How To Make Smile Stones for Your Community

What are Smile Stones or Kindness Rocks?

Smile stones or kindness rocks are stones which people have painted and left hidden in public spaces for others to find. Some stones are left for others to keep while most are left with the intention of the finder re-hiding them for others to find and to keep the smiles going.

What equipment do I need to make Smile Stones?

You will need smooth stones to paint on, acrylic paints like these Posca pens, and a varnish spray to seal them.

I got a bag of smooth stones from The Works for £4. There were about 11 stones in the bag.

The Posca pens I use just need the nib pressing onto some kitchen roll before re-using them as they do dry up.

I bought a varnish spray from B&M. I know some people use yacht varnish too. You need something that is suitable for stone and for outdoor protection from the weather.

Why do people leave decorated stones around the local area?

Smile stones do exactly that. They leave a smile on the face of the person who finds them.

It’s a fun, honest activity where someone enjoys creating them and then sharing them with others. The finder also enjoys it as they’ve found something colourful and fun when they completely don’t expect it.

There’s also the joy of re-hiding the smile stones for others to find after you as well.

How To Make Smile Stones:

1. Wash your stones in water to get rid of any dust and leave in the sun to dry.
2. Decide on a design for your smile stone. I like to use Pinterest to see what takes my fancy and go from there.
3. Get my paints ready. These Posca pens are really easy to look after, are quick to tidy away and require no washing up of paint trays. But you can use acrylic paints instead, if you prefer.
4. Do the main colours, then outline them in another colour to make it stand out.
5. Write a note on the bottom of the smile stone if you want others to post photos on social media of your smile stone.
6. Spray with varnish spray. I bought mine from a discount store.