Rocks

Last Spring I got the idea to do some collage art on rocks and lay them outside in the flower beds as a little unexpected surprise when folks are strolling through on a garden tour. I was all excited and it was too much fun doing this art on the rocks. But, the idea I had for the method I used wasn't such a keen idea. Turns out, unless sheltered, the rocks didn't like the hot sun beating on them or days of rain and temperature variables from hot to cold in a single day. Now if I were painting them, it wouldn't matter and they would hold up. But I didn't want to take forever to do these little wonders, I wanted to do a lot of them and have fun, too, not be all tedious. So I did little collages using the same things as other collages, napkins, ink jet prints, stencils, paint, rub ons and so forth. The first few I used outdoor Mod Podge to seal them, gave them several coats or until I felt they were well covered and sealed. On others I used some triple thick glaze and now I forget what else I used. Most of the gluing was with mod podge I think and some have layers of glitter mod podge or other glitter stuff. I wanted them to sparkle in the light and catch someones eye. So, as it turns out, they'll make cute paper weights, sit on tables or desks as a little pretty or go out on a covered or protected porch or deck, maybe peeking out from a potted plant, but not in the weather and hot sun. I think using ink jet prints wasn't good, they fade in the sun even under layers of glaze, a couple turned cloudy and stayed that way, others clouded in the cool dampness and cleared in the sun, a couple that were more hid by the flowers or shaded did pretty good. None the less, I got irked with myself and quit working on them. I was hoping it would be something to sell cheap and not cost a lot to make nor take a lot of time. Just fancy free and fun! I may end up doing more but doubt they'll be going outside in the flower garden with the fairies and totems! If anyone has a suggestion for weather proofing, I'd love to hear them. I'm sure maybe using ink jet prints isn't a good idea.  Here's a few pictures of what I still have. These were outside and they weathered fairly well but I rescued them before they got too bad. The little fairy babies did pucker and start to crack, so it looks like crackle! Maybe I didn't glue them down well enough. Tomorrow I'll show and tell about another "bright" idea I had.
                                                         

I used a magazine print for the background and the little fairy is from Lisa's Altered Art collage sheets. Remember to click on the picture a better large view.

For this one I used a napkin for the background, using gel medium and a print of the gargoyle, I don't recall where I found the quote. It's touched up with water color pencil. This is my favorite; I'll use him more in other things.

These little fairies are also from Lisa's Altered Art collage sheets, I'm not sure about the nest or quote. I added some glitter to the wings and their dresses. This one tried to lift and pucker and you can see the crackle effect that is unintentional!

Oh, these images are all shadowed with either watercolor pencil or marker.

This one is just a simple print with watercolor pencil and glitter. I cannot remember where I found the print.  Even though I sized the print  wrong, I used it anyway and this simple little rock got lots of comments! Go figure.

This is a painted background, a print from the internet and again I forget where the quote came from. Just a touch of pencil added. I have several sheets of words and quotes from different places, some bought, some free.