"Pick Me Up" Message Rocks

This year one of the items for a scavenger hunt we participate in was "124. Be someone’s “rock” to get them through the hard times. Hand-paint small rocks with a message of kindness & leave them in areas that need a pick-me-up. (On the underside, please write “Pass it on.”) You must paint & hide at least one rock for each member of your team." This is a great idea and so I took on the task of creating these messages to hopefully brighten someone's day.

This is a great activity to do outdoors, with kids, and a nice random act of kindness. Life is tough and sometimes when you're having a particularly hard day there's nothing like a couple positive words to lift you up.

Glossy craft/acrylic paints

Paint brushes of different sizes

Rocks with at least one smoothing surface

Fine tip paint pens

Rocks can be collected pretty much anywhere. These I found outside my apartment. I brought them in and cleaned them up, getting all the dirt etc off and then letting them dry.

I started by painting backgrounds on all the rocks. Some of the rocks I painted just one face, the rest I painted whole.

I used liner and spotter brushes to paint lines, dots, etc on the rocks to create frames. Then I let them dry as I planned what messages to put on which rocks.

I went to friends and Pinterest for message ideas, and tried to pick on-religious but very positive and "things will get better" type messages. I used fine tipped paint pens to write the messages as my hands aren't steady enough for painting messages with brushes.

We decided to place some of the rocks near a local college where students passing could see them. We ultimately moved them away from the bridge to a different visible area so they aren't at risk for being dropped on cars by accident or on purpose.