Julie Finn
While my kids were at camp last week, I repainted their bedroom, which meant that I had to clean it out first. This turned into some kind of abject archaeological excavation in which I discovered that 1) the kids never throw away their candy wrappers and I need to stop letting them buy candy and 2) where on earth are they getting all of these rocks from, why do they even have five million rocks, anyway, and what do they plan to do with said five million rocks other than stuff them in the bottom of their sock bin and behind the dresser and inside their jewelry boxes and under their bed?
Seriously, they have a LOT of rocks.
Rocks are fascinating all on their own, and there’s for sure no rock shaming going on over in this house, now that the kids are home to a freshly-painted bedroom and a couple of five-gallon buckets of rocks sitting in it, but I will be spending the rest of the summer gently turning their attention to some of the fun things that you can do with rocks, other than hoard them.
Have a rock hoarding problem of your own? Check out some of my favorite things to do with rocks, and siphon some of them off into a few of these awesome rock projects!
1. constellation art. Rocks and sidewalk chalk are all you need to learn your constellations.
2. decoupaged rocks. Make your rock art multi-media! Here’s another method for decoupaging them with found and vintage papers.
3. DIY treasure. I used this as a hide-and-seek game for a dragon-themed children’s birthday party.
4. Draw on rocks. Here’s the BEST pen to draw on rocks.
5. engraved rocks. These are easier to make than you’d think!
6. felted wool rocks. Felted wool rocks are good pattern weights, but they’re also just a fun, process-oriented handicraft.
7. foot washing station. If you’re sick of muddy feet tracking dirt all over your house, this is the solution.
8. glow-in-the-dark rocks. Line a whole outdoor path with them, or just place them for emphasis.
9.labelled collection. Identify your rocks, then display them!
10. labyrinth. Add some calm to your garden.
11. macrame rock necklace. Embroidery floss and stones are two of my favorite natural materials to craft with.
12. marbled paperweight. Here’s how you de-stash some of that old nail polish!
13. melted rock art. You have to use the oven for this project, although it’s worth the fuss, because kids LOVE it.
14. moveable alphabet. Kids who are learning to read need lots of letters, all kinds of letters. Here’s one more fun way to present them.
15. painted rocks. These make great paperweights, or you can hide them for others to find. Check out the Kindness Rocks project for more info!
16. pet rock lion. Kids love crafts! Keep them busy one rainy day making this cute rock lion. Inspired? Make a whole zoo!
17. photo holder. These rock photo holders are so simple to make, but perfectly lovely and useful.
18. process-oriented rock painting. Preschoolers will LOVE this messy art activity.
19. travel tic-tac-toe. This would be a great little gift, or a good craft for a group of kids to make altogether. Got even more rocks? Make checkers!
20. trivet. This trivet couldn’t be easier to make, and it looks amazing.
21. wire-wrapped necklace. Get some of those rocks out of the hoard and onto your neck!
