Christmas is over and it seems like the Valentine’s Day candy was put out the day after. It’s time to start thinking about class valentine exchanges.

My son’s teacher sent out an email requesting craft supplies. She is in need of things to make their bags or mailboxes. That was always one of my favorite things to do at school when I was younger. There would be red and pink construction paper everywhere. Googly eyes and sometimes feathers would adorn the masterpieces. And the glitter was insane. Looking back, I am not sure how any of my teachers survived the glitter alone.

I usually go to the store, get some pre-made cards, and add some pencils or candy, but I am going in a different direction this year. We wanted something more personal, yet easy and economical. My son and I are going to paint rocks for his entire class. That makes 26 rocks for us to work on. We are going to keep this project simple and make a couple of designs that we can easily mass-produce.

Let’s review our 4Ps approach to rock painting before we dive in. The 4Ps are Prime, Pencil, Paint and Protect. We are going to follow this approach with both of our rocks. For further details on the 4Ps please visit my article here: How to Paint Rocks – A Beginner’s Rock Painting Guide.

Valentine’s Day Painted Rocks – Design 1: Jar of Conversation Hearts

Valentine’s Day is synonymous with candy. Sweets for the sweet you might say. Although I do not care for the chalky conversation hearts, they are a popular symbol for Valentine’s Day. You can find them in many different colors with different sayings on them. This design will incorporate a lidded glass jar filled with this classic candy.

Prime – Step 1 is to prime your rock. Priming a rock helps with uneven colors, filling in porous surfaces, creating a more level surface, and putting down a base coat which allows your design to stick better to the rock and last longer. For this rock, I used two coats of white acrylic paint as a primer. Allow for dry time in between each coat.

Pencil – Using a pencil and a light hand, I drew the outline of the design on the rock. I use a pencil so I can erase and make adjustments if necessary. The pencil lines will get covered up by the paint, so there is no need to get very detailed at this point.

I started by drawing the jar and lid and then the hearts in an overlapping pattern. I did not add any sayings or extra details, they would just get covered up when I paint the hearts.

Paint – I love using Posca paint markers for most of my rock painting projects. They are easy to use and come in a wide variety of colors. Conversation hearts come in many colors. Traditionally, you see them in pastels. I used light blue, light purple, yellow, pink, and light green. I tried to separate the colors from each other in the design to make the whole thing easier to see. Then, I used a gold paint marker for the lid of the jar.

Once all of this was dry, I went back and added the details. I used a fine-point black paint marker to outline the jar and the individual hearts. I added words to the hearts that had the most surface area to work with. Finally, I put a few lines in the gold lid to add texture to the design.

Since I protected both rocks together, that step will be described later in this article.

Valentine’s Day Painted Rocks – Design 2: Loads of Love

I really enjoy all of the cute sayings and plays on words during Valentine’s Day. One of my favorites is one with a truck carrying hearts that says “loads of love”. We are going to recreate a similar design for our second rock.

Prime – I also primed this rock using two coats of white acrylic paint. The surface of this rock was even and smooth, so this primer will mostly serve the purpose of helping the painted design adhere to the rock.

Pencil – I used a pencil to draw the truck and the bed full of hearts. I drew the bed at an angle to make the truck more of a dump truck to show the hearts falling out of the back. I did not add any details at this point, the pencil marks would be covered by paint and I would not be able to see them.

Paint – Posca paint markers to the rescue again. I wanted the truck to stick out from the rest of the colors in the design so I used a blue paint marker on that portion. I used a darker blue for the fenders and rims.

Next, I used different shades of red, pink, and purple on the hearts.

For the details, I used a fine-tipped black paint marker to add some texture lines to the truck rims and fenders. I used the same marker for the tires and to outline the entire design. Finally, I printed the words “Loads of Love” using a dark gray paint marker.

Protect – Sealing your rock will help protect your design from the elements and make your masterpiece last longer. I like to use a clear acrylic spray sealer. The brand I normally use is from Mod Podge, but this kind of sealer comes in many different brands and finishes. Use whichever one you prefer. I recommend reading the instructions on your can of sealer and only using the spray outside. The fumes can be pretty strong