This is a great, comprehensive guide and introduction to rock art for all ages. It covers basics such as finding and prepping stones, sealants, paints, tools, mediums, embellishments, materials and more. It even contains tips and tricks for the different mediums and how to pair them with sealants and other materials. The ideas for creating manipulatives and teaching tools is a great chapter for parents and teachers. It even contains a chapter of ideas for how to use all your newly decorated rocks. Overall, this is a great book for all ages. It would even be a great guide for a family night!

This was a fun intro to rock part. Painting, hiding, and, ultimately, finding rocks is a recent craze. It's very popular where I live in NY state now. You see it all over Facebook. This books gives you some great tips and tricks on how to get into this creative and fun pastime/craft. This book covers everything from finding the perfect rock to create, through supplies (with actual brand recommendations) and designs, to sealing and displaying your artwork. It is practical and accessible to all while still being "artsy". There is basic color theory and step by step walk-throughs, as well as discussions on design. It's also not all about painting. For those that want to dip their toe into rock art, there are stencils, markers, stickers and glitter. This book can help anyone, of any age, create art on rocks. These rocks can then be used to many different purposes. Hide them from others to find, or put them in custom made jewelry. I recommend this book for anyone interested in rock art; or anyone looking for a fun craft to do with their kids. Check this book out.

This book is fantastic. I'm always looking for things to fill my time, especially during the cold winter months. I love how the author explains how to start the rocks. I wouldn't have thought of painting the rocks first then sealing them at the end. I really liked the step by step instructions detailing how to make certain designs. I also like the list of what materials were used for each sections of rocks. I'm definitely interested in trying rock painting for myself.

Love how detailed this book is. From learning how to find the perfect stone for your project to the different methods to achieve works of art.
The instructions are very easy to follow and the pictures have a very nice definition and great quality.

I found this book to be perfect for those interested in trying Rock art, but do not know where to start. I find myself on Pinterest and scrolling the internet for ideas and information on how to start. This book addresses all my questions that I had from choosing rocks and prepping them with a base coat to how to seal them and what type of sealer to look for.

The art work done on these rocks are just beautiful and creative. I love how she gives step by step instructions along with helpful visual illustrations to recreate what she has pictured. Author Samantha Sarles does a great job of making this book readable and easy to read. I got some great ideas to start painting some rocks for myself as well as for my kids. I love the Pinterest ideas—-but this book covers more than a short tutorial. She gives tool information, and talks about different supplies needed. What’s good and what’s bad or even what is needed for a particular type of rock art I’m aiming for. Which for me is great—-because I get glossy eyed at arts and crafts stores.

I've never considered checking out a book to provide step by step instructions on rock art—but this book is truly perfect for beginners.


I would like to the thank the publisher and NetGalley for the providing me with a copy of this book to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

Samantha Sarles' Rock Art Handbook is chock-full of tips about the various mediums that can be used to decorate rocks. A helpful and well organized "how-to book" for this popular and inexpensive art-form, this is a solid purchase. I found the explanations of different mediums and the correct sealants to be most helpful. If your library has a MakerSpace, order a couple of copies to have on hand!

A really fabulous book. As an avid rock collector/painter (for Staffs Smile Stones) this has everything you could possibly need to start a new hobby. I especially like the marbled and alcohol paint effects and will be trying them out on my own rocks very soon.

This is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in rock painting. It gives all the information one would need to know how to begin, from supplies you'd need to creative inspiration. I would recommend this to anyone interested in rock art.

This book is so inspirational for rock art ideas and techniques! My library is looking to host a "Kindness Rocks" event for all ages and this book is perfect for brainstorming designs and materials to use! I never knew there were so many ways to decorate a rock! We will be purchasing this title for the collection!

This is a great book, both for kids AND adults! Not only do you learn about selecting rocks and prepping them (corrrectly), you learn some really fun artistic techniques. It's sorta ike a mini-art course! As you can see above, you get VERY clear photos ALONG with the instructions, so you kids can easily make the projects in this book by themselves, by simplying following along with each step!

We didn't have any flat rocks, only some river rocks, so Miss Grace decided just to work with what she had. She used 5 different techniques on the rocks above, all that she learned from the book: Sharpie mandella design, Sharpie with rubbing alcohol blending, Acrillyic painting, metallic printing with glitter, and ink pad combining with simple silhouette! I was actually very impressed with how WELL her rocks came out! She has painted rocks before (our town did the rock geocaching faze last year), but none came out as great as these! Now she is hooked and I know we'll have many more mini-masterpieces on the way!

The book does include more mature rocks, like the dot mandelas and themed rocks, that are perfect to use for home decor, and will appeal to adults. This would be a great book to give as a gift, or to use together as a family! We highly recommend it!

