Our neighbour has a gorgeous amount of sunflowers, inspiring this project! (That and the huge pile of rocks from all the summer collecting!) Make these with your children or students and then set them up as a puzzle to be created over and over. When it comes to rock painting our favourite source for techniques and the best materials comes from Samantha of Color Made Happy (https://www.instagram.com/colormadehappy/?hl=en) who just wrote the Rock Art Handbook! You can purchase your own copy here: Canadians Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/rock-art-handbook-techniques-and/9781565239456-item.html Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Rock-Art-Handbook-Techniques-Transforming/dp/1565239458/ Americans Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rock-Art-Handbook-Step-Step/dp/1565239458/ *This is not a sponsored post, nor do we use affiliate links. We only suggest items that we have used and been genuinely happy with and this is one of them!* Materials Rocks Acrylic paint and/or paint pens (We like the Posca brand as recommended by the Rock Art Handbook) Thin, black pens (We like the Micron brand as recommended by the Rock Art Handbook) Dowel or stick Paintbrushes Printable: sunflower We always find these items useful too: Directions Collect rocks in nature with an adult. Wash your rocks with soap and water and allow them to dry overnight. We pop them on a cooling rack to allow the undersides to dry. Paint your rocks and allow them to dry overnight. Add details with your paint pens and thin, black markers. Allow them to dry. Paint your dowel or stick for your stem. Print out the sign to pair with your rocks- asking, “Can you make a sunflower?”. We popped it into a sign holder which you could pop onto a table in a classroom for the kids to try out the challenge of forming a sunflower from the rocks. Want more ideas? Do check out the Rock Art Handbook! We were really pleased with her material suggestions and how to use them for various techniques and the results on the rocks have all been amazing! Purpose Creating with nature. Safety Notes We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces. Please like & share: 2 Responses Pam September 27, 2020 Where do you purchase the big rocks? I do not see those sizes in our craft stores. Reply Bonnie Scorer September 27, 2020 Hello Pam! We often collect them in nature, but the kids’ teacher gets all sorts of rocks at garden and landscaping stores of various sizes. (There may be post-summer sales on now!) Hope that helps, Bonnie Reply Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published. Name* Email* Website Comment Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.
Pam September 27, 2020 Where do you purchase the big rocks? I do not see those sizes in our craft stores. Reply
Bonnie Scorer September 27, 2020 Hello Pam! We often collect them in nature, but the kids’ teacher gets all sorts of rocks at garden and landscaping stores of various sizes. (There may be post-summer sales on now!) Hope that helps, Bonnie Reply