The painted rocks phenomenon is a family-friendly activity that is fun, cheap and a great way to keep the kids entertained over summer break or after school.
Why? The purpose of this phenomenon is to bring a little happiness to others and be part of a community. It’s nice to know that someone out there took the time out of their day to paint you something inspirational. Plus, you get to show your creative/artistic side by coming up with a design for your rock. You get to take something ordinary (a rock) and make it into something extraordinary!
For those of you who don’t know about this movement, here’s how it works……If you find a rock, you keep it and make another to leave somewhere else OR drop the rock off somewhere else. There are many groups out there for different communities and the group’s Facebook name is usually on the back of the rock so that you can share where you found the rock. In a lot of ways, it’s similar to a scavenger or treasure hunt.
What You Will Need:
- flat, smooth rock that is cleaned off. If you can’t find any outdoors, you can buy river rocks at Dollar Tree for $1 a bag
- acrylic paint (or $0.50 per bottle at Walmart)
- paint marker
- spray paint
- paint brushes (various sizes)
- Modge Podge outdoor sealant (coat the rock, after you have painted it and let it dry, to protect it from the environment so your design won’t be washed away if it rains!)
For a more detailed information about painted rocks, check out “Rock Painting Ideas and Resources”
What You Can Do With Painted Rocks:
- Tic Tack Toe Rocks
- Domino Rocks Game
- Rock Magnets
- Garden Markers
- Educational Purposes (ABC rocks or number rocks)
- Paper Weights
- Pet Rocks
- And much more!
Here are the best painted rocks on the internet for your inspiration:
Animal Painted Rocks
Owl Rocks from Frugal Fun 4 Boys
Bird and Flowers Rock (source unknown)
Ladybug Rocks from Crafts by Amanda
Hedgehog Rocks from Easy Peasy Fun
Cute Pig Rock from 10 Marifet
Bee Painted Rocks from Easy Peasy and Fun
Duck Rocks from Martha Stewart
Black Cat Rocks from Ebay
Panda Rock from Rock Painting 101
Cute Bug Rocks from avocadoughtoast.com
Penguin Rock from Lindsey Bridges Art
Colorful Fish Rock Magnets from artalika.com
Hatching Chick Rock from Robin Bailey (via Pinterest)
Mouse Rock from Martha Stewart
Frog Rock from Amy Joy Art (No longer available on Etsy) via Pinterest
Caterpillar Rocks from Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons
Shark Painted Rocks from Sustain My Craft Habit
Shapes & Other Painted Rocks
Rainbow Rocks from Kiwi Co.
Patterned Heart Rock from Affinity Stones (on Etsy but no longer available)
Fine White Detailed Rocks from Funnel Cloud
Mandala Design Rock from Colorful Crafts
Pour Paint Rocks from Happy Hooligans
Chic Rocks from Frieda Theres
Marbled Rocks from Creative Green Living
Galaxy Rocks from Adventures in a Box
Geometric Rocks from Alisa Burke
Puffy Paint Rocks from I Love to Create
Mandala Hearts from Sustain My Craft Habit
Rock Photo Holder from One Little Project
Rock Dominoes from Repeat Crafter Me
Nature, Plants & Landscape Painted Rocks
Camping Rock from Etsy
Cactus Rocks DIY (video tutorial) from Wonderful DIY
Beach Rocks from Plaid Online
Branching Tree Rock from Etsy (this item is no longer available)
Colorful Floral Rock from Etsy
Rainbow, Balloon and Heart Rocks from SoFire Creations (via Facebook)
Watermelon Rocks from Testors
Strawberry Rocks from Image Events
Watermelon Rocks from Projects with Kids
Garden Rocks from Adventures in a Box
Pet Cactus from The Best Ideas for Kids
Fruit Tic Tac Toe from Everyday Dishes
Flower Rocks from Sustain My Craft Habit
Vintage Camper from Atta Girl Says
Holidays / Seasonal Painted Rocks
Snowman Rocks from Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls
Snowflake Rocks from Suzy Sit Com
Halloween Rocks from Bebe and Bear
Fall Leaves Rock from I Love Painted Rocks
Patriotic Pebble from Stagetecture.com
Friendship Valentine’s Day Rocks from Red Ted Art
Painted Easter Egg Rocks from Projects with Kids
St Patrick’s Day Rocks from Just a Little Creativity
Character Painted Rocks
Troll Rocks from The Keeper of the Cheerios
Painted Minion Rocks from Non Toy Gifts
Emoji Rocks from Cara Dura Designs
Goggly Monster Rocks from Makoodle
Rocks Huddled Around Fire from Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons
Star Wars Jawa Rocks from Crafts by Amanda
