the first thing I reach for.

Throughout posting, as I try out new items, I'll be posting my thoughts on them here.  If anyone has something they want to try, or have seen, I'm always up for a challenge.  On my list is my Prisma Color pencils, chalk markers, crayons, oil pastels, metalic markers, and there are a few more items up my sleeve.  :)

Thanks for staying with me to the end, if you made it this far!  :)

Lesson 4...Paint for Backgrounds

There are so many choices of paint out there!  Rock painting is by far trickier than any other surface I know that I have painted on in the past, and I've heard other experienced painters say the same thing.  When you are new to painting, period, and rocks are the first thing you pick up....I know it has to be even more difficult!  Hopefully something I say here will help oldies and newbies alike.  This is all just trial and error on my part, advice that has worked from those with way more experience and talent than I would ever hope to have, and - well - my opinion.

The least-expensive paint I know to use as background (or anything, for that matter) is good ole acrylic paint.  One thing I love about these is you can get every shade you ever imagined.  It is, by far, the best choice of color you're going to find.  You've probably all seen it...it looks like this:

This is the display I saw today at Wal Mart, so I took a pic.  They are .49 cents, some are .97, and the big bottles, I believe, are $2.97.  This is a very small display as far as color choices and displays go.  Find these paints in a craft store, and you'll be looking at an entire aisle full of choices.  As far as my personal experience goes, these will get the job done, but usually take 2 or 3 coats.  I've painted furniture, canvases, wood, you name it with this stuff.  I suppose you could say it is the tried and true of acrylic paints.

Probably my favorite acrylic paint in these little bottles to use, because it is a little thicker, is the Martha Stewart brand...but they are about $2.00 a bottle, so I try to only buy those when they are on sale and I get a 20% off coupon as well.  (Michaels has the best selection and sales on paints, in my opinion.)  They look like this:

If I were to pick the paint of my choice to do backgrounds on rocks with, I would pick this brand, sold at Michaels, and is on sale a couple times a month for 2/$5, I believe.

This gets the job done in one coat, at least in most colors.  I use this white a lot to do a base coat, even before putting some colors on.  A lot of them, though, one coat is sufficient, and it takes *very little* of this paint to cover a rock.  Very little.  This is one coat of white:

As you can see, one coat is really all you need.  However, on some of the other colors, you just have to use your judgement on whether to put a white coat down first (If you want a more brilliant color, I would suggest doing this.) or you can put multiple coats of the color on as well.  (This lends to a darker shade of the color.)  Here is an example of only one coat of a color that needs either multiple coats or white underneath:

In the tube, it looks bright orange, but as you can see here.....not so much.  I did not put white underneath as I thought that the orange would vouch for itself, but not the case.  I ended up painting this one red, but the coat on there allowed the red to be a brilliant shade instead of darker, so it's all good.

Another thing I love about this paint is that it comes in shiny colors.  Check these out:

Did I mention the beautiful jewel tones these paints provide???

Another option would be to spray paint your rocks.  If you want a lot of background colors, this probably isn't the best method, but if you want to coat them quick and have a base coat, it is an option, and one that wouldn't be too expensive.  You can get a can of white "primer" paint at the Dollar General store, or Wal Mart for .97, I believe.  Can't beat that.  I personally don't love the painting surface it lends, but I know a lot of people opt for this technique.  

OK-tomorrow I'll be providing links for the fun part...the designs we want to put on our rocks.  

July Rock a Day

(Yes, this is my hand.  Today.)

So, I know I love to have a go-to list of inspiration or ideas or challenges...and I created a daily list for myself, but I thought I would share.  As always, this is not the "Bible" to what you should do each day, but rather, a supplement if you are feeling idea-less here or there.  I also find it gives me more motivation to "art" each day.  

