So you’ve taken the plunge and wrapped a few rocks. You’ve realized it’s an easy, satisfying and quick craft, and that you can usually complete a wrapped rock in just a couple of hours, so you’re building up a small stash of them. And you’re asking yourself, “Now what do I do with all these wrapped rocks?” Here’s five ideas on what to do with a rock after you’ve wrapped it.
1. Wrapped rocks make unique gifts
Wrapped rocks are lovely token gifts to let someone know you’re thinking about them, or to say thank you. I’ve given wrapped rocks to a colleague who helped me out at work, as a hostess gift to the host of a dinner party, to the stylist who cuts my hair, and to clients who book me for a tarot party. I’ve also used them as a contribution for swag bags when doing corporate events. One friend commissioned one as a memorial when she lost her grandfather, so she could carry it in her pocket and have a tactile object to remember him by.
Wrapped stones are unique and handmade with a low environmental footprint, and I’ve yet to encounter anyone who wasn’t genuinely pleased to receive one as a gift.
2. Wrapped rocks are great conversation pieces
I have a small pile of wrapped rocks on my desk and a few in my car. When I do tarot events, I put a few on the table along with my business cards. People are often intrigued and ask me about them. Leave a few of your favourites in a bowl or in a pile where people are likely to see them, and I guarantee that someone will ask you about them. If you have a lot to share, you can invite folks to keep one when they express interest. It’s okay, you know you’ll make more!
3. Leave wrapped rocks as a surprise for passers-by to find
While you can use all sorts of rocks for rock wrapping, including precious minerals and slabs cut with a lapidary saw and other rarities, you can make equally beautiful wrapped rocks with common beach or garden or landscaping rocks. If you’ve collected your rocks from nature, why not leave the wrapped version in nature as a treasure for someone to find. Maybe on a park bench, or at a bus stop, or anywhere folks might wander by and be delighted to find a surprise gift left for them to find?
I’ve also been intending to make one of those Little Library-inspired “Take a rock, leave a rock” displays at the edge of our driveway. Imagine how that might make someone’s day, to be serendipitously gifted such a simple treasure?
4. Use wrapped rocks as home decor
There are infinite ways to use wrapped rocks as decor, no matter your interior decorating style. Imagine a bowl of colourful wrapped rocks as a centrepiece, or a pair of large wrapped rocks as bookends. A heavy wrapped rock makes a great doorstop. Small wrapped rocks collected on your vacation will look stunning in a shadow box frame with your favourite vacation photo.
5. Wrapped rocks are natural paperweights
They came from outdoors, so I like to use my wrapped rocks outdoors. Smaller wrapped rocks make excellent decorative paperweights in my craft show and tarot booths at markets and street fairs. Or you could use them at a picnic to weight down paper plates, napkins and other fly-away items. Use larger wrapped rocks at the beach or park to weigh down the corners of your blanket. Or use a big one as a doorstop.
These are just a few of the ideas I’ve come up with for what you can do with a wrapped rock. They are so quick and easy and so fun and satisfying to make that once you start, you’ll want to keep making more and more. (Ask me how I know!)
If you’re a beginner and want to learn more, I have a tutorial with ideas and resources on how to get started with rock wrapping. And I made a blog post with a video on how to weave on rocks. If you are in Ottawa and would like to learn how to wrap rocks, consider hiring me to teach a rock wrapping workshop at your very own kitchen table!
Edited to add: I’m very excited to share that I’m writing a book about how to wrap rocks! Check out this blog post for more information about my rock-wrapping book coming the summer of 2025! You can sign up for notifications and if you do I’ll send you a discount code to use when the rock-wrapping book is published.
There are obviously so many more things you can do with wrapped rocks. Care to share your ideas? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!