It’s RANDOM ACTS of ART Wednesday, my sweetums…and you know what that means. PAR-TAY time!!! Yes indeed. Get to see where I spread the luvvv this week, one arty token at a time.

And since this is a BLOG HOP, you can share your own RAA adventures in the link down below.

But….you have to be patient. I’m doing things a little differently today. For a couple of reasons. First I’m going to show you how EASY it is to make a little something to hide. I know a lot of you are artists and maybe you’re over-thinking the process. Like, oh man, I would LOVE to do this but I just don’t have the time. Because it would take so long to make a MASTERPIECE. And then there’s the other camp, my other most best beloved readers who swear you don’t have a creative bone in your body, WHICH I KNOW IS NOT TRUE, and you think you can’t possibly make anything good enough to join the party.

Wrong. False. Not true. ANYONE can do this. ANYONE.

I’m going to show you the process from start to finish. My process of painting rocks. You, of course, can make anything you want.

First, get some rocks. I just buy a little bag at the local craft store. They’re in the floral department. This latest batch are supposed to be river rocks from China. CHINA? Imagine that. They look like glass to me, which is fine. They’re fairly smooth and that’s what I’m looking for.

Next, make yourself comfy. Put on some music or the tube. Make a cup of tea. Better yet, pour a glass of wine. Then bring out the acrylics.

These rocks needed an initial coat of white paint as a base before the gold paint. Two coats, actually. How did I know this…well, trial and error. I tried painting the gold first and it disappeared.

Next the gold paint. After that a simple red heart. We’re talking arty rocket science here.

The last step was to highlight with a Sharpie. Simple, right? I didn’t have a Sharpie at home so I took about a dozen rocks to work.  Shhhh…don’t tell. I guess I’ll find out whether my boss reads Arty Life or not.

And because I was at work, I just HAD TO give one to a little old lady I love and adore, one of my most special students. Her smile and absolute delight were enough to make my day. I work here, by the way. In case you didn’t know. The new website is still under construction but you can get the idea.

So that’s the first part of the post. The how-to part. The behind the scenes part you never see.

And now it’s time for PART TWO…Ta-Da…The devious adrenalin rush hiding-da-goods part. But like I said up above, this week I did something different. This is a difficult time for me. Feelin’ a little…off  lately. Because it was a year ago this week I realized it was time to bring Hospice in for Mama. Sigh…

Pause here while I eat another chocolate bar and indulge in a few minutes of the weepies.

Okay. Much better. So with Hospice on my mind this week I decided to spread the luvvv in their direction. I pocketed the rocks I finished at work today and headed out to the offices of Hospice of the Foothills.

This was NOT easy for me.

I’ve never been there before. They always came to us. I drove through pouring rain, knowing basically where it was. I parked the car and went to the door. It was locked. Then I noticed the intercom and realized I was at the Compassionate Care Center, the place where patients come for a few days so their caregivers can have a brief respite.

What was I doing? People were dying behind those doors. I had NO business being there.

So I left. But as I was driving out of the parking lot I saw the door for the In-Home Care office. So I parked the car and went in. Approached the nice lady behind the reception counter. I told her that last year they helped me take care of my mom. I put the rocks on the counter. They were in a plastic sandwich bag, wet from the rain. I took the rocks out one by one. Told her I painted them, that they weren’t very much, really. That they were an on-going art project I usually hide around town but I wanted to give them to Hospice this week. I blathered on and on as she picked them up one by one and said they were sweet, very sweet and thanked me.

It was awkward. But I did it. I never told her my name. Or told her this wasn’t my only donation, that I gave them a lot of cash last year. I just came in off the street, wet and bedraggled and handed her a bag of painted rocks. Which she graciously received.

And I trust she will help spread the luvvv.

Now it’s your turn. Got any stories or photos to share? I’m having a little problem with Linky Tools this week but you can link the URL to your post in the comments below.

If you don’t have a blog you’re always welcome to send your photos to me and I’ll post them next week.