Polymer Clay River Rocks - Keep or Hide, You Decide!

A few years ago, a Facebook group was created that inspired many children and adults to get out an explore their towns. Since then many cities have followed suit. In order to find a rock hunting community near you, search (your city) rocks. For example, Fort Worth Rocks or Houston Rocks on Facebook.The way it works is you paint a rock and then find a fun unique place to hide it in plain sight. You then post a photo clue in the Facebook group and others set out on the journey to find your hidden treasure. Often times, a passerby will be pleasantly surprised when they find the unexpected treasure. When a rock is found, the person can choose to keep or rehide, it's a wonderful activity for the whole family to enjoy!

In this tutorial, we are going to take painted rocks to a whole new level with a little bit of polymer clay. Don't let the finished product intimidate you, it is a very simple process. Let's jump in!

River Rocks (Home Depot)

Translucent Liquid Sculpey

Sculpey Premo Accents Polymer Clay - Silver

Matte Acrylic Paint: Black, White and Gray + Paint Brushes + Toothpick

Liquitex Gloss Varnish

Optional: Modge Podge Mold

Toaster Oven or Conventional Oven

Black Bic Marker (Sharpies leave a red hue)

With the technique from this tutorial you will be able to create all kinds of your favorite characters and designs, these are just a few examples of what you can make by simply using a little bit of clay and a common river rock from the backyard.

Start by finding a nice flat and smooth rock. Different sized rocks will make for different types of body shapes. I prefer an evenly round and flat style. For this tutorial I will be making a cat with a cute bow and soda bottle in her hand.

I recommend you use Sculpey Premo Accents Polymer Clay in silver. I find this brand to be the easiest to mold around the shape of the stone. Warm up the clay by rolling it around in your hands a bit to warm it up and begin first to mold the ears. Form two equally shaped balls and begin pushing the clay onto the rock in a triangle form. Smooth it down so that it begins to become part of the rock. Complete this step for both ears.

Now you will roll two small balls for the feet. Attach the legs in the same manner by smoothing the clay onto the rock.

Optional: After forming the feet, If you would like your cat to be able to stand up straight, press him lightly onto a flat surface and it will create a base for it to stand without tipping over. In the photos you will see that I chose to include this step.

Roll two equal size balls and attach them the same way you did the feet. Smush the clay around to create two small hands. Decide what you want your cat to be holding and place it between the hands so you can imagine the final project.

Note: In the photo above you can see a few miniatures that are sold separately. You can purchase miniatures at the craft store and glue them between the hands AFTER you've painted the rock. This is what I chose to do with The coke bottle. You can also use the mold to design items such as a lollipop or a bow. I would recommend not glueing the item between the hands until the very end, as it is difficult to paint the cat body around whatever it's holding.

The photo with the coke bottle in its hands is just to measure to make sure it fits properly. DO NOT bake plastic miniatures you buy separately in the oven. I didn't glue the bottle into the hands until the very end.

For this cat, I placed a dab of Translucent Liquid Sculpey, which is essentially a glue that hardens in the oven, and I baked the bow on the cat in the oven. If you prefer, you can create the bow or accessories and bake them separately. Later use glue to attach the accessories at the very end.

Roll out a piece of clay and smooth the tip onto the backside of the cat. Wrap it around the bottom half and place a dab of T.L.S. This will help it bond when it bakes.

Only with adult supervision!! This step should not be performed by children and I also HIGHLY recommend using a toaster oven and not the traditional oven in the kitchen. Line a baking sheet with foil and set the oven to the temperature on the package for the clay. If your are using Sculpey Premo, you will typically bake rocks for about 20 minutes at 275 degrees. Keep an eye on them!

You think it would go without saying BUT the rocks will be VERY hot! (My tag phrase in all my tutorials seems to be, “ask me how I know?!” Do not try to pick them up with your bare hands! I use a towel. If you are the patient type, take the baking sheet out with your rocks and let them cool. For the impatient folks like myself, fill a large plastic bowl or tupperware with cool tap water and place the rocks in the water to cool them quicker.

NOTE: Please be extra careful when completing this step for the first time. I had someone tell me once that rocks might crack in the oven if they have water inside. I have never had any issues when using the river rocks from Home Depot and I have made a good amount of them. Others on Facebook have followed my tutorials and also have not had issues. However, it’s always better to be safe, so please take safety precautions just in case.

Once it's cool to the touch, it's time to paint! Paint the body with several coats until the cat is completely gray and you can no longer see the clay or rock. Make sure you let the paint dry in between coats. I often work on several rocks at a time so that I can work on one while the other is drying. After the gray paint is dry, you will paint the entire rock with Liquitex Gloss (omitting this step makes it difficult for the Bic marker to adhere to the paint and it dries out the marker as well.) When the gloss coat has dried dip the tip of a paint brush into black paint and place two dots for eyes, use a toothpick to draw in the nostrils. When the eyes have dried you can dip the opposite end of the toothpick into white paint and place a small dot inside to highlight them. Use your Bic marker to draw in the ears and eyelashes and any other designs for the fur.

Now is when you will glue on the item your adorable cat will be holding in its hands.

Time to decide if you will share your creation or keep it as a keepsake to admire. If you decide to hide it, don't forget to look up the correct hashtag for the Facebook group. Most groups write something like this on the back:

Keep or rehide, you decide
#(yourcity)rocks on fb

This is a link to a local rock hunting group in Texas so you can explore more ideas.

Have fun!