DIY Rock Frame for Father’s Day

This post contains affiliate links which help support One Simple Party. As always, we only recommend things that we truly love. Full disclosure here.

As a few of you may know, I am married to a rock climber.  Well, sort of, his days belaying down cliffs have passed for now, but he still goes to the local rock climbing gym whenever possible.  And he writes a successful blog about climbing.

Mr. Mountaineer’s love of rocks and the outdoors inspired this week’s Free Printable You Rock Dad coloring page.  I wanted to create an simple art piece that the kids could color themselves and would easily transform into the perfect Father’s Day gift.

Now for the Father’s Day gift part.  You could just give dad the colored You Rock Dad coloring page.  If you aren’t that crafty or run out of time, you can just slip it into an envelope.  It measures 5″ x 7″, so a standard card envelope will work.

Just don’t forget to date the back to create a lasting memory.

But if you are looking for a fun Father’s Day craft idea and permanent home for your colored print, this DIY rock frame is the perfect idea.  And as much as I try to locate a home for these art pieces, they seem to end up in a drawer somewhere.  Usually underneath everything else we find important at the time (permission slips, receipts, newsletters, etc.).

So, instead I made this DIY rock frame to house the kids' beautiful You Rock Dad print.  It’s an easy do it yourself project to make using polished river rocks (affiliate), a glue gun and frame.  Since parts of the frame will show through even with the rocks, I recommend using a darker colored frame so the background is more outdoorsy.

Where Do I Get the Rocks From?

Although river rocks might not seem like a common craft supply, it is if you visit the floral crafting department of your local craft store.  You can find an assortment of different rocks to use for your frame.

These polished river rocks are also available online here (affiliate).  I have even seen them in Ikea near the end of the store and in the craft aisle of our local dollar store.

The place where you do not want to gather river rocks from is… well… the river.  Even though you can find these rocks in nature, they should really stay there.  Plus, it’s hard to get the pretty polished finish on these natural rocks without putting them in a tumbler.

How to Make the DIY Rock Frame

Making the DIY rock frame is a pretty easy craft.  But it does take a little planning.

Although it might look like you simply glue the rocks onto the edge of the rock frame, you need to do a bit more planning.  Before you start gluing the rocks around the edge of the frame, be sure to lay them out first.  This let’s you fit them together like a puzzle.  Plus, there are sometimes color variations with the rocks.  By laying them out first, you can decide how you want the rocks to look together.

Once you have the rocks laid out, you can glue them onto the frame with a glue gun (affiliate).

Let the frame dry and pop in your wonderful coloring page.  Gift done.  That was easy wasn’t it?

Or if you have an even more special photo of the family or kids with Dad, you could use that too.

Love this idea, but it’s not quite Father’s Day?  Pin it here.

More Free Father’s Day Printables

Looking for other easy to make Father’s Day ideas?  Check out our Free Printable Father’s Day Coupon Card or Free Printable Tie Shaped Father’s Day Tags.  You can also make this fun Number 1 in the World Father’s Day Card using your kids’ fingerprints.  Or host a donut themed breakfast in bed that Dad’s sure to love.

And be sure to check out our 50+ Free Father’s Day Printables post.  It features over 50 amazing free printables.  There’s sure to be at least one idea that Dad will love.

You can download our free printable You Rock Dad coloring page here.  We hope you have a wonderful Father’s Day.  Hooray for Dads!

Happy Celebrating,

Natalie