Yard Decorations, Rock and Cement Yard Decor

Many of you know that I create art that I add to online products that people can purchase. Some know that I also create art for my garden. This is my review of this activity.

My first creation was when I decided that the somewhat large rock, looked like it would make a perfect fun frog! I cleaned up the rock and coated it with an all purpose sealer that is weather resistant. The brand I used is Delta Ceramcoat, but couldn't locate the exact item on Amazon. I did however find Delta Ceramcoat Multi-Surface Paints that are good for a variety of surfaces. Amazon included a variety of paints from Ceramcoat, and I believe I saw one that was weather resistant. I would still use the undercoat sealer and final coat sealer though. I usually add 2-3 coats of the final sealant.

As for another alternative, I would give this sealer from Americana a try. It is listed as weather resistant and is good for both indoor and outdoor.

After I applied the undercoat sealer and let it dry, I commenced with painting the froggy features. He is cool and fun! Then I finished with an outdoor sealer made for acrylic paints. I just use the sealers that you can find in the art section for acrylics. Americana is one of my favorites.

As you can see in the photo above, the frog is back in the corner, and looks pretty cool! He has been outside for years, as of this writing, and the paint hasn't chipped at all. He has sat out in full sun, full weather, and then more recently under the overhang from our roof. He has faired very well!

My next creation was Mr. Turtle. Poor Mr. Turtle. He was my first try at painting on cement, which wasn't the real issue. The problem was, I think, that Mr. Turtle was hollow inside. So although he was pretty easy to move around weight wise, his surface didn't hold up. I thought he was going to do as well as Mr. Frog. But oh well. I did apply the various coatings, and gave him a cool look.

He looked pretty good while he was still indoors. But the weather was too much for this hollow critter. I do plan to put some spackling on his back and maybe give him an abstract bandage. We'll see!

Onto Miss. Colorful Bird. This piece is also cement but is solid through. I did not have the issues with this that I had with Mr. Turtle. I don't know if different companies use different types of cement or not, or if it was just from not being solid. I believe I got Mr. Turtle from a garden center; it may have been Lowes. I purchased the bird from Target.

Anyway, Miss Colorful Bird still looks beautiful. Her painted feathers has been outdoors for months now, and she is still looking good. I have not sat her out in full weather like I did Mr. Frog. I hesitate after seeing what happened to Mr. Turtle. So everyone from now on is being placed under the overhang from the roof.

If you were to venture in to painting some outdoor decor for show, I would recommend to buy more solid pieces, or keep the piece indoors. As with all of them, I do recommend a sealer for porous surfaces that are meant for acrylic artistic paints. I have not used the paint meant for houses. And then finish with a final sealer of 2-3 coats. The main paint that I used is from Americana, which is a multi-surface paint, but doesn't not mention being weather resistant, so it will definitely need to be sealed.

If you are looking for concrete animals to paint, you can check out this page on Amazon. There are a variety of options there, including flat type stones. I did not have good luck with that and would recommend choosing something thicker and more solid. Customers have had a good experience with concrete items purchased from Stone Freedom on Amazon.

Happy painting.

Cheryl Paton