When consulted for a craft idea to help present and teach a class at a local garden center, what do you suggest? After seeing so many faux cactus gardens that were adorable, the suggestion was easy. This post on how to paint a rock cactus garden is the blueprint for that class.
These little rock cacti are so adorable, you will love painting them! You can let your imagination run wild. It’s a little surprising how realistic they look from a little bit of a distance. The details on them are so simple, anyone can paint these cacti!
[ctt template=”8″ link=”6ucaU” via=”no” ]Painted Rock Cactus Garden! These little rock cacti are so adorable, you will love painting them! You can let your imagination run wild.[/ctt]
Supplies For Rock Cactus Garden
1. Pot or Container For The Cactus Display
The pot I intended to use for this project is smaller than the one I actually used. Apparently, the one I imagined in the storage cabinet, did not exist. Since I hadn’t retrieved the pot before painting a few of the rocks I chose, I had to go back and find a larger rock proportionate with the pot. (Don’t do as I do. First, pick out your pot!)
It’s easy to paint a cheap plastic pot to make it look stunning! ◄Click here for how to do just that.
Clay pots are a perfect choice for this project, but a little aluminum bucket or washtub would be cute, too. A ceramic pot in a bright color would be another great option, depending on your decor.
2. Smooth Clean Rocks
You will need smooth clean rocks. When you are choosing the rocks, take into consideration the size and shape of the pot you will use to feature your faux cacti. It will be a more interesting display if you choose different sizes and shapes.
Wash them with plain water and a little dish soap, if you like. Dry on a paper towel.
To add additional interest, choose a couple of small rocks to paint to look like flower blossoms.
The large rock in the picture is not perfectly smooth. The blossom covers a broken edge. Some of the imperfections in the rock make it a little more interesting. I like the textural effect.
3. Acrylic Craft Paint and Brushes
- 3 different green paint colors
- yellow paint
- red paint
- white paint
- a variety of paintbrushes
Inexpensive acrylic craft paint is perfect for painting the rocks. The rocks in the picture were all painted using just these 6 paint colors. White added to some of the colors creates the pink on the blossom and the lighter green on the cactus. You can use the paint straight from the bottle or mix to create other colors.
By using three different greens, you can tie all the cacti together with color even though they are painted much differently.
(We are an Amazon affiliate and may receive a small percentage of any sales through the links below at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting this website!) These inexpensive craft paints are found at craft stores or you can find a multitude of craft paint 
colors on Amazon. The 2-ounce bottles will be more than enough to make dozens of these little cacti and use for other crafts, too.
A round brush, a flat brush, and a detail brush are the only brushes I used for painting these cacti. If you have these, you are set. If not, a variety pack of paintbrushes 
is usually inexpensive and should have all the brushes you will need.
4. Filler For Rock Garden Container
You need to fill the pot with some type of small pebbles or tiny rocks. You can cover the hole with a flat rock or a piece of paper towel or a circle cut from a coffee filter. Initially, I planned to display these in the house, so a little square of paper towel covers the hole to keep any dust from the pea gravel in check. The pea gravel I used is some stolen from under our deck! You don’t have to buy some fancy rock.
5. Polyurethane, Sealer, or Varnish
You can use this FolkArt Outdoor Gloss Sealer 
or another of your choice. Since the cactus garden featured in this post is going to be inside, a sealer is not necessary. If you choose, you can add a gloss, matte, or satin finish to your finished cactus. It would be wise to use something like the FolkArt Outdoor Gloss Sealer if you are planning on displaying your garden outside. It provides maximum durability for outdoors.
How To Paint The Rock Cactus Garden
The first thing you need to do is choose the base paint color for your cactus. Obviously, you will need a container of water to wet your brushes, dilute the paint if necessary, and also, to clean your brushes. You’ll need a palette, a plastic plate, or even a paper plate to mix paint colors. A paper towel will come in handy, too.
There are a few ways you can accomplish painting the base coat. Since I was working on this outside, the paint dried very quickly and patience is one of my virtues. It is easy to hold one end of the rock, paint almost the entire rock, and hold it until the opposite end is dry. Then, turn the rock around, and paint the rest of the rock.
Another way to base coat the rock is to paint one side, allow it to dry, and then, paint the opposite side. If you do it, either way, make sure the paint on the edge feathers out and you don’t end up with globs of paint creating a raised line where the two coats meet.
If the first coat is too watered down and thin, don’t worry. You can paint another coat on top of the first. Just allow the first coat to dry completely. Pick up another rock and paint it while the first rock dries.
Paint The Details
There are so many ways you can paint these cactus rocks! Each is simply made by painting a line, thick or thin, making X’s or asterisks, or dots. How easy is that?
Paint An All Over Background
This rock is base coated with the DecoArt Light Avocado Craft Paint. To make the dots, a little bit of white is mixed into the avocado color to create a subtle slightly lighter tint. You can use this same technique with other green paints, too.
Then, just use the tip of a round brush, a Q-tip, a skewer, or the end of a paintbrush handle to create the dots. Make them as small or as large as you want. Don’t stress over making them perfect.
Lines For More Detail Interest
Add lines in contrasting green paint between the dots. This light avocado paint is lighter so the Woodland Green Apple Barrel Colors paint is used to create the pine green lines. You can see the lines are not perfect but once the white detail is painted on top of them, it is not noticeable.
It is easier to paint the lines when you add a little water to the paint on your palette creating thinner paint. You will struggle if you use the paint straight from the bottle to make thin lines like this.
Add some thin white, crosshatches, X’s, V’s, or asterisk-like characters on top of the contrasting lines. As simple as these are, they give the illusion of cactus stickers.
You can see the largest cactus in the picture is first base coated with the Woodland Green paint. Then, use the Kelly Green Apple Barrel Colors paint to paint a bolder stripe. Next, the Yellow paint is used to line one edge of the Kelly Green stripe. Lastly, dot the white paint on the yellow line with just the tip of the paintbrush.
If you choose to add flowers, choose smaller pebbles and paint them in colorful oranges, reds, or yellows. Basecoat the pebble in the same way as the cactus rocks. Then, pull some contrasting colors out from the center of the pebble. Add some yellow, white, or even lime green dots in the center.
(We are an Amazon affiliate and may receive a small percentage of any sales through the links below at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting this website!)
Glue these pebbles to the cacti with Super Glue
.
Arranging The Cacti In The Pots
Believe it or not, these rocks are just set and nestled into the pebbles. Place the large cactus first. Then, add the smaller painted rocks. It is always best to display these in an odd number like these three. If you have a larger pot, you might want five or seven.
Aren’t these adorable? My daughter has already put dibs on this rock cactus garden.
Leave a comment below if you love this idea! Click ‘Follow’ for the newsletter below, or follow me on Facebook and Pinterest so you won’t miss anything! Share this post with your friends! It only takes a second…
Linking with OhMyHeartsieGirl Friday Features Bloghop.
