During this very strange time, there have been a number of friends and family that I have been concerned about, either because they live alone, or I know they thrive on physical contact with people. So I wanted to do something small to let them know they were in my thoughts and that this time would pass and we could all be together again.
I've made little fun, novelty survival kit gifts before, I shared one on here for a Christian Parents survival kit and I've made them before for mums, sisters, friends, teachers etc. You can adjust the items that go in the kit to suit the recipient and their relationship to you.
This time I made survival kits for some people who are normally here at the conference centre where we live, for my mum and for my aunt (but from my mum). They mostly had the same items in them. Here is a picture of what I included.
These amazing rocks were painted by the super talented Helen at The Crafty Norman, our local craft shop
In the middle of last year, I read a post over on The Holy Mess about Kindness Rocks. I loved the idea and saved the link, thinking that at some point I'd write a post about it and maybe do something similar where we live and then I forgot all about it, until last week when I saw a friend post on her FB timeline that her daughter had been rock hunting in our home town, here in East Sussex.
It turns out that Kindness Rocks and rock hunting, in general, have become big news over the last year. It looks like the initiative started in the USA but I could also find early evidence in Australia too. But no matter where it started, it is wonderful fun and a really positive initiative that I wanted to be involved with.
Basically, it is a pay it forward project where you paint a rock with a positive picture or phrase, such as breath, be kind, you matter, be brave, laugh often etc and then you hide it in your local area for others to find. When they find the rock there's a message on the back asking them to share a picture on the local FB page so others can see what has been found and so the creator can enjoy the joy of it being found.
These are all rocks we have found in our local town Battle
They can then either re-hide the rock for someone else to enjoy or take it home and ideally put one into the project themselves, paying the kindness forward.
"One message at just the right time can change your entire day... outlook... life!" Megan Murphy, founder of The Kindness Rocks Project
If you put #Kindnessrocks or #TheKindnessRocksProject into Instagram or a search engine you'll find loads of information and so many amazing pictures and tutorials for painting stones. But it is super simple to be honest.
Making your own Kindness Rock
1. Find a good rock to use. If you don't have any in your local area then please buy some from a home store or on Amazon. Don't take from another persons garden or such.
2. Ensure your rock is clean and dry.
3. Paint on it or draw with something like sharpies. There needs to be a good strong colour, so it will last.
4. Put a message on the back so that the finder knows what to do with the rock. You can write on the rock but as I don't have great handwriting, I have printed out small labels to stick on the back. (They say - This is a #Battlerock, please take a photo and share it in the Battle Rocks FB group, then re-hid this stone, thanks.)
5. Varnish the rock on both sides so it is weatherproof. I use DecoArt DuraClear varnish and a small tub goes a very long way.
Search on FB for the name of your town and then Rocks, so my group is Battle Rocks and if there is one there, great you can join and get straight on and hide your rock. If not you might have to be the pioneer and start the group and drop a few rocks and see if it will catch on in your area and people will join in.
You need to be respectful as to where you put your rock as they should not be a nuisance.
Don't put in the grass as they will damage lawnmowers
Don't put one too far into a large flower bed as you don't want people to have to tread on the bed to get it
Make sure it is not a trip hazard wherever you leave it
Make sure they are just in public areas, you don't want to encourage people onto private property
Now go rock hunting! We hope you enjoy it. Our best day has seen 14 rocks found so far and we took one home as my daughter loved it and we re-hid all the others for more people to enjoy. We are currently making some new rocks to put out so we can pass on the kindness too.
