Melted crayon rocks are made by “painting” on hot rocks with crayons. The crayons melt as they touch the heated rock and make a lovely painted effect.
Updated July 2025
Aren’t these melted crayon rocks beautiful? This is something we’ve done a few times over the years and is one of our favorite ways to decorate rocks. Instead of paint, we heat up the rocks and then use crayons to decorate the warm rocks. The colorful wax melts into swirly designs that harden.
We love to put them out in the garden, or use them as creative door stops, or even as a gift for a neighbor!
Here’s how to do this super simple rock art activity. Trust us when we say, you’ll want to make them over and over again!
How to Make Melted Crayon Rocks
MATERIALS
- Small, smooth rocks
- Crayons (to protect fingers, do not use short stubs)
- Oven
- Baking sheet
- Towel or mat to protect your table
- Foil
INSTRUCTIONS
- Gather your rocks
Go for a walk in your neighborhood and look for smooth rocks. Gather up a small collection of them and wash and dry them completely. We found these rocks at the beach the last time we visited!
- Protect work surface
We protect our work surface with an old towel and a piece of foil. The foil works to catch the melting crayon and the cloth helps to keep the hot rock from damaging the table surface.
You should also use an oven mitt or wash cloth to protect little hands from hot rocks. - Heat your rocks
Spread the clean rocks out on a foil-lined cookie sheet and put them in a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven to heat up. It usually takes about 5-10 minutes for them to get hot.
Once the rocks are hot, we transfer them one or two at a time to a protected surface to work, leaving the rest in the oven.
- Decorate!
Simply press a crayon to the hot rock and watch as the heat melts the crayon and creates a smooth, vibrant, colorful coating that hardens into a waxy shell.
The melting crayon is so liquid it’s like painting with crayons. You can use one color or several. Make designs, swirls, dots, stripes, faces, whatever you’d like!
These melted crayon rocks are really fun and easy to make. And they are perfect for pretend play! Use them to tell stories, with sensory play, or anything your kids come up with.
You can also try this process with shells from the beach!
More Ideas for Nature Art Activities
- How to Make Colorful Seashell Art
- 9 Ways to Decorate Rocks for Handmade Gifts
- Make Kindness Rocks with this Rock Painting Kit
- How to Make Painted Rock Houses
- How to Paint Easter Egg Rocks
- How to Make Heart Rocks
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