Painting boulders

It is not always easy to keep children busy in a creative way, especially when they are home for long periods of time during the cold winter months. You have probably been actively baking, claying or drawing countless times, but you and your offspring have had enough for a while. Crafting with children can also be done in an original way by painting boulders. What exactly makes this activity so much fun and how to transform a decorative boulder into a true work of art is explained below.

Stone painting: For whom?

• Painting with children

Stone painting is mainly done by families with children. Birthday parties or vacations are the perfect opportunity for children to let their imaginations run wild on a stone. Some sturdy decorative boulders, also called pebbles, a few brushes and acrylic paint in multiple colors, is all your sprout needs to get artistic.

• Stone coloring for adults

Not only the youngest among us, but also a large number of adults, are addicted to stone painting. Especially in hobby clubs, these days stones are frequently used instead of cardboard or paper to make a beautiful drawing.

• Getting creative with rocks during vacation camps

Whether it’s a school camp or a youth movement camp, boulder painting is fun at all ages. On a rainy day, you can transfer your inspiration onto a boulder indoors, while during a summer camp, you can have fun painting together outdoors.

Looking for the right stones You could, of course, look for (gravel) stones at random in the forest or along the street. The big disadvantage of this is that you will not find two identical stones and consequently they will not fit together nicely later on. Buying stones to paint is the solution. At Eliassen you will find a wide range of decorative boulders in various colors that are perfect for painting. Do you prefer paintings in light pastel shades? Then choose these white flat decorative boulders of 30 to 50 mm or go for the larger variant of 50 to 80 mm. The boulders are already washed clean and ready to paint. For those who like working with vibrant colors such as fire red, bright yellow or deep blue, these decorative boulders flat gray, available in 2 sizes, are ideal. Paint fish or frogs on these stones and place them at the edge of the pond. Painted flower pots in turn look very nice on the balcony or on the windowsill. If you like coarse boulders to decorate a basket or an aquarium, you are well off with the with the lava gray decorative boulders. These stones are extremely rare and have a nice round shape that looks especially good in a country interior.

Painting boulders: Method Are you simply not a creative jack-of-all-trades and would like some extra explanation of the exact way to work? With this step-by-step plan, nothing can go wrong. 1) Make sure that all the stones are 100% clean. The decorative stones you buy from Eliassen are all washed beforehand. Of course, if you bought your stones a long time ago and they are currently still lying in the garden among the sand, you should wash them again to remove all the dirt before you start your crafting. Rinse all stones with water and make sure they are dry before use. 2) First make a design in pencil. 3) When you are satisfied with the result, you can trace over your design with a marker. 4) Paint your stone in the desired color(s).

Fun paint ideas

By now you know which decorative boulders are suitable for painting, exactly what you need and how to paint a stone. What’s missing now are fun paint ideas. Check out some tips on how to clean a pebble, and how to use good paint to paint such a pebble.

Animals One of the most chosen themes is and remains the “animals” theme. Both for adults and children with a heart for animals, this topic remains interesting and, by the way, you can go in any direction with it. Do you have a farm at home? Then it’s probably cool to paint animals like pigs, chickens or cows. Boulders with paintings of dogs, cats and other companion animals, are also very popular.

Holidays

If Easter is almost upon us, then Easter eggs, a festive Easter cake or a beautiful Easter bunny are very nice things to paint. Also for Christmas and St. Nicholas, you can make paintings of elements associated with these celebrations.  

Seasonal elements

Features of certain seasons are very pleasing to paint. Think pine cones or colorful leaves in autumn, images of a sun-drenched beach in summer or colorful flower meadows in spring.  

Education

Familiarizing your children with a healthy lifestyle can be done simply by crafting with paint. Not only does this get them away from all the phone and computer screens for a while, it also allows them to consciously paint about healthy eating, for example. Depictions of fruits, vegetables and other healthy meals, teach your child about healthy foods in a playful way. Paintings of sports elements such as a soccer, a tennis racket or a swimming band, are equally beneficial to your little eyeball’s overall development.  

Painted decorative boulders: Decoration ideas

Have you already filled your terrace and living room with your paint creations but can’t get enough of this amusing activity? Even with water ornaments or a fountain for indoors or outdoors, painted decorative boulders are very special as decoration. Decorative boulders complemented by flower pots or planters with painted stones, catch the eye immediately and give a unique character to any interior.

Decorative boulders LIVE to view in our showroom

Make your way to the huge Eliassen showroom in Ammerzoden and find the decorative pebbles of your dreams! View all ‘Ornamental stones’