Painting Stones: Original Crafts for Children

Painting stones is a very fun activity that's also very relaxing for children, since it takes them away from screens for a little while. They're perfect for vacations, a rainy day, or just to change up the routine.

Reviewed and approved by the psychopedagogue María José Roldán.

Written by Yamila Papa

Last update: 27 December, 2022

You might not think that painting stones is a good craft for children nowadays because they spend several hours a day with their eyes fixed on screens.

However, it can be a great idea when you’re on vacation, when it rains and your kids can’t go outside and play, or you’re trying to have a little less screen time.

In this article, we’ll give you some original ideas.

Painting stones: crafts for children

When you have a little free time, you want to take advantage of it with your children. That means staying away from phones, computers and tablets, and making fun plans instead, like going to the park or the beach, or just going for a ride in the car.

However, sometimes your plans don’t work out and you need a way for children to entertain themselves. Sometimes if there’s a storm, the power goes out. On the other hand, sometimes you just want to spend some family time while you’re on vacation or camping.

Painting stones can be a fun option since they’re a craft for kids of all ages. Your children can use their artistic talents. Additionally, you can lower your stress levels and pretend like you’re a kid again.

You can find stones to paint by going on a walk, or you can buy them. Here are some ideas that you can try out:

1. Painting stones: funny monsters

If you like monster movies or games with monsters, you can draw your favorite characters on stones. It’s actually very simple. First, using a brush and acrylic paint, paint the stone a color, like red, yellow, orange or blue.

When it dries, glue one or two googly eyes – you can buy them at any craft store. Then, draw a nose, mouth, teeth and other facial features with a marker. Once you’re done, you can make a game or story that includes these funny monsters.

2. Paint family members

Using a very thin brush or a marker, you can paint stones for each family member. You can make a stone for the mother, father, and one for every child at home. In fact, you can include pets, grandparents, cousins, or whoever you want.

This is a great way to put together an original family tree! Don’t forget to add distinctive features of each person – if they wear glasses, if they have moustaches, thick eye brows, or even if they have nose piercings.

3. Dominoes

Paining stones isn’t an activity that ends when the piece is dry and finished. On the contrary, it can be the start of many fun adventures and evenings. For example, you can use stones that are similar to each other to make dominoes.

First, you need to paint them with different colors, without any patterns or sequences. When they’re dry, make a vertical line with a black marker. Then, add dots on either side like dominoes.

Dominoes have 28 pieces, divided into two spaces with scores ranging from zero-empty to six. You can copy the patterns from a normal set of dominoes. On the other hand, you could create them however you want.

4. Cars

Kids love to have colorful cards to race with. However, sometimes they have so many that they don’t pay attention to them anymore. Therefore, when painting stones, you can make some that are cars and add whatever details you’d like. Add two circles for the wheels, a semicircle for the lights, and two windows in gray or weight.

Then, it’s just a matter of putting together a track or toad and making up games to play with your children. It’s guaranteed to be a blast!

Another option is to make different cars. For example, you can make police, ambulances, buses, or firetrucks. Then, you can build a whole city with stones. Some might be houses, others traffic lights, gas stations or the hospital.

5. Painting stones and turning them into magnets

Painting stones is a very fun activity, as you can see. However, it can also be very useful. For example, you can make magnets for your refrigerator, or for a magnet board in the nursery.

First of all, choose small stones that are very light. Then, paint them however you’d like. When they’re dry, glue a magnet on the back. You can use these magnets to leave little messages, shopping lists, or to-do lists.

Finally, don’t hesitate to paint stones with your children in your free time. It will surely be a fun and enriching activity for everyone.