I was looking for some craft ideas, like using rope to make a bowl or making a stamp out of okra. I decided to go with the classic art of painting rocks.

I know this sounds odd, but I know things can get lonely during quarantine and we miss our friends. So why not make your own? My parents thought it was a weird idea, but my parents are already fairly certain I am losing my sanity. Painting rocks can be a lot of fun and if I use my imagination it is a new friend…. Yeah maybe my parents are right. 

The supplies you will need are a rock, craft paint, paintbrushes, and a Sharpie. If you have any googly eyes you could use those too. It also helps to have some newspapers to keep the paint from getting everywhere. This project is quick and easy. You could do it by yourself, with your family, or on FaceTime with a friend so you can do it together.

Here is a picture of the supplies I used:

You can choose whatever you’d like to paint onto your rock, so I chose to paint a cactus. And this is how it went…

First, I painted a base of light green (I created this base color by mixing yellow, dark green and white).

Then I added white stripes down the rock, but you could also do dots or other designs.

I added the concise spikes with a thin paintbrush, which is optional.

Then I added a simple face with a black Sharpie. 

Finally I put some little rocks I had in a little container and stuck my new friend, Billy, in his new home. Some of the supplies I found around my house, so be creative and use your imagination!

You could paint other things on your rock if you didn’t want to do a cactus, like  an animal, food, or a different plant. Or you could just put some eyes on it and give it a name. I hope you have fun making your friend and I hope you have many adventures and memories together—you know, like a trip to the kitchen or a perfect quarantine movie night. 

Check out some more examples of painted rocks!

Here are some I did last summer:

Here are some my friend, Rachel St. Louis did: