I am often asked what I do with my rocks after they are painted, or how to display painted rocks. Some I hide, some I give away, but I do keep quite a few. Finding creative ways to display painted rocks can be a challenge, but I will show you some ways I have displayed my rocks to help inspire you.
I would say that the vast majority of my rocks end up outside. I am a terrible gardener. I can’t keep any type of plant alive for long. My thumbs are both totally black. As a result, my husband and I built a rock garden in our front planting area a couple of years ago.
We put down a rock border across the entire front area, covered with a weed guard and filled in the area with small river pebbles. It took us a few weekends to accomplish this, but I think it looks really nice. The few plants that we do have are in pots. That is much easier for me to handle. All I have to do for maintenance is spray some weed killer on the weeds that happen to push through the barrier.
I have four whiskey barrels in the very front. Two of them are filled with painted rocks. I like to see them all together and they are in a prominent spot for visitors to see them. I have rotated out a few and brought some special ones inside to display in other ways. In the other two whiskey barrels, I have some other garden decorations, but painted rocks will find their way over there from time to time.
How to Display Painted Rocks
1. Whiskey Barrels
I have four whiskey barrels in the very front. Two of them are filled with painted rocks. I like to see them all together and they are in a prominent spot for visitors to see them. I have rotated out a few and brought some special ones inside to display in other ways. In the other two whiskey barrels, I have some other garden decorations, but painted rocks will find their way over there from time to time.
2. With Potted Plants
In one of my few potted plants, I have some rocks peeking out in between some succulents. I like to put small, brightly colored rocks here so they stand out against the green plants.
3. In a Rock Garden
I have a few other outside displays. Here are a few rocks that are just sitting in the rock garden on a bigger, decorative rock.
4. With Other Art
I also like to display a couple of painted rocks on this patio table near a hand-made decoy.
5. Plastic Display Case
Here is a real find. While visiting my local craft store I came across a golf ball display case. This was perfect for a single, smaller rock. It was inexpensive too at under $3.00. They had other sizes that could easily hold more rocks or something larger. I was able to find baseball, football, and basketball display cases.
6. In a Glass Jar
Another craft store find is a simple glass jar with a lid. These are also inexpensive at about $3.50. You could also easily find a glass jar at the dollar store. I played around with the idea of putting multiple rocks in the jar. I decided that it would need some sort of filler to help display the rocks and make it easy to see each one. I used a couple of scrap pieces of fabric as filler. You could also use tissue paper or raffia. A nice handful of ribbon could also be used as filler in the jar.
7. Wicker Basket
Here I used a small basket to display my painted rocks. I also used some scrap fabric to fill the space and make the rocks easier to see.
8. Mini Easel
I found this mini easel at Walmart for about $1.00. It is great for keeping this special rock upright and ready to be admired.
Here is some inspiration that I have found around the web for displaying rocks.
Here is a great tutorial on making some rock display stands out of curtain hooks.
Painted rock stands / How to – YouTube
This is a neat display made out of a house-shaped tin.
Displaying painted rocks – Bing images
Here are a couple of ideas I had about displaying painted rocks that I have not had the chance to try yet.
1. Wall hangings are a good option. All you need to do is attach a hanger to the back of your rock and you are good to go. A command strip would also be effective provided you are watching the weight of your rock and the capacity of the strip.
2. You could attach rocks to the inside of a shadowbox and display them on a wall.
3. How about displaying rocks on a small serving plate and using it as a centerpiece on a coffee table or a dining table.
4. Try gluing magnets to the back of a rock and keeping them on your refrigerator. Fun and functional. Another idea with magnet rocks is to make a set of alphabet rocks and let your toddler play with them on the refrigerator.
5. You could also incorporate some rocks in the bottom of a small glass vase with a (fake or real) plant.
What other ways have you displayed your rocks?