Need some new stepping stones for your garden? You could make one yourself, or start making one to gift it to friends and family as a personal memento for their garden. This could be a little messy work but all worth it. This could be your next DIY project for your own garden.
The Basic Process Of Making A Stepping Stone Involves:
1. First, you need our some stepping stone molds, cleanse them thoroughly so there are no particles or dirt left behind after the previous use. You could purchase stepping stone molds from a hardware store or a store that sells all items required for this purpose.
2. Take some light vegetable oil to brush evenly in the mold, to release the mold later with ease. Do not over spread excess oil or tiny oil puddles because this will later cause bubbles in the mixture. Use a tissue to absorb excess oil.
3. Wear on a pair of gloves before you begin. To keep your hands save and clean before you begin with the messy part.
4. Then in a bucket or any big size container prepare the concrete mixture to fill in all the molds. Use a hoe, mixing shovel or a trowel to prepare concrete mixture. You can purchase the concrete mixture from any hardware store and there might be instructions given behind the package. If not, in a container fill adequate amount of concrete and pour in water to prepare mixture. Begin by pouring little quantity of water till the required amount of consistency is attained. Clear mixture of any clumps, grains but do not let it form a paste consistency, rather the texture be more like moist mud.
5. Once, the mixture is ready pour it in desirable molds, use your hands to properly stuff and compress all the concretely carefully without leaving any air gaps.
6. Use two solid planks of wood to later remove mold of the set, stepping stone, this will save your mold from getting damaged. Before that, clamp the two wooden planks above and below the mold and wait for a day or more for the concrete to cure completely. With the help of these planks you can move the concrete carefully around without forming cracks in the wet mix or the mold.
7. Finally, carefully turn the mold upside down and slowly lift the mold up.
8. Clean off the mold with soap and water and store it for later use.
9. Use a hard surface scrub pad or something that can smooth the edges of the stepping stone, and its done!
10. Finally, dug up some mud of requisite area from the desireable place in your garden and place in the stepping stone.
You can also add some personalized touch to these home made concrete stones. Right before the concrete cures completely, you can make impressions, or embed stones. You can also use acrylic paints or paints meant for concrete. You can also use children toys or broken dish pieces to embed in the concrete or you could custom make patterns, designs and even inscribe quotations, names, logos. Paste images, stones; create collages or mosaic patterns.
Below Are Some Creative Ideas To Fuel Your Imagination:
1. Fun Painted Stepping Stones.
You can use acrylic paints or concrete paints to paint creative patterns, textures using stencils, even a pretty flower or a giant bug stone, even better if you can paint an artistic painting on it. Surely visitors will be in awe of it and not bother to step on it. When done, seal the paint with a concrete paint sealant. These products should be available in any hardware store or the ones that sell products for concrete base items.
2. Name Imprinted Stepping Stones.
Like a walk of fame down your garden floor. Your very own personalized walk of fame in form of your garden stepping stones. You can make stencils of your name, or name of the person you would like to gift your own made stepping stone and, trace and paint it on.
3. Leaf Pattern Stepping Stones.
Stepping stone molds, of all shapes and sizes are available in the market. What better molds can you purchase for your garden stepping stones than leaf shape molds.
4. Mosaic Pattern Stepping Stones.
How about a mosaic patterned butterfly stepping stone? You can create many more such mosaic patterns on your stepping stones. All you need to do is, get some broken tile pieces and just before you pour in concrete, set the pieces in the shape or pattern you want on top of your molds. Once the stones all ready to pop out of the molds, you will have a beautiful mosaic pattern on each stepping stone.
5. Hand Impression Stepping Stones.
How about a personal memoir stepping stone like a hand or foot print of your children. So you have a very personal reminder of their tiny feet and hand when they grow up or this could be a new stepping stone gift to grandma’s garden.
6. Glow In The Dark Stepping Stones.
How about stepping stones that glow after dark, it would add a fairy land touch to your backyard or garden? To make these stones you can either paint them with glow in the dark paints or you could embed glow in the dark items like children’s play items, glow in the dark stickers etc.
7. Logo Printed Stepping Stones.
And one for the little prancing around the house pet. You could also imprint logos, marks, names of your pet dog, cat, or your favorite NBA team or team member because your own garden can also express your likes and dislikes.
8. Bed Rock Designed Stepping Stones.
There’s nothing more interesting than customized stepping stones, these can also be a memoir of your last visit to the beach, or a holiday trip to an exotic island and bringing back these bed rocks to add them to your garden. And each time you step on them you can feel yourself relax with a smile spreading on your face.
9. Cake Pan Stepping Stones.
If you want to try something different from your household items. Well you can use your cake baking pan too, place a butter sheet in the pan, drawing your desired pattern on it. Take some left over tiles and cut them in tiny square shapes and place accordingly on the sheet. Then pour over the concrete mixture. Once cured you have your very own pretty tiled stepping stones.
10. Learning Numbers Stepping Stones.
If your little ones are more keen on spending loads of play time in the garden. This could be a fun idea for them to learn while they play. Bright colored stepping stones with engraved in letters and alphabets. Learning can be made fun!
11. Marbles Embedded Stepping Stones.
Who is not fond of marbles? Marbles embedded in stepping stones add an appealing touch when they glitter in brought daylight and gleam in moonlight. They appear like diamonds embedded in your garden stones.
12. Broken Dishes Designed Stepping Stones.
Oops! did you just break a clay dish with pretty oriental patterns? No worries, you can still preserve them. How? use them to decorate your new stepping stones. Yes, you can make a mosaic pattern using your old colorful, designed broken utensils or dishes.
13. Inscription Stepping Stones.
What’s more encouraging than words of encouragement, laid right in your path to uplift your spirit for the day.
14. Flower Pattern Stepping Stones.
A simple, neat flower shape mold for a simply well made stepping stone.
15. Flagstone Stepping Stones.
You could also use flagstones as stepping stones. Since they already come in different shapes and sizes, you can just add a bit more of color and pattern to make it look more pretty amazing.
16. Spiral Pattern Stepping Stones.
If its round in shape then nothings best than a spiral pattern made on it. Either embed stones, tiles or simply paint in spiral shapes on top of the stepping stones.
17. Creative Idea Stepping Stones.
You can be as creative as you can get, wordings, patterns, paint creatures, flowers, sprinkle glitters. Make your stones vibrant, pretty, hardcore as you would like after all it is on your property.
18. Unique Designed Stepping Stones.
Do not limit your imagination. Let it leap over the conventional, customize the shape of your stones, even pattern or designs. Let it be as alive and beautiful as this rainbow dragonfly.
19. Innovative Stepping Stones.
Do these look like real cushions. Or do you think it is Alice’s Wonderland. Oh no! these are not real cushions. These are stepping stones made in cushion molds and simply painted. Isn’t it unbelievable?
20. Custom Shaped Stepping Stones.
As nothing can be more effective, touching an personal than words and wordings like “Home Sweet Home”, what more can add to the charm of a stepping stone than personalized wordings.
Now, let your creative horses run to add some self made personalized stepping stones in your garden.
