Pinterest Pretzels 1: Painted Pebbles

"Pinterest Pretzels" is something new for ZPT. I will take come up with a topic, then use the corresponding Pins in a blog post. Something fun & easy to do, especially when the MonSter is keeping me down. It's also part of my effort to write more consistently, no matter how much the MonSter protests.

So without further ado, may I present...

          ••Pinterest Pretzels No.1:

                           Painted Pebbles••

Today's topic: the art of rock painting and mini-tattoos!

I remember doing these in grade school in the mid-80's. It was lots of fun. Alas, my total inability to make even the most simple of art projects meant mine looked less like those pictured above, and more like something Charlie Brown would get on Halloween. 

There's another fad becoming more and more popular, and I saw several examples at the two conventions I attended this summer: mini-tattoos.  

Thanks to innovations in tattoo technology, tiny tats no longer are either impossible or just plain awful. I even have one myself:

Pebble paintings and mini-tattoos are both works of art requiring a sharp eye, a steady hand, and a desire to show the world how something very small can be very beautiful. So it was obvious to me that the two could and should be partners. 

There are three good reasons for getting your tattoo inspiration from a decorated stone: 

   1) You can keep the pebble with you for a few days/weeks and see if you still love it after living with it awhile...before it's a permanent part of your life.

   2) You can get a good idea of what sort of designs do and do not work in miniature form.

   3) You can have a loved one--such as a child, a grandparent or a BFF--decorate the stone themselves, then use that stone as your tattoo template. As a mom and godmother, that appeals to me tremendously!

So now I bring to you some of the tattoo-ready tiny canvases I've pinned on one of my tattoo boards*. I hope they inspire you to paint rocks, get a tattoo...or both!

     •••THE 12 TYPES OF PAINTED       ROCKS THAT WOULD MAKE 

                       KILLER TATTOOS•••

1) Cats

2) Butterflies & Dragonflies 

3) Birds

4) Cute Animals 

5) Owls

6) Flowers

7) Ladybugs

8) Hearts 

9) Pretty Patterns

10) Moms/Grandmas 

11) Dogs & Wolves

12) Odds & Ends

*The board in question is called "Tattoo Ideas From Unlikely Places." Some are also from my companion boards: "Even More Tattoo Ideas From Unlikely Places" and "Tons More Tattoo Ideas From Unlikely Places."