Without further ado, here is my July list:

1.  Camo

2.  Red, White, Blue

3.  Encouragement

4.  Patriotism

5.  Favorite Word

6.  Water

7.  Fruit

8.  Vacation

9.  Favorite Thing

10.  Pattern

11.  Sunshine

12.  Represent Your City

13.  Hero

14.  Sport

15.  You are the _____ to my _____.

16.  Night

17.  Americana

18.  Star(s)

19.  Fishing

20.  Picnic

21.  Cross

22.  Favorite Color

23.  Leaf

24.  Black and White

25.  Heart(s)

26.  Nature

27.  Summer

28.  Baseball

29.  Balloon

30.  Red

31.  Zip Code Day

Please be sure and post to 615 Rocks Sumner County as you make your rocks, because I'm sure we would all like to see what each other come up with!  Thank you in advance!  :)

Rock on!

Lesson 3

(Artwork shared in this post is a collaborative effort of Anna and I...mostly Anna.  She likes to put color on color, like red on red, etc....so I outlined some things, and wrote over her wording here and there so it could be seen.)

Before we go any further, I want to share with you some shopping tips...

Download the aps to your phone ASAP for the following:

Michaels (Always offers a 40% off coupon for any one regularly priced item.  Sometimes offers 50% off, and additionally, every once in a while, offers a 20% off your purchase as well.)

JoAnn (Always offers a 40% off an item, often they do 50% off an item, and usually offer $5.00 off a purchase of $30, $10 off $50, and $15 off $75)

Hobby Lobby (Always offers a 40%, everything in their store goes on sale at 50% off about twice a month.  Never pay full price for anything at Hobby Lobby.  If it's not on sale this week, you can bet it will be next.)

Each of those places offers excellent clearance pricing, so always be on the lookout, and each of them also shares their sale paper for the week on their ap.  **For the 5 of you who still have flip phones and aps are not an option, you can still get on their website and print the coupons from there.**

Michaels and JoAnn have mailing lists.  You should get on them as they send special coupons out on fliers to your mailbox and it's like crafting Christmas when they show up.  Who doesn't love Crafting Christmases?

There are some things that hardware stores are good for and crafting stores just over price.  The number one thing that comes to my mind is spray paint.  I try not to use definitives like "always" and "never", but I'm pretty sure that I always buy my spray paint at hardware stores, and I never have bought any at the craft stores because they are at least twice as much moolah...and that's moolah I could be spending on other products!

Painter's tape...gorilla glue...E6000...shop towels, the blue paper towel-looking ones...paint brushes (larger ones, not small, detailing ones)...all of those things are less expensive at the hardware stores.

Brushes...for tiny detail work, I use nail brushes.  I'll be offering a set of those for cheap very soon...they are the ones I love more than any others and use all the time.  I think there's like 20 brushes for $5 or so...I have that on my "to-do" list for this weekend and I"ll be sharing what that is right here in a future blog post.  :)  Don't spend a lot of money on special brushes at the craft store.  Use your 40% off coupon and get a set of 10 or 20 for $10 or so.  I've found that they all wear out at about the same rate.  Also, don't get the bristle-type ones that look like a broom.  They are no bueno.  Get the ones with either brown or white bristles...they are the best.  (In my opinion.)

I know I'm rambling, but I'm trying to think of things and share them as I mentally go through my craft supplies.  Mod Podge.  Don't buy it at Wal Mart.  Buy it at one of the craft stores and utilize that coupon.  You can use a coupon each trip you make there.  They usually change them weekly-on Sundays.  Oh-you can also get a coupon out of fliers in the SUnday paper if you get those.

Back to hardware stores, if you want to paint a lot of rocks, you can pick up an 8 oz little jar of paint for $3.00 at the paint counter, offered in a few prominently-used colors, but you can also check the "oops" paint at both Home Depot and Lowes, and often times, you'll find the same size jar for .50 cents.  I love those.  And the paint is a great, thick quality.

As I think of other items of note, I will share with you, and tomorrow will be a post all about paint!