Childhood Crafts Revisited #1 Rock Paperweights

Most of us made some pretty horrible art projects as children, that we typically gave to our parents as gifts. Many of our parents still proudly display our first scribbles and misshapen ashtrays.

The childhood crafts revisited series is about getting a second chance at the projects and examining the way we learned our artistic styles.

For this project, we are revisiting rock paperweights. As children, we had to find a rock and paint it (typically all one color with our name printed on the bottom by the teacher in Sharpie). Many of our parents still use these.

This time around, we are going to find a rock, then use any medium we choose to decorate it according to our partner's profile. Then, we will send our partner his or her brand new paperweight. (Yes, you may paint the rock.)

In the photo, the rock shown is decorated with polymer clay. Photo Credit: cc: by-sa Sarah Klockars-Clauser, used under Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/

1. Send one paperweight made from a decorated rock to one partner. Paperweights should be based on your partner's interests. The finished paperweight should not be much bigger than your fist, but should be larger than a silver dollar.

2. Newbies welcome with a filled out profile. If you aren't new please have a 4.8 rating or higher, and no "1" ratings or unexplained "3" ratings in the last 3 months.

3. Please put some effort into your rock. Don't just glue on googly eyes (a la the "pet rock") and call it done. Cost for this project should be almost free, excluding shipping, so please make your best effort. This one should not look like the one you made in grammar school!

Other thoughts (completely optional): Maybe decorate a polished rock or gemstone? It could be fun to include any or all of the following with your rock:

A note about rock paper weight memories.

Photos of your first rock paper weight.

A note about how you made your rock.

A note about how you found your rock.

A photo of a rock paperweight given to you by a young person in your life.