Vacation Memories Beach Themed Painted Rocks

This vacation memories craft project is an inexpensive and easy project to do with the kids. When on vacation have them collect a medium sized rock with at least 2 flat semi-even sides. Wash the rock and pack it for the trip home. Once home you and the kids can preserve your vacation memories by painting on the rock with acrylic craft paints and paint markers!

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Supplies Needed for the Project

Rocks (similar to size and shape shown in the photo)
Acrylic Craft Paints and Paint Brushes
Acrylic Paint Pen Markers
Water Dish and Paper Towels
Mod Podge Sealer in Glossy Finish
Foam Brush
Pencil with Eraser

Our vacation scene that we painted depicts the beach. You can do a lake, mountains, campsite, river, beach, or wherever you went for your family vacation. Let the kids be creative. This isn’t about the adults coming up with designs that are “pinterest worthy”…it’s about the kids!

Always wash the rocks with soapy water (We use Dawn Liquid Dish Soap) and rinse clean. They’ll need 24-48 hours to thoroughly dry. Make sure they’re dry before painting on them.

We started by kind of sketching the design onto the rock using a pencil. You can let them just get busy painting if that’s what they prefer. The background of the scene always needs to be painted first. Think ocean, sand, trees, mountains, the sky, lake, etc. We used acrylic craft paint and a paint brush to do all of the background work. Let dry for 45 minutes or until the paint is no longer tacky.

Now the fun part. Use the Acrylic Paint Markers to add all of the detail design. We recommend the BETEM Dual-Tip Acrylic Paint Markers. We used them to add the palm tree, the sun, sand bucket, shovel, seashells, white ocean water, seagulls, etc. They dry fast….about 10-15 minutes and that paint was dry. Let the kids paint all sides of the rock. They can initial and date it anywhere they like along with the location.

Once all of the paint is dry you want to protect it with 1-2 coats of Clear Mod Podge Sealer. We chose one with a glossy finish, but it also comes in a matte finish if you prefer that. Let dry overnight. That’s it, done!!! A fun way to preserve those vacation memories!

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