Frequently Asked Questions

Rock tumbling is how I turn rough, plain looking rocks into beautiful, shiny rocks. I use a special machine called a rock tumbler, water, and abrasive grit to mimic the way rocks are smoothed out naturally in rivers and oceans. Rock tumbling involves 4 stages. The first 3 stages use progressively finer grit to round and smooth the rocks, and stage 4 uses polish to really make them shine. Each stage lasts 1-2 weeks. It requires lots of patience, but it's worth the wait. If you'd like to learn more about rock tumbling or want to know how to start, check out my TikTok or Youtube channel! 

The National Geographic Hobby Tumbler was my first tumbler, and I still use it to this day! It's reliable, easy to use, doesn't require much maintenance, and is more affordable than other tumblers. It does have a smaller barrel, but it's a great tumbler to learn on. It's also good if you're tumbling with kids because it doesn't get hot or have too many complicated parts.

I suggest also getting a Polly Plastics grit kit to get you started because the tumbler doesn't come with much grit and what it does come with isn't great quality.

If you want something a little bigger and more advanced, my favorite tumbler ever is the Lortone 33B. 

Using high quality grit and polish is an often overlooked part of getting good tumbling results. 9/10 times when someone says "I followed all the steps and my rocks still aren't shiny," the culprit is the polish they're using. Namely, National Geographic's polish. You might notice that their polish is gray instead of white, and that's because the "polish" is simply a finer grit. This was likely done to cut costs, but it sets beginner tumblers up for disappointment. I did reach out to the manufactor of their tumblers recently about this issue, and they said that it was a known issue that they're currently working to correct, so hopefully their kits will come with better polish soon.

If that's the polish you've been using, don't worry. You can re-tumble your batch with better polish and likely still get good results. 

I recommend Polly Plastics grit on Amazon. The kits are easy for beginners and come with all four stages. The grit and polish are both good quality as well. It's what I used for a long time before I got too many tumblers ot keep up. Now I buy my grit and polish in bulk from The Rock Shed. 

The white, pill-shaped things that you see in most of my batches are ceramic media. It's used to fill up empty space in a barrel after the rocks have worn down a bit so that it stays 2/3 full. It also cushions the rocks so that they don't fracture or bruise and helps them tumble more evenly. It's especially helpful if the batch you're tumbling is mostly large rocks because it fits into the gaps between the rocks and adds additional friction points.

Ceramic media can be used over and over again. It'll get smaller and smaller with each tumble until it wears down to nothing. You can buy ceramic media online. I buy mine in bulk from The Rock Shed, but Polly Plastics on Amazon is another great brand. Tip: buy the larger ceramic media pellets so that they last longer!

I find some of my rocks out in the wild near local rivers and beaches, and some I buy from places like Rough Stone Rocks and The Rock Shed. I recommend starting out by hunting for some rocks yourself because it's fun, it'll teach you a lot about what kinds of rocks can and can't be tumbled, and it's a little more satisfying in the end in my opinion. If you buy rocks to tumble, make sure you pay attention to the mohs hardness of what you're buying. Definitely stick to a mohs hardness of 7 if you're new to tumbling. 

I'm not the best at identifying rocks beyond the basics (agates, jasper, quartz, etc.), and I have an especially hard time IDing things from pictures, so I likely won't be of much help unfortunately. There are some good apps out there that can ID crystals and rocks just from a picture, though! If you'd like to start learning how to ID rocks, I recommend looking up what minerals are common in your area and then how to identify each of those. Agates, jasper, and quartz are common almost everywhere so it's a good place to start. 

I really, really, truly appreciate everybody who has reached out asking about this. It is incredibly sweet that you guys want to send your cool rocks my way. However, I can't stand the idea of you paying an arm and a leg in shipping only for me to potentially not be able to get around to tumbling them. My "to be tumbled" pile is big enough to last a lifetime at the moment and is slowly taking over my garage. My husband even told me we couldn't get the 12 foot skeleton for Halloween this year because there's no room left in the garage to store it with all my rocks. I think I might have a problem. 

