This Easy, Cheap DIY Makes the Cutest, Most Colorful Outdoor Toys

With summer near, I can’t scroll without spotting a ton of enviable outdoor mud kitchen setups. If you’ve got the space and already have one, I’m more than a little jealous. I haven’t bought one (or built one, like this adorable IKEA hack) for my kids, but that doesn’t stop me from coveting all the accessories (working outdoor sink, anyone?). Even if I don’t manage to pull it together this season, I might still give in to the internet’s latest obsession: painted rock “food” for outdoor play. 

There are a ton of adorable rock food videos circulating, including an especially aesthetically pleasing one that creator Kate Bustillos made earlier in the season, but I particularly like Emily Welch’s take. The creator gathered rocks and, using primer, acrylic paint, and sealant, created a table full of goodies, from avocado halves and berries to a hot dog, blueberries, mandarin slices, and even a container of McDonald’s fries. 

“I grabbed rocks out of my parents landscaping if you know anyone you can do that with! This gives you the funny looking shapes for hot dog, pizza, strawberries,” Welch explains in the caption. “Otherwise you’ll have to buy them or collect them somewhere you are allowed to take from.”

She recommends using acrylic paint with a paintbrush but noted that acrylic paint pens work, too. In the video she primes the rocks with white primer, then paints them before sealing them with Mod Podge sealant spray. 

The video, which has over 128,000 likes and 5.6 million views, drew praise: “Wow how precious! Will def be making a set!!” wrote one commenter. 

Meanwhile, creator PlayOnLittles posted a step-by-step tutorial to making DIY rock food: First, find or buy rocks and give them a good wash. Before painting, choose which foods you want each rock to resemble (the creator lays the rocks out on a sheet of construction paper with a label next to each one before decorating). Then, using nontoxic acrylic markers (with an optional white base coat), look to real foods for inspiration as you draw and paint before sealing each one. 

Just be sure to supervise younger kids, use sealant in a well-ventilated area (I tend to do projects like these outdoors on non-windy days), and remember these are for pretend play only!