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How to Dye Rocks with Food Coloring: With Video Tutorial

Creating decorated rocks and stumped on how to color rocks? This tutorial will teach you how to dye rocks. A unique spin on stone painting for kids. It is a quick and easy way to add color to your rocks before you paint them. Perfect to give as gifts, go rock hunting, or add to your rock collection.

How to Dye Rocks

This fun tutorial will teach you how to dye stones for making kindness rocks. Think dying dying Easter eggs meets rock painting.

Stumped on how to color rocks? This spin on stone painting for kids is a quick and easy way to add color to your rocks before your paint them. Perfect to give as gifts, go rock hunting, or add to your rock collection.

Do you have rock hunting in your area? This huge craze is sweeping across the globe! It is a fun way to get creative, get outside, and interact with people in your local community.

Just a simple search for your city name rocks (_____ rocks) and you may be surprised to find a local page dedicated to this fun, mostly free, activity to do with your little ones.

We have been at it a while and are always looking for new ways to paint our rocks. We have earth-inspired rocks and rainbow rocks, but we wanted to think way outside the box. With these dyed decorated rocks, we did!

Using natural stones, we ditched the acrylic paint and used gel food dye to create beautiful dyed stones. We tried lots of different colors and techniques to get the best results.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, we may receive an affiliate commission.

No time to make this painted rock craft? Pin it for later!

If you’re currently in planning mode, that’s ok! Pin this to your favorite Pinterest board. That way you’ll be able to grab instructions when you’re ready!

Stumped on how to color rocks? This spin on stone painting for kids is a quick and easy way to add color to your rocks before your paint them. Perfect to give as gifts, go rock hunting, or add to your rock collection.

How to color rocks using dye

Stumped on how to color rocks? This spin on stone painting for kids is a quick and easy way to add color to your rocks before your paint them. Perfect to give as gifts, go rock hunting, or add to your rock collection.

It’s just like making egg dye, except add a bit of extra color to the mix.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Active Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Difficulty Easy

Materials

Tools

  • Cups - One per color of dye

Instructions

    1. Mix 1.5 teaspoons of coloring, and 1 teaspoon of vinegar, with 1/2 cup of warm water.Stumped on how to color rocks? This spin on stone painting for kids is a quick and easy way to add color to your rocks before your paint them. Perfect to give as gifts, go rock hunting, or add to your rock collection.
    2. Dip your rocks into the dye solution. Let them sit for a couple of minutes. Stumped on how to color rocks? This spin on stone painting for kids is a quick and easy way to add color to your rocks before your paint them. Perfect to give as gifts, go rock hunting, or add to your rock collection.
    3. Let your decorated rocks dry completely.Stumped on how to color rocks? This spin on stone painting for kids is a quick and easy way to add color to your rocks before your paint them. Perfect to give as gifts, go rock hunting, or add to your rock collection.

Tips for dying stones

  • The kind of stones/rocks you have will make a difference in coloring. You want to choose lighter-colored porous rocks that haven’t been polished.
  • Some colors worked better than others. Our favorites were pink and purple. Followed closely by the blue. Yellow didn’t turn out that great. Orange turned more of a peach which was pretty, but not as noticeable.
  • Note the results from this project are a more natural color. You probably aren’t going to get bright blue colors or vibrant oranges.

How to use your decorated rocks

  • They make fantastic kindness rocks.
  • Use this activity to teach about color mixing.
  • Hide them around your town.
Stumped on how to color rocks? This spin on stone painting for kids is a quick and easy way to add color to your rocks before your paint them. Perfect to give as gifts, go rock hunting, or add to your rock collection.

When someone finds your beautiful rock you will make their day. And that’s what it’s all about!

More rock painting ideas you’ll love

If you loved this rock craft, you’ll love these other ideas.

If you loved this easy classroom craft, share it by pinning or sharing on Facebook.

This site wouldn’t be here without shares from people like you, and we are so thankful that you took the time to visit Twitchetts.

Know a friend who wants to learn how to dye rocks? Please share this tutorial on Facebook or save it to your favorite board on Pinterest.

In process and finished image of dyed rocks. Text reads "How to Make Dyed Rocks"

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