My necklace chains and earring hooks/clasps are all made of stainless steel, which is nickel-free and hypoallergenic. I have a hard time finding jewelry that I can wear regularly due to metal allergies, so it's important to me that everyone, even people with allergies, can wear my pieces. A lot of people gravitate towards sterling silver, but I've found through trial and error that even it can cause irritation, and it's not as durable as other hypoallergenic metals such as stainless steel and titanium. Stainless steel is highly durable and won't tarnish, making it a wonderful choice for everyday wear. 

All of the silver-toned jewelry options in my shop are pure stainless steel, and the gold-toned options are gold-plated stainless steel. If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me. 

Unfortunately, I can't accomodate any special orders at this time. Maybe in the future!

E6000! It's perfect for jewelry and holds strong. I like to get the little tubes because the big tubes tend to dry out on me before I can use them all up. Tip: lightly sand the end of the stone that you're gluing for an even better hold. 

I do! However, I will warn you that the shipping prices are pretty high, and they do not include any customs, duties, import, VAT, etc. fees that your country might have. You will be responsible for any applicable fees owed, so please be aware of your country's import fees before ordering. I try my very best to keep both domestic and international shipping prices as low as possible, but unfortunately it's out of my control.

Your shipping cost will be displayed on the cart page before you have to enter any information, so feel free to shop around and ditch the cart if the shipping price is scary. I hate paying for shipping, too, so no offense taken! 

Your shipping cost will be displayed on the cart page and calculated again at checkout. A flat rate of $4 applies to all domestic U.S. orders. This shipping rate is slightly discounted to keep it affordable for everybody.

Unfortunately, I can't offer any discounts on international shipping at this time. Your shipping cost will be displayed on the cart page as well, but that number does not include any customs, duties, import, VAT, etc. fees that your country might have. You will be responsible for any applicable fees owed, so please be aware of your country's import fees before ordering. I try my very best to keep both domestic and international shipping prices as low as possible, but unfortunately it's out of my control.

All orders within the U.S. are shipped via USPS Ground Advantage, which generally takes 2-5 business days. I ship from New Jersey, so east coast orders tend to be delivered a little faster than others. Post office closures and holidays can extend shipping times.

All International orders are shipped via USPS First Class Package International. The shipping time varies based on the destination. Post office closures, holidays, and customs delays can extend shipping times. 

All orders are processed within 1 to 4 business days (excluding weekends and holidays) after receiving your order confirmation. Processing times may be extended due to a high volume of orders or postal service closures. I always aim to get your packages in the mail and on their way to you as quickly as possible!

If you need your items by a certain date, please leave me a note at checkout! I can't guarantee it will get to you by then, but I'll do my best to speed up the processing time.

All orders include USPS tracking. When your order has shipped, you will receive an email notification which will include a tracking number that you can use to check its status. Simply click the tracking number link or paste it into USPS's tracking search bar on their website to see where your package is. Please allow up to 48 hours for the tracking information to become available after shipment.

If you haven’t received your order within 15 days of receiving your shipping confirmation email, please contact me at moonriserocks@gmail.com with your name and order number, and I'll look into it for you. International orders may take longer than 15 days depending on the destination, but I'd still be happy to check into it for you. 

We have a 30-day return policy, which means you have 30 days after receiving your item to request a return.

To be eligible for a return, your item must be in the same condition that you received it, unworn or unused, and in its original packaging. You’ll also need the receipt or proof of purchase. Gift cards, trinket confetti, tarot readings, and custom orders are not eligible for returns or exchanges.

To start a return, please reply to your order confirmation email to request which products you would like to return. You can also contact us here. Once your return has been accepted, I'll send you a USPS shipping label that can be used to mail the package back. Refunds will be issued once the items are received. The cost of return shipping will be deducted from the refund unless there is proof that the item was defective upon reciept. 

I do! You can find them here. After purchase, a digital gift card will be sent to the email you provided at checkout. Gift cards do not expire and can be used on anything in my shop!

Nope, gift cards never expire!

Definitely! I have common amounts listed currently, but if you want a different amount just contact me and I'll add it to the listing for you. Gift cards are limited to a maximum of $1,000.