Art rocks!

Do you come home from the beach with a bucket full of stones and shells and not know what to do with them all? Here are some ideas.


Ordinary kids paints work well on stones, and glitter glue helps to jazz things up a bit (and is less messy than ordinary glitter!). Stones can also be covered with sequins or other bits and bobs, such as buttons, to make them more interesting. Add googly eyes to make faces or creatures. Here are a couple my daughter decorated.

Sparkly flower stone

Funny face stone

Do you remember making plate gardens as a child? These are still a great idea for kids, but how about making your own beach instead? It's a good idea to make this outside. Sand gets everywhere, doesn't it?

Beach in a tray!

Another good idea using small shells is an under the sea picture. My daughter made a wall hanging at her local play scheme using shells. You can use up all sorts of fabric and paper scraps, too.

Under the sea wall hanging

How about some temporary pictures? My little one collects gem stones and uses them for all sorts of things (counters for games, adding up, etc.) she also makes pictures out of them, which are obviously not stuck down. Great for making art over and over again! It is not necessary to have gem stones, you could use ordinary stones, painted different colours, or glass pebbles, add small twigs and leaves too, to make a nature picture. Here's a boat made by my daughter.

Stone sailing boat

See what you can come up with :)

All craft activities are undertaken at your own risk, please supervise children adequately. Take particular care with small objects and sharp items.