Easy Garden Crafts: Create a Stepping Stone

Making stepping stones is easy and fun. This is something that even toddlers can help with. A stepping stone makes a great holiday gift for a parent or grandparent. Just a few household items are needed and everything else can be purchased at a local home improvement store or hardware store.

Materials

You will need a disposable aluminum pie tin for each stepping stone. For each stone, purchase 1 bag of cement. To decorate the stepping stone, use sea shells, rocks, plastic gems from a craft store or anything else you can think of. If you want to color the cement, add coloring when it is mixed. The cement coloring can be purchased where you buy cement. Finally, you will need a pencil or stick to write in the cement.

Making the Stepping Stone

Mix the cement according to the directions on the package. Add coloring if desired. Fill each pie tin to within a ¼ inch of the top of the pan with cement. Bang the tin on a table to remove any air. Smooth the top of the cement.

Add decorations to the cement. If you make a mistake do not worry, you can remove items and rearrange them. Once you have everything the way you want it smooth out all rough surfaces and have the kids write their names and the date that the stepping stone was made. Allow to dry for at least two days. Remove the stepping stone from the pie tin by turning it upside down and gently tapping the bottom of the pan. Do not allow the stone to drop out of the pan. Place it on a hard surface. If the stone will not release, cut the pan away from it.

Ideas

Seal the stepping stone with clear acrylic for a shiny effect. Add glitter to the cement before pouring into the pan. This will add sparkle. Kids can set their handprints or footprints into the cement. Use cement coloring to color the impressions.

Textured items like feathers, sponges, or even sand paper can be used to texture the surface of the cement. Use a paint brush to apply different shades of cement color to the textured surface while the cement is still wet. This creates dramatic effects. Earth colors will look like stone, bold colors will appear to be designer stepping stones.

Make faux fossils with leaves, shells or bones. Keep the cement in its natural color or brush on brown coloring to give the impression of stone.

There are so many ways to make a unique garden stepping stone. They make great gifts. Kids have so much fun doing this that you may want to keep the supplies on hand for an impromptu crafting session.

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