I have my grandkids several weeks this summer while their parents work. I was thinking of projects we could do and one of them was making stepping stones to put in the gravel in my front walk. Has anyone done it? Helpful tips?
editing to add that I'm going to do concrete not plaster. Since they will be outside I'd rather put the time and energy into something that will last a while.
My daughter got a kid kit and made them with her friend. They have been outside for two years now through all seasons and they look the same as when they were made. Easy and fun!
What a great idea!
I have not made these, but they always look so cute!
Other project ideas:
•Pottery places where you buy per piece and finish/paint/add embellishments.
• make bird feeders (pine cones/peanut butter/bird seed)
•scavenger hunts
•visit a farm/help with a food bank glean
•sprinkler/splash pad/water park
•ropes courses (everywhere these days)
•plant a few veggies
•make & place some toad houses
We used to do it every year at church. My husband mixed up the concrete for us in a bucket. We poured it into Styrofoam plates. The kids used beads, aquarium rocks, old shiny stones etc to decorate them. I still have some my own kids made 20 years ago.
IMO, talk to the garden center about what material is sturdy because the plaster that comes in those kid kits will not hold up that well. You can go to a thrift store and get random bits of things to put in it or a craft store to get polished glass and beads to let the kids have at it. I would skip paint, as that will wear off quickly.
We made one as a marker for something. We got the kit at Michael's craft store. There are different types available, with small stones/marbles, pieces of broken glass (the edges weren't too sharp in ours but keep an eye out), and we bought a separate kit with the letters you press in to make words.
My advice is to take a piece of paper and make a template first - make it the size of the finished stone. Then arrange all your pieces (stones, etc.) on the paper, moving them around to get the design you like. If you use letters, write out the "saying" first, and allow room for the border around the letter stamps. There are only a certain number of letter stamps in the kit, so you can't arrange all of them - so do some, then lift the stamp and write the letter in pencil, then place that letter in the next spot where it will be used. Or, if you have something small like a washer or another piece of hardware, use it as a place holder, the same way a golfer puts something down to mark where his ball goes. Get the whole design set before you even think of pouring the water into the cement mix.
Also, have something to smooth out the cement if you make a mistake - the kit may including something, but you can use your own popsicle stick if you want to. Don't rush - the cement doesn't harden that fast! You have time to play around IF you do your design ahead of time.
Let everything dry big time before you move or lift. And do the work on a big pile of newspaper so none of the cement dust gets on your table or work surface.
If you're going to actually walk on the stones (rather than use them for decoration), look into something to seal the top so the pieces don't fall out and wear away over time. The craft store or the hardware store can help you with a sealer.
If you prep well, you can have a ton of fun doing these!!
I asked this question last year and got lots of helpful hints. I ended up getting pre-formed stepping stones, made of some sort of plastic/resin/concrete from the home depot and some outdoor grade paint. DS and I painted them. "Stones" are still intact. paint is worse for the wear.
Best,
F. B.
I haven't done it but I've known several people who have. They sell kits at places like Michael's that seem to be pretty easy. All the ones I've seen have turned out cute.
My friend made actual stepping stones in her yard. She got a form at a Home Depot. She made a hole the size of the form so that the top of the form was level with the ground. Filled that with concrete. She left the concrete plain but you could decorate it. The