Our son died in October and we made a small sitting area with a small maple tree, rock, monkey grass, and ceramics he had in his yard that we brought home. I painted a rock with a sweet saying in his memory - my first effort using acrylic paint and got instructions off the web. I plan to paint more.
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can you tell me where on the web you got your directions? My son died in an auto accident Sept.2003 and I would like to do something like this in his memory.
Dear Granny Annie,
Please accept my sincere sympathy on your recent loss of your son.
Regards,
joesgirl
That is a faboulas idea and you did a great job. Thanks for sharing.
Gentle Person:
The poem on your painted rock is one of the most powerful I have ever read, and I've read a great deal!
Joseph Raglione.
Executive director: The world humanitarian peace and ecology movement.
So sorry about your loss!! You did a wonderful job on the rock.
Take care, Ruth
We lost our son in November of 2003.
With my shaky hands I am not much of a painter but he will understand. Thank You for this GREAT IDEA.
MIKE
I lost my grandson last fall in a car/bike accident he was only 12 and I would like to do something like this for him. How do u do it or what do u need ?
(Send by email)
Dear Susan,
Thank you for sending me an email with condolences for our loss and notifying me of the feedback that the Memorial Rock picture had received.
Please let me extend condolences to you and the others that have also had losses. We share that together and know how our hearts are opened to others as well. Thank you for all the feedback.
I may need more instruction on responding to the feedback. But, in the meantime, I will respond here as best I can and please advise how I should do in the future.
I don't remember the site that gave instructions but they were very simple (a blessing).
1. Wash rock and let dry.
2. I had found the little poem in some magazine and had cut it out but no credit was given but it was a keeper.
3. Paint the area you want to paint on (you can use latex or the little bottles of craft acrylic that sell for 59 cents to $1.69 each. I used white but any light shade would work as background. I used a Sharpie permanent marker to draw the outline and also to print the letters.
4. For ideas, I looked at greeting cards on my computer printing software but there are many sites on the web to get ideas.
5. After you finish, spray with clear acrylic sealer gloss - 2 to 3 coats to protect it from the elements. Then, put it in your garden to enjoy. If you don't like the result, you can paint over it and try again.
Mike, I hope you will give it a try as it is a joy for us. It doesn't have to be perfect and any idea you come up with can be altered as you go - mine did. I tried first to paint the letters but I had limited brushes and found that it was a lot easier to use the Sharpie fine point marker. I used what I call roadside rock and we have some smaller rocks on our property but landscape and home improvement stores should have some or a stone place.
Thank you for all the comments and I wish you all the very best. Have fun with it and let me know how it goes. We can add to our talents if we help each other.
Granny Annie
I have some concerns about your rock and the method you were given.
When you are painting on wood, plexiglass or rocks that will be left outside year round, please spend a little bit more money and buy the acrylic paint called "patio paints". These paints will not fade in the sun and they are self sealing so you do not have to put extra layers of varnish overtop of them. If you are going to all the trouble of preparing and painting the rock you want it to last longer than one season.
I would though make sure that the rock is very clean and actually I would also "prime" it by spraying a coat of clear matte finish on the rock before I start to help the paint adhere to the rock for a long time.
Dear valleyrimgirl,
Thank you so much for the information you posted. That is wonderful to know. The varnish and clear acrylic spray both have a strong oder and my daughter told me the varnish can cause yellowing.
I guess I will get the opportunity to redo my rock and perhaps better with a little more experience and wonderful, helpful advice. Thank you again.
When you go to the paint store you ask for the varnish that will NOT yellow.
Three years ago I painted a wooden bench with a picture of a baby raccoon desperately trying to hang onto a branch of a tree, then I bought a varnish that will NOT yellow and painted the wooden bench with at least 5 coats of varnish, paying particular attention to the "feet" of the bench (because the bench will be standing in the dirt of the garden under a tree). This bench has been out in the rainstorms all through the summer for 3 summers now. I will bring it in for the winter so we can enjoy it in the house (instead of being under 2-3 feet of snow) and it STILL looks like I just painted it. Varnish that will not yellow will actually say that on the label of the can. Do NOT use a spray varnish to do your coats because that will not give you a heavy or thick enough layer of varnish. Once water damage gets to your painting you may as well throw the item out because it will look awful. A friend of mine did the same raccoon bench and SPRAYED with the varnish 2 coats and then put her bench outside. Now...hers is moisture and water damaged but mine is still like new.
Please evaluate the item you are wanting to preserve and go to the paint/craft store and talk to the experienced salesman and then buy the correct paint or varnish you will need for your project. The cheap paints and varnishes from the local dollar store or walmart just are not worth it. Use those for the grandkids to paint with if you have grandkids or for projects that will never be outside.
Hi Valleyrimgirl,
You should enter a picture of your bench in the photo contest. I'm sure others would love to see it as much as I would.
Thanks for your explanation.
Susan from ThriftyFun
I was going to ask valleyrimgirl for a photo too. The bench sounds beautiful. The information shared is so helpful.
Thank you.
Granny Annie
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