Have you jumped onto the bandwagon of painting rocks yet? If not, you will absolutely love how fun this project is to do with kids! These little painted rock Halloween monsters are so fun to make! I love just how easy they are to customize, and even if you aren't great at painting or arts, you can make a perfect little monster, ghost, or even pumpkin with this in no time! Gather up some smooth rocks and start painting!

Painted Rock Halloween Monsters

A few years ago, my son painted rocks at school for a special event. Ever since then, I've wanted to add more painted rocks to our garden at home. They are such a cute and easy little craft that doesn't have to be perfect, so ideal for little ones. Halloween sounded like a good time to grab the paints and start creating again!

These painted rocks are Halloween monsters, ghosts, and Frankenstein, but you could make any kind you wanted. We've made painted ladybug rocks before and those turned out adorable. I've even made some painted rock garden markers to look like carrots and corn. You could easily make these pumpkins, scarecrows, spiders, or even bats with just a few changes!

Where Can I Find Rocks to Paint?

Rocks are everywhere around you! In your yard and garden, on the road, or even by the lakeshore in a neighboring town. It may take a bit more work to find flat rocks, but it's not impossible. Start looking outside when you go for walks, or take a trip to a local beach or trail and see if there are rocks there that you can use.

On occasion, you may also find polished rocks at your local Dollar Tree or at Dollar Tree online. There are a number of sizes and styles, so watch to see what is available. You may also be able to find some rocks at other craft stores or even hardware stores. If you are planning on making a ton of them, you can look to the hardware store for bags of rock to line your driveway for more flat rocks.

What Paint is Best for Rocks?

I prefer my handy spray paints for these. It's easy to spray them and get a solid coating that will dry fast. If you prefer something a bit more kid-friendly, then you'll like typical craft paints. Acrylic paints like the ones I use from DecoArt, Apple Barrel, or similar work excellently for this craft. The only paint I would avoid would be watercolors as they won't be thick enough to offer the coating you want on this type of project.

Of course, for the little details, I always fall back on paint pens in a variety of colors. They are easier to hold and can give you the fine details you want if you plan to make specific faces and similar looks on your rocks.

How do I Use These to Decorate?

Regular rocks may not have a good look for decorating, but these painted ones look great all over your house and decor. I love the way these look laying in my garden along with other decorations outside. They are easy to sit around plants or even to line a walkway. Of course, they are also great in other uses for decorations.

Add them to your centerpiece, or around a Halloween party buffet table. Use them as door stops, or paper weights on your desk. They look great propped on the mantle against other Halloween decor and are easy to add into a bowl or with other props alongside other Halloween items like pumpkins or even acorns.

Supplies Needed

How to Make Painted Rock Halloween Monsters

In a well-ventilated space, paint your rocks with spray paint then set aside and dry.

Once the rocks are dry, use paint pens to create faces.

To make a ghost, draw two round eyes in black on top of the rock.

Add a large curved open mouth shape below the eyes then fill in.

For a Frankenstein, draw a squiggled line across one edge of the rock and fill it in to create hair.

Add small slits for eyes and a few lines with squiggles through them to look like stitches.

When making monsters, draw a simple line for a mouth and then use a white paint pen for teeth.

Then, add googly eyes in different sizes toward the top of the rock.

Add them to your walkway, garden, or even as part of your Halloween centerpieces.

More Halloween Craft Ideas

Get your whole home decorated for Halloween using these great craft ideas. Alongside your little painted rocks, you can add tons of cute ideas the kids can make to your Halloween decor. You'll love the simple crafts, easy projects, and lists of recipes ideal for sharing at Halloween. Make sure to check out the ones listed below!

Crafting Tip

If you can't find rocks for this project in your neighborhood, you can actually order boxes of flat rocks for painting online from individuals on Etsy! What a cool way to help others by supporting their business while also giving yourself supplies you need.

Yield: 3

Adorable Painted Rock Halloween Monsters

The kids will love this adorable painted rock Halloween craft! Make Halloween painted rock monsters, painted rock ghosts, and painted rock Frankenstein in minutes!

Active Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Estimated Cost $1

Materials

Tools

Instructions

In a well-ventilated space, paint your rocks with spray paint then set aside and dry.
Once the rocks are dry, use paint pens to create faces.
To make a ghost, draw two round eyes in black on top of the rock.
Add a large curved open mouth shape below the eyes then fill in.
For a Frankenstein, draw a squiggled line across one edge of the rock and fill it in to create hair.
Add small slits for eyes and a few lines with squiggles through them to look like stitches.
Use googly eyes on some rocks in different sizes to create monsters with goofy looks.
Make characters that you want and add to your garden or walkway!