Homemade Stepping Stone: Great Holiday Gift for Gardeners and New Homeowners

Make a personalized stepping-stone for the gardener or new homeowner in the family. This takes a little ingenuity and a little patience, but it is so pretty when it is done. You don't have to spend a lot of money on the project and right now is the time to buy a few of the supplies necessary.

You will need a mold. The wide plastic pan at the bottom of a large planter or other very large circular mold can be used. You can go to the thrift shops and find something there. If you are using metal, you might want to spray it or coat it with Vaseline so the stone will unmold.

Create your design first. If you are going to put a name on it, are you going to imprint it with a cookie cutter? Perhaps you are going to write the name in marbles or glitter? These are all decisions that you must make. Once you have the design it is time to create.

I am a hands on kind of person, so when I worked with the concrete, I realized that the warning about rubber gloves was indeed important. I did a pat a cake with bare hands and the flesh on them began to be eaten away. Well, it felt like it. Wear rubber gloves. Protect your hands. You also might want to take some precautions and use safety glasses.

Don't forget to lay down newspapers where you work. This can be messy. Also do the project in an area that you can let it set for a few days.

Mix up a batch of concrete. You should use the manufacturers directions for that. The consistency that works best is similar to very stiff mashed potatoes. It really isn't rocket science. If the concrete is drippy add more powdered concrete. If it is way too stiff, add a little water. You can spoon the mixture into the mold until it is half way full. Tamp it down to get out the air and put a piece of screen on the top. The screen gives extra strength to the concrete. There are other products besides screen that can be used. You may want to check where you buy the concrete. Fill the mold to the top with the rest of the concrete and tamp it down again.

Don't begin to decorate it right away. It is still too soft. Any letters that you stamp on with a cookie cutter will amazingly disappear. Wait at least 40 minutes to an hour before you decorate. Use jewels, beads, glitter, halved decorative marbles, or even aquarium gravel to decorate the top.

Use cookie cutters, marbles, or imbedded gravel for the name on the stone. If you are using cookie cutters and make a mistake, use the back of a spoon to erase your mistake (smooth it out) and start again. If you are using marbles, glitter, gravel draw the letters on first with the edge of a knife and fill them in. You can create a piping tool with a piece of paper. Fold the paper into the shape of a cone with one end very wide and the other end narrow enough that a few stones come out at a time. This will give you a little more control when doing letters. When you are decorating the side put a piece of paper lightly over the center to keep the decoration from straying inward.

The next step is to make supper, clean the house, pay your bills, make other gifts, or whatever. It will take two to three days for the concrete to completely dry and it should not be disturbed. I let mine set longer before I unmolded it. Part of the reason was because other projects beckoned, like work. But, I was really scared that the whole thing would fall apart if I removed it from the mold. In fact, I even thought of putting the mold into the ground.

You can remove the concrete from the mold after a few days and if you choose, paint it, or paint it in the mold, let it dry and then take it out. I like the natural glitzy look that the concrete has without paint, but outlining any letters is cool. If you do add paint, seal it with an acrylic spray. You may want to do this anyhow for additional protection.

Present the stone to your gardener or new homeowner.