Rock Painting Ideas for Kids and Beginners: Using Rock Painting to Inspire Others
Rock painting might seem a little underwhelming, but it’s actually pretty fun and therapeutic. There are a ton of Rock painting ideas for kids, and you can use them to inspire the world.
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Rock Painting: Over-rated?
Is rock painting over-rated? If you asked me 5 months ago, I would have said, without hesitation, YES, but today, I say No!
When I first started hearing about how rock painting was a craze, I kind of rolled my eyes.
How could painting rocks be so much fun that people are selling rocks? I felt like everywhere I turned there was another article about rock painting.
My daughter even got a rock painting kit for her birthday 2 years ago, and I didn’t pay too much attention to it. She used it. She loved it. It was super simple, and then that was that.
Then, it all changed for me…We were on a family walk on some trails that run behind our house when we started seeing painted rocks along our way. My kids loved looking at them and pointing them out. Some of the rocks had inspiring messages, others a symbol or abstract paintings. We loved it.
I thought, “we have to do this”! Especially because this was during the weeks of mandated quarantine, so lots of people were walking on that trail every day. I loved being inspired by other’s messages, and I wanted to do the same. Plus, it was a good way to show my kids that they can make a difference and serve even in the most difficult of times.
When we started painting the rocks, I was like “this is fun”. It’s fun working with a limited and awkwardly shaped canvas, and it’s relaxing to just let the creativity flow.
If you need a simple, cheap, fun, and inspiring activity for kids, look no further.
Here’s how we did it.
Rocking Painting Ideas for Kids
Supplies
Rocks
Paint
Paint Brushes
Optional supplies: stickers, glitter, bedazzles
Instructions
These instructions are pretty self-explanatory, and you really can’t go wrong with rock painting. It is the perfect craft to boost creativity because there isn’t an exact equation for it, which is half the fun.
- Pick out your rocks. You can find them around your yard, neighborhood, or you can even buy them on Amazon.
- Wash and dry the rocks so you have a clean surface.
- Paint and decorate until your heart’s content
To use your artwork to inspire the world, place them along a trail, at a park, at the lake, around your neighborhood, or give them as a gift to a friend or family member.
Tips for Rock Painting
- Don’t be skeptical like me! Be creative!
- Flat and round rocks work really well if you’re just going for a canvas.
- Let the kids embrace their creativity.
- Do something with the rocks when you’re done. Don’t just keep them to yourself, share them!
Rock Painting for Kids Ideas
If you need some inspiration for your inspiration. Here are a few ideas for painting your rocks, some from our own family rock portfolio:
Symbols
There are all kinds of symbols that mean a lot to people. This one is from Captain America. You could do anything like a peace sign, a symbol from a game, movie, or show, a cross, or logos from sports teams, restaurants, or stores. Flags from different countries or states.
Words
Words can have powerful meaning. Paint words like: Hope, faith, believe, love, happy, etc…
Inspiring Messages
I once saw a big rock with a whole poem on it. I loved it. You could add common phrases, sayings, or quotes from books, scripture, movies, or leaders.
Self-portraits
Why not find a rock that looks like you? Do your own self-portrait. My daughter saw this on our walk and said it looked like me. haha.
Food
Paint food. Find rocks that look like your favorite food and paint it.
Characters
Create characters from shows, movies, books, games, or comics. Can you tell who these are?
Larry the Cucumber!
Leonard from Angry Birds
Red from Angry Birds
Small/Tiny Rocks
Try to paint a tiny canvas. We have found a few of these on our walks, and they are harder to point out, but pretty cool if you find them.
Big Rocks
Do the opposite and make a huge canvas on a rock. You could even go on a walk with your paints, find a big rock, and paint your canvas in nature.
Abstract art design
My kids are all about the abstract art design, especially my 3 year old son. 😉
Colors
Find a color scheme and create a design.
Shapes
Paint hearts, rainbows, stars, triangles, or any other type of shape.
Paint the shape
Look at your rocks and see what they look like at first glance. Make that shape come to life. If it looks like an ice cream cone, paint ice cream. This is one of my favorites:
More than paint
Do more than paint the rock, bedazzle it, add glitter, or stickers (if you can get them to stick). You can barely see the bedazzled rock on the left that my daughter did.
I hope this post helped get your creative juices flowing, or at least made you less skeptical about rock painting.
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[…] of our favorite things to do in our family is rock painting. It is so fun and relaxing. Then after we’ve painted them, we like to place them on the […]