“The Rock Art Handbook” by Samantha Sarles is a colourful and upbeat way to learn about rock art. Full of bright pictures and tutorials, it shows simple ways to turn dirty old rocks from outside in cute pieces of art in the best way. Super short and really easy to follow, this book is a must have for anyone looking for a new craft to do this summer.

Inside this book is ways to find, clean, prime and paint rocks. It also shows what kinds of materials you can use to decorate them, and surprisingly you can use almost anything, including but not limited to, fabric, pencil crayons, napkins and more, aside from the more traditional paint ways.

Overall I enjoyed reading this, although it was done faster than I thought it would be. I’m glad I got the chance to read it, and will hopefully be reading more DIY books like this in the future.

Thanks for reading!
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)

Great introduction to the craft of rock painting. Basic techniques, tips, and designs. Love the photos for inspiration

This book is so much more than just painting rocks. There are instructions, steps and color pictures of many other techniques to decorate rocks such as marbling, decoupage, drawing designs and using markers or colored pencils, embellishing, etc. Recommended for all public libraries.

I found this book to be beautifully illustrated and descriptive on how to make works of art of garden stones. I used to paint rocks years ago but that was before all these new ideas and techniques came out.
Ms. Sarles' rocks are really beautiful and I got some great ideas to start painting some rocks for myself. I love the adult coloring book craze, but this takes it to a different level. I've never considered myself an artist but with all the articles I've read lately about unleashing your creativity to help with depression and anxiety, I'm going to give it a try.
I would like to the thank the publisher and NetGalley for the providing me with a copy of this book to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

Fun,, fun, fun! My family loves crafting with rock painting. This book has great ideas and will help to make our project last. Thanks to the author and publisher along with Net Galley for letting me read the advanced reader copy of this awesome craft book.

Samantha Sarles brings us thorough and complete instructions on the tools, supplies and processes necessary to produce attractive rock art for teachers and students alike. With this one book you can establish a workroom for the classroom or senior group, birthday party or shower activity, or simply a neighborhood weekend project for children and adults alike. I was impressed with the professionalism of this work and the frank referrals to branded products that work well. Ms. Sarles went to a lot of trouble to find the products that respond best to her techniques and I appreciate being saved the time and expense to follow in those footsteps. I can happily recommend Rock Art Handbook: Techniques and Projects for Painting, Coloring, and Transforming Stones to family, friends and neighbors.

I received a free electronic copy of this book of instruction from Netgalley, Samantha Sarles, and Fox Chapel Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

I enjoy various crafts, but rock art up until now, has not been something that i thought i wouldn't be interested in. That is until i read this book. It is an excellent book for those who wish to learn rock art. It is full of colourful illustrations, techniques and seems very easy to follow. Recommended.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review, which has been freely given.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This handbook is a wonderful guide to rock art.
It is full of detailed explanations , techniques , ideas and equipment guides.

The step by step tutorials are easy to follow and informative.

The rocks for learning section was original and a great extra , i particularly liked the story stones .

Rock art and rock painting is a popular craft at the moment and there are a lot of guides and tutorials about, however i have to say this ' Rock art handbook ' is so much more, there is a whole host of rock art ideas that are really lovely.
While i loved the whole book, there are some bits that really stood out for me-

The painted house rocks and paper covered rocks are really cute and different,
the colour wheel is a really helpful resource,
And lastly the finding rocks info is really useful , where to find rocks and the best ones to pick is an important part of the process in any rock art and is often overlooked in guides .

I will certainly be buying a copy of this for myself and my children , but also as a gift to others.

Rock art has become wildly popular lately, with both children and adults painting and decorating rocks and hiding them for others to find. If you are thinking of getting into rock art, whether to give rocks as gifts, or use them in your own home or garden, it can be hard to know how to get started. That's where the Rock Art Handbook, by Samantha Sarles, comes in.

The book starts with tips on finding the right sort of rocks for painting and preparing them to paint, choosing the colours you want to work with and what kind of sealants to use to protect your finished work. Then there are step-by-step instructions in different ways to paint rocks (eg. dot art or with gradient backgrounds) with acrylics, nail polish, or different types of pens and pencils. Full colour photos provide plenty of inspiration with loads of cute ideas for designs and different things you can do with finished work. There are also ideas on how to use rock art in teaching young children, such as decorating rocks with numbers, letters, faces, or creating "story stones".
The Rock Art Handbook is a great resource for teachers, parents or anybody who wants to get into this fun hobby.

Hiding rock art around town and various sites one visits is a big thing back in my hometown and surrounding towns. This book is so awesome and shows exactly how to make the beautiful rock arts I keep seeing posted online! I can't wait to try it out with my kids. My young daughter is already squealing with joy from looking at the beautiful pictures, anxious to make one herself. The book is very thorough and explains how to make a beautiful rock and seal it to withstand the elements.

This is an awesome craft resource!!