Making and crafts
Paint a garden stone
A smooth stone painted with simple colors or patterns, then placed outdoors where you both can see it.
Who might enjoy it: People who enjoy gardening, painting, or spending time outside in the shade. A nice choice for someone who likes seeing their work placed somewhere it can be enjoyed every day.
- Setup
- About 15 minutes
- Activity
- 20–40 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Mess
- Some mess
- Where
- At a table, seated-friendly, outdoors
- Help
- Someone nearby
Materials: 6 everyday things, listed below
What you need
- A few smooth, flat stones about the size of a palm
- Non-toxic, water-based acrylic or poster paint
- Brushes with thick handles, or cotton swabs for dots
- A jar of water and paper towels
- Newspaper or an old cloth to cover the table
- A water-based outdoor varnish, applied by the helper (optional)
No need to buy anything special
- No stones nearby? Use a flat piece of wood, a terracotta tile or a large shell.
- No acrylic paint? Paint pens or poster paint work; poster paint will fade outdoors without varnish.
What to do
- Wash the stones and let them dry before you start.
- Set out two or three stones and ask which one they would like to paint.
- Pick one or two colors together.
- Paint a base color over the top of the stone, or leave the natural stone showing.
- Add a simple pattern if you both like, such as dots, stripes, a flower or a single initial.
- Leave the stone to dry for about an hour, then add a second coat if you want stronger color.
- Choose a spot together where the stone will sit, such as a flower bed, a doorstep or a window ledge.
- Carry the stone out and place it, or have it carried out if walking is tiring.
It is okay to stop or change it
It is fine to stop after one color. A plain painted stone looks good in a garden, and you can add a pattern another day or leave it exactly as it is.
Make it easier or different
- Make it easier
- Paint the base coat ahead of time and offer cotton swabs for making dots of one bright color.
- Seated
- Bring the stone, paint and a tray to a garden chair in the shade and paint it on a lap board.
- For low vision
- Choose a pale stone and dark paint, or paint the stone white first so later colors stand out.
- With children
- Children gather and wash the stones, and everyone paints one to set out together in a row.
- For a group
- Each person paints a stone and the group arranges them along a path or around a planter.
Safety
- Use non-toxic, water-based paint; wash it off skin with soap and water, and check for skin sensitivity first.
- Choose stones too large to fit in the mouth, and lift heavy ones for the participant.
- Outdoors, sit in the shade, offer water and a hat, and keep sessions short on hot or cold days.
- If you use varnish, the helper applies it in a ventilated space with no one else nearby.
These are practical suggestions, not medical advice. You know the person best.
A painted stone is solid, smooth to hold, and ends up outside where it can be seen every day. Choosing where it goes is as much a part of the activity as painting it.