Get involved in bee rock painting and decorate your garden with some of the most adorable insects on the planet. Painting rocks is a fun pastime for many people. You can create designs of every type imaginable. If you love bees – it is only natural that some of these painted rocks would end up looking like bees. What a great form of artistic expression.

Small round rocks painted to look like a bee.

Crafting can be a relaxing hobby. And, projects that make use of natural materials are especially meaningful to many of us. You don’t have to be a gifted artists to enjoy this honey bee craft project.

In this Post:

Bee Rock Painting Ideas

When you paint your bee rocks, you can be as simple or elaborate as you wish. I often choose a cartoonish design because my artistic skills are lacking. And, the basic black and yellow colors with simple lines are easy for anyone.

You can add special paint, creative markings and fabric or plastic wings if you desire. Who says your bee rocks have to be yellow? Get creative and create a unique specimen if you wish.

Round rocks, paint and sealer selected for bee rock painting image.

Materials

One of the best things about this project is that the materials needed are easy to find and not expensive.

rocks
paint
sealer
brushes

Smooth rocks painted like bees on a bed of moss image.

Choosing Rocks for Your Project

Any type of rock or stone will work for painting bee rocks – as long as the surface is smooth. Small flat river rocks work best for me.

If you have access to river stones, gather a few small ones that are smooth and oval shaped. I think this best reflects the true shape of a honey bee.

Of course, your bee rocks don’t have to be small. You can create a giant decoration for the your bee garden – but you had better buy a lot of paint!

For those of you who do not live in an area with natural river rock (or are forbidden to collect them), check out a local yard materials business.

Mulch yards often carry decorative stone too! The ones in my area will let you take a plastic bucket and buy a bucketful.

Another option, purchase small craft stone from a local hobby supply or order them online. Craft stone will be clean and ready to use. If you gather rock from a river or supply yard, wash it with clean water before you start.

Paint & Sealer

I choose acrylic paint for my bee rocks. For the basics, you need yellow, black, white and maybe grey. You can find acrylic craft paint that is labeled for outdoor use – that should be your first choice.

Though it is not a requirement, I am a big fan of clear acrylic sealer. It comes in a spay can -a light coat of sealer helps your painted rock stay nice – even outdoors – for a longer time.

Brushes

A couple of simple craft brushes work well for this project. A wider brush for the body painting and a detail brush for the fine lines. You can also use a paint pen for fine lines and eye dots.

(Even though bees have 5 eyes – it is best to only put two on your painted rocks. Five would be anatomically correct but it looks a bit freaky)

Step by step instructions for painting rocks to look like bees.

How to Make Painted Bee Rocks

This step by step guide on how to make painted bee rocks will get you started. Then, let your creative juices flow and have fun with the project.

1. Begin with clean, dry rocks and paint a base coat (maybe yellow) on both sides of the rock. Be sure to cover all the rock surface. Let dry completely.

2. Use a contrasting color (usually black) to give the appearance of stripes on the body of the bee. Stripes can be on the top only or painted on the bottom of the bee rock too.

3. It is time to add some wings ( I just painted on grey wings). You could also use materials to simulate wings. After the grey paint dries, I add some black markings for detail. You can also add dots for the eyes.

4. Once you are happy with your painted bee rock, print a fun message on the bottom – if you wish. And, consider adding a coat of clear sealer to both sides. This helps protect your creation.

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What to do With Them

Now that you have a group of cute bees in durable rock shapes, what can you do with them? They make great decorations in and around the house. And, they can be used outside in your garden space too!

place painted bee rocks near bee friendly perennial flowers in your garden
give them as gifts for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or even Christmas
bee rocks make great thank you gifts for beekeepers or other bee lovers
create games to play with small children (hide and seek) etc
paint positive messages on your bees and leave them in different locations around town

Painted bee rocks with positive message on back.

More Ideas

This craft is one way to get people “thinking bee”. And if your bee rocks need a place to live… make them a cute tiny bee skep craft.

If you think they might be a bit lonely, buzz into recycling with these whimsical golf ball craft bees! The golf ball project is better suited for older kids or adults – it can be a bit challenging.

Likewise, this project for making a honey bee with a craft stick and pipe cleaners is really easy and suitable for young folks.

Children also enjoy making homemade honey slime. It’s ooey, gooey and lots of fun.

Another creative project involves making a DIY bee-themed candy dish with clay pots and a glass bowl. Great gift idea.

Gardeners often enjoy incorporating different types of art into their design. A unique bee themed DIY garden art pole makes a statement about your love of bees. Make one for yourself or a friend!

And, if you love to bring the outdoors in – this project of beeswax dipped Fall leaves is a great way to hold on to the color for a while longer.

Finally

The ideas mentioned above are only a few of the many ways you can get involved in the effort to save bees. Information and education on the importance of bees and other pollinators leads to conservation.

Rock painting can be a lot of fun. You do not have to worry about small pieces or things getting broken. A little preparation and water based paint makes clean up a breeze.

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.

Small rocks painted to look like bees image.

DIY Bee Rock Painting Tutorial

Charlotte Anderson @ Carolina Honeybees, LLC

Create cute painted bee rocks to use for decoration in your garden. They also make great gifts and are a creative way to introduce the subject of bees to kids. Coat them with sealer and they will look beautiful for several seasons.

5 from 2 votes

Print Instructions Pin for later

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Read my Disclosure.

Tools

Paint Brushes Asst

Supplies

6 pieces small oval shape river rocks – or any smooth porous stone
3 containers acrylic paints ( yellow, black, white)
1 piece Paint Pen Black
1 can acrylic spray sealer (optional)

Instructions

Use yellow acrylic paint to paint a base color on the entire surface of each stone. Paint the top and bottom allowing it to dry.
Then, add a second coat of yellow for best results.
Use a small craft brush to paint a pair of small white circles on the top of each stone. After the white paint has dried for a few minutes, add a dot of black paint to each.
These represent eyes but real bees have 5 eyes! And, when bees sleep, they do not close their eyes!
Adding stripes. Not every honey bee has vivid stripes – however this is the classic markings associated with bees.
Use your medium sized brush to paint 2 or 3 wide black stripes on the top side of each bee rock. I suggest leaving the bottom of the bee solid yellow.
If you wish, you can use a pencil to lightly draw an outline of where you want to paint. Or you can just go for it.
Paint on wings. Rather than purchase another paint – I mixed a few drops of white and black paint together to create a custom gray.
Using a small brush create a pair of wings on the top side of each bee. Real honey bees actually have 4 wings – but for our project a representation of wings will do.
You can add a few black dashes of color on the wings to simulated the veining that gives real wings their strength.
For years, researchers could not understand how bees fly. The body of the honey bee seems too large for their wing size. Bees didn’t know this of course – so they flew anyway!
(Optional) Positive Message
This step is optional. You might want to use a black paint marker to create a short message on the bottom of your bee rock.
Keep it short – so the writing will be easy to read. You can choose any message you wish.
Use a clear, acrylic sealer spray to coat both sides of your bee craft.
Let each side dry well before flipping it over to spray the other side. This is protect the paint and allow your craft to look nicer for a long time.