Let’s Make Pebble Art!

I’m always on the hunt for art projects that are easy on the wallet, but pack in lots of imagination, fun, laughter, and excitement! Even better, I love art projects that result in something unique that we can hang on our art wall as a great conversation piece and a reminder of our time spent together as a family!

As homeschoolers, we practice a lot of art in our curriculum because it encourages not only creativity, but also critical thinking and problem solving. Further, on the elementary school level, it also helps develop fine motor skills! What I personally love about our art projects is that they build confidence in my little guy while simultaneously bringing the entire family around the dining room table one night a week to see what everyone can create with whatever project we are doing.

That is where we came across one of our favorite family night art projects to date… PEBBLE ART! And now we just can’t get enough!

It’s a simple concept, really… collect a bunch of pebbles and river rock and create art. But, once you dive in, it’s even more fun as you search to find just the right pebbles to build your picture and then add special touches to make your design unique and exciting!

And… let’s not forget that these make amazing handmade gifts! Who doesn’t love these adorable and unique pebble art family portraits:

Materials:

• Pebbles, River Rock, or Store-Bought Rock in Various Sizes
• Hot Glue Gun and Hot Glue Sticks (or Loctite Extreme Glue – see my update below)
• Thrift Store Frame (mine was $2!) and Matching-Size Canvas (mine was 8×10)
• Optional: Driftwood, Paint Supplies, Stencils, Sharpie, Pens, Paint Pens, Wood Burning Tool, Seashells, and/or Any Other Embellishments!

or…. instead of using a thrift store frame and matching-size canvas, we sometimes use a scrap piece of 2″x6″ wood & it can stand on its own. See below:

That’s everything you need! Now…

Getting Started:

The first time around, we just gathered a bunch of random stones to make our project and then decided what to create when we sat down at the table for art night. The second time around, however, I knew that I would be specifically working on a family portrait gift for my sister, so I worked hard to find stones that would make good bodies and heads. Then I had to do some extra digging to find good ears and bodies for her doggie and kitties.

It’s really up to you whether you just let inspiration hit you when you start the project or if you plan ahead to try and pick stones specific to a piece that you are wanting to make.

Extra tip: I highly recommend disinfecting and cleaning your pebbles before you get started.

Once you have your stones dry and ready, start to lay out your design on your canvas. This is the fun part! Swapping out this stone for that one. Negotiating with each other to trade stones. Discovering what our final art piece might look like one little pebble at a time! We didn’t glue anything down until we had completed our pebble art in total. It was so much fun to see it all come together!

Extra Tip: In the case of the family portrait, it’s easier to add details like the whiskers and ribbon for the balloon BEFORE you glue down your stones, so keep that in mind.

My first (personal) family portrait was rather simple:

You can tell in the family portrait above that I stuck with a very basic stone and driftwood design. I loved it! But as I researched other designs, I started falling in love with adding in the extras…

For my sister’s family portrait, I used river rocks and driftwood, but I also added in a heart tree by using a stencil and paint (with a foam brush stamping technique). Then, I painted a heart rock to use as a balloon, and finished off the look by placing it all within a $2 thrift store frame:

I took special time to focus on the animals in her family portrait. The whiskers and tail for the kitties were done with a simple gel pen and the ribbon/string for the balloon was done the same way!

Below is another example of fun animals in a portrait. Special tip: You’ll see here that when I clear-coated the project, the gel pen bled a little, creating a bit of a fuzzy look. I later learned to use paint pens for the same look, but without the bleed. After trying that for a while, I started experimenting with using a $20 wood burning tool (Wal-Mart) and creating the lines with that and … wow! … it was the perfect solution!

In the photo above, all of the lines are done with a gel pen. In the photo below, all of the lines are done with a $20 wood-burning tool. No bleed when clear-coating with the wood-burning tool.

I’ve done another pebble art, just for fun, and added in a painted background and seashells:

And here’s another look at a creation using the heart tree stencil:

Sometimes, I’ll be out on a hike and collect a neat stick just because the inspiration hits me (see the photo below):

My husband really enjoyed this family art night too! He decided to make an elk, which we later debated might look more like a caribou. You can see from his art the importance of having a variety of sizes and shapes of river rocks and pebbles:

The adorable smiley face was made by my very creative four-year-old:

Sometimes, the simplest pebble art can be the most beautiful …

As mentioned earlier, these make adorable, unique, and budget-friendly handmade gifts!

Bonus: Have you ever looked up “Pebble Art Family Portraits” on Google or Etsy? They sell for anywhere from $60 to $150+! I have actually had family members request a pebble art family portrait for birthdays and Christmas! These absolutely adorable gifts will fit almost any budget and yet, they are sure to make your family member or friend smile! They are easy to make but pack a lot of heart in them!

One tip worth mentioning here…

I have been asked before about shipping my pebble art. Well, to be honest, I’ve never shipped one of these. But, since these are sold all over the internet, I’m sure they can be safely shipped with the right amount of care in crafting and packing. I’m not sure the hot glue would hold up in a shipping situation, so I might opt for a more powerful glue if I planned to ship one. Second, I would take special care to package my art really, really well before dropping it off.

Special Update: Glue Matters –

(April 2021 – After selling my pebble art in a local store for a couple of months, I started to realize that the regular handling of the pieces by customers was more than the hot glue could handle. I was having to take home pieces to glue them back together on a pretty continual basis. In April, I decided to switch over to Loctite Extreme Glue and I have literally had no issues with lost pebbles since making the change. So, if you plan to ship your art, or share your art somewhere that it may get handled more, I highly recommend giving Loctite Extreme Glue some consideration. It has been an art-saver for me!

Extra Pics of Our Creations:

A Few Extra Tips:

• Make sure you do your research before collecting rocks on any public or private land other than your own. I found this BLM article on “rockhounding” very interesting: click here.
• We collected our pebbles in a river, so I made sure and washed and sanitized them with bleach, then soap and water before we used them. It’s not uncommon for giardia to be present in Colorado rivers and streams, so this was just a precautionary step to protect my family.
• If you don’t live near a river, check your local hardware store to price a bag of pebbles.
• Alternately, if you don’t live near a river, you can contact a friend or family member that does and ask them to ship you a small box of pebbles. You don’t need a large amount for this art project, so the shipping costs shouldn’t be too much.

There you have it! I hope you have fun building your pebble art and please drop us a comment with a photo of your final art piece!

Blessings, and Happy Crafting!

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