Garden Thing Rocks from Instructables
Quote & Word Painted Rocks
Faith Can Move Mountains from Etsy
Life is Beautiful Waves Rock from ArtRocks
Happy Rock from Etsy
Kindness Word Rocks from Dabbles and Babbles
Colorful Courage Rock from avocadoughtoast.com
Pink Dream Rock from Etsy
Rainbow Love Rock from Etsy
You Rock from Etsy
Rainbow Quote Rock from Rene Angelou (via Pinterest)
Be Happy Rock from Connie (via Pinterest)
Change Rock from Stenelene (via Instagram)
Thought Bubble Rocks from Cindy Mohrbach (via Pinterest)
Believe Rock from Heart Made Stone Art (via Instagram)
Stupid People Quote Rock from Jennifer Penn (via Pinterest)
I Love My Cat Paw Print Rock from Creations by Pam (via Facebook)
Life is Short Quote from Jack & Mom Zsg (via Instagram)
Feel Good Painted Rocks from Plaid Online
Quote Painted Rocks from Plaid Online
Tropical Paradise Rocks from Doodle Craft
Garden Marker Rocks from Crafts by Amanada
Kindness Rocks from Crafts Unleashed
Kelly @montanahappy.com says
Wow! I want to say thank you for putting me on your resource list. I really appreciate it. Great round-up of beautifully painted rocks!
Julie says
These are FANTASTIC!!!
I am looking forward to using this project with my students!
Cathy says
What a collection of designs, great imagination and art work.! Thanks sharing………..
Kella Melton says
Great ideas thanks so much enjoying quality time with 2 amazing lady’s.k
Tracy says
Very creative.Gave me some amazing ideas. Thanks?
Susan says
Great ideas! I love most all of them… Thank you for sharing.
Dracey says
I’m new to rock painting and I have a question. After I painted my rock with white acrylic paint I tried drawing on it. Even with softer markers they scratch off some of the white paint showing the rock below. How can I avoid this?
prudentpennypincher.com says
Hi Dracey,
After you paint your rock, you need to use an acrylic sealer to keep the paint from coming off. Something like https://amzn.to/2LWaazb or https://amzn.to/2VwZoUy will work fine.
Rachel says
These are amazing! Great job! We just started our paint rock garden & we have about 30 done then I ran out of ideas. I am inspired to start back up again. Thank you for sharing
prudentpennypincher.com says
You’re welcome. Glad you like them 🙂 Have fun!
Jean says
Do you have book that you sale .I really like some of they rock I can’t remember all of them all are so neat
prudentpennypincher.com says
Sorry, I do not have a book. However, there are a few good rock painting books on Amazon (https://amzn.to/2XBvdf4, https://amzn.to/2XMpUK3 and https://amzn.to/2XMw2lv)
Linda says
Thank you Stephy. Best list with photos I found of truly reproducible garden rocks for our community space.
Mimi says
Thanks for sharing these wonderful rock ideas. Looking forward to doing a fun craft with grandkids.
prudentpennypincher.com says
You’re welcome 🙂 Have fun!
Monica says
I am a begginer in this but I think is the most enjoyable hobby for me Your work inspire me so much Thank you Love!
prudentpennypincher.com says
Hi Laura,
Thank you for bringing this to my attention! I will work on looking for those source images now. Do any belong to you? If so, I’d love to link back to you.
Ellen Fisher says
Wow! I was going to put my unused garden rocks back to where I first got them. HOWEVER on my Pintrest today and I found your site. IT IS AMAZING AND THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS FOR US. My Mom 93 loves to paint and she has some really beautiful plant pots. I really would like to have her do of these rocks (your posted rock designs or her imagination). I think she would really like doing it. We live in a small town in sw Ontario and the winter is full of snowdays. WITH THE VIRUSE WE ARE STAYING HOME. I think we will paint the rocks and distribute them around town…
Tonia Mason says
My mother passed almost 10 years ago. I found several painted rocks in her belongings and didn’t understand what would possess her to do such a thing. After seeing this today I now understand and have a much greater appreciation of this craft. I even felt inspired enough to try this myself. Thank you for the positive ideas.
prudentpennypincher.com says
I’m so sorry to hear about your mother. I’m glad that you were inspired to create some painted rocks too, though! Have fun crafting 🙂
Karen says
Where do I find the adorable MINT CANDY painted rocks?