River Rock Boot Tray

Updated on September 15, 2023

River Rock Boot Tray. Learn how to make a functional river rock boot tray to drain muddy shoes using a cookie sheet and river rocks.

Even though I live in Northern Arizona we still can get wet, rainy (and even snowy) weather! And in the summer my kids are typically outside playing in the backyard in the water.

I don’t like having soggy shoes hanging out all over our entryway, so I came up with a quick, easy, and stylish way to turn a cookie sheet into a boot tray.

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How to Make a River Rock Boot Tray

Supplies:

• Old Cookie Sheet
• River Rock
• Spray Paint
• Glue Gun or Beacon Power-Tac

Spray Paint Cookie Sheet

Below you can see my cookie sheet. It had definitely seen better days. Since I like to upcycle, I knew I could find some other use for it.

If you are purchasing a new cookie sheet for this project and don’t mind the color, the next few steps are optional.

Start by washing and drying the cookie sheet.

Then, lightly sand it. This helps the spray paint to adhere. You can also use spray paint + primer.

Spray paint the tray in the color of your choice. We have a lot of dark colors in our entryway, so I decided to go with Krylon’s Gloss Leather Brown.

I already had this paint on hand from another project. It may take several coats of paint to get full coverage. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the paint you choose. 

My cookie sheet did not have full coverage after only one coat, so I had to do a second coat.

.Glue Rocks to Tray

After the spray paint has fully dried, you can start gluing on the river rocks.

I used a hot glue gun and applied a small amount of glue to the back of each rock and placed it down.

It is sort of like a puzzle to attach the rocks. You want some gaps to allow the water to drip off the bottom of the shoes and for air to circulate, but you don’t want huge gaps between the rocks.

If you plan to use your tray outside, I would recommend using Beacon Power-Tac instead of hot glue to adhere the rocks. Hot glue can come undone with fluctuating temperatures.

I had some rock on hand but realized quickly I would not have enough. I ended up having to get 2 or 3 more bags of rocks from Dollar Tree.

RELATED: Dollar Tree Crafts

I also got tired of gluing so many small rocks, so in the opposite corner from where I started I added larger rocks and slowly incorporated them into the smaller rocks. Try to choose the flatter rocks or the tray will end up being extremely heavy.

Helpful Tip: If you get a lot of glue strands, you can take a blow dryer and melt the strands away quickly and easily.

Now you have a place to put all those wet shoes from outside! This project was quick, easy, and inexpensive since I had most of the items on hand. Even if you had to purchase all the supplies, it should still cost you under $10 to make!

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