Hand-Painted Stone "Cottages"

Ordinary rocks in a variety of shapes and sizes can be easily transformed into charming and fanciful cottages using minimal drawing or painting skills.

Materials:

smooth oval or upright rock with a flat base
DecoArt Patio Paint: larkspur blue, patio brick, sunflower and sunshine yellow, wrought iron black, cloud white, pine green, geranium red
Loew-Cornell 7050 script liner brush size 0
Loew-Cornell filbert brush
Loew-Cornell 7120 rake size 3/8
pencil or marker
wood putty or paper clay
Krylon spray sealant

Steps:

1. Use a marker or pencil to sketch a doorway and windows (figure A). On taller rocks, there may be room for a dormer window in the roof as well.

2. To create the look of a thatched roof, sketch eaves that curve gently over the door and window tops. Squeeze out wood putty or apply paper clay along those lines to add dimension to the eaves by building them up slightly. Let dry.

4. Decide whether there will be someone home (lighted windows) or not (darkened windows). Lighted windows look cozier. To paint them, mix a golden yellow and fill in the window shapes. Include a window in the door if you wish. While the paint is still wet, add just a touch of reddish brown to your brush (figure C) and blend this with a circular motion in the bottom half of each window for a warmer, more amber tone that seems to glow.

5. Paint the roof reddish brown (figure D). Make sure you paint around the curve of the eaves to completely cover the additions you made. Don't worry about getting paint on the walls as they will be painted over. Leave the chimney unpainted for now.

6. Decide on a wall color. Pastel shades look best, but you may want to match the colors of your own house or someone else's if the rock is to be a gift. Use a brush that will cover the rock quickly but also allows you to fill in narrow places. Add a bit of black to the wall color to darken it and use that color to create the look of shadowing below the eave line and beneath the window boxes (figure E).

7. Paint the window frames, window boxes, door and door step in a contrasting color like white or gray. Also paint the chimney solid white and add a cross or grid lines to the windows. You may also choose to add shutters in the same color or another color that compliments the wall color.

8. Outline elements in a contrasting color to make them stand out using a narrow liner brush and the same reddish brown used for the roof. Go around the edges of the windows and door and around the shape of the window box. Add narrow lines to suggest planks on the door (figure F).

9. Add the look of texture to the roof. Use a narrow liner brush or rake brush and contrasting shades of yellow paint to create layered rows of short lines resembling overlapping layers of thatch (figure G).

10. Use pine green to create the shapes of small shrubs and rounded mounds of foliage. Add yellow to this green and stipple on lighter dots along the tops of the shrubs and plants like highlighted leaves. Use a different shade of green to dab on leaves overflowing from the window boxes (figure H). You may also add a climbing vine around the door.

11. When the greenery is dry, use a stylus or the end of a narrow paintbrush handle to dot on small round flowers in various colors. Add a doorknob of handle in a dark color. You may choose to add rock or brick lines to the chimney or leave it plain white (figure I).

Little rock cottages add a touch of whimsy to any garden. Indoors, use them as paperweights or tuck them into houseplants. A cottage tucked under the spreading limbs of a jade plant makes a charming housewarming gift. A light overall coat of spray-on sealer such as Krylon will help protect the paint from dirt and weathering. There are many shapes and sizes of rocks that will suggest other building types like churches, store fronts, barns and more.