If your kids are constantly collecting rocks, re-purpose them into a fun rock photo holder.
Hello, my name is Amy and I blog at Amylanham.com. Both of my kids are obsessed with rocks. They’ve been collecting rocks since they first started walking.
Want more ideas like this? Subscribe today and get our weekly newsletter plus other exclusive gifts and offers — all for FREE!
I thought moving to the desert, where half our backyard is rock, might change their obsession. But it hasn’t at all! They’re still looking for rocks everywhere we go.
They especially love the sparkly ones, but they find rocks that they can’t live without all the time. So I decided we should make a couple of rock photo holders. This allowed them to look for fun rocks that they liked that would work and paint them.
The kids absolutely loved this activity! We’ll definitely have to do it again in the future.
How To Make a Rock Photo Holder
This is a simple photo holder using a rock and a paperclip.
What You Need:
Here’s what you’ll need from the store. The exact amounts are in the printable CRAFT card at the bottom of this post.
Craft Tools Needed:
Supplies:
- Paint
- Glue
- Rocks
- Paper Clips
Rock Photo Holder Tips
Best Glue to Use
I used hot glue. It’s quick, easy to work with, and dries fast. I didn’t have a problem with it, but since the rocks are smooth, there can be a few cons to using hot glue.
The hot glue could peel up off the rocks, and peel the paint up with it. Again, the hot glue was sturdy on the rocks, but I could see this becoming an issue if the pictures are changed out super frequently, or the rocks are handled a lot.
Super glue, Gorilla glue, or some type of silicon would be other options for glue. I stick with hot glue because it’s the easiest to work with and if it does peel off in the future it would be quick to fix.
Make Sure You Use Large Enough Rocks
Try to collect rocks that are a pretty good size and heavy. You’ll see we used a few small rocks. They look super cute, but the paper can make the rock top heavy causing it to fall over.
If you do use rocks that are too small, you can push the paper all the way into the paper clip to help balance the weight so it isn’t too top heavy.
Give Young Kids Coordinating Colors
Expect that younger kids will mix colors together. If you do this on a warm enough day, the colors will dry pretty quickly on the rocks, so there won’t be too much mixing.
But one way to combat having the rocks all look the same color is to use coordinating colors. So even if the colors mix, they make new pretty colors.
Another way is to paint with your kids. If you model waiting to paint between colors and trying not to mix the colors, they will too.
Rock Photo Holder
Equipment
- Paint Brushes
Ingredients
- 4 Rocks
- Paint
- 4 Paper Clips
- Glue Hot Glue or super glue
Instructions
- Paint your rocks. Let your kids go wild painting!
- Once the rocks are dry, glue the paper clips on to the rocks.
- Then slip your picture into the paper clip and display!
Love the ideas you see here on Messy Momma Crafts? Subscribe today and get our weekly newsletter plus other exclusive gifts and offers — all for FREE!
What’s Next?
If you enjoyed this rock photo holder then you’ll enjoy these other art displays too.
More Kids Craft Ideas
If you enjoyed this rock photo holder then you will love these other kid craft ideas:
Leave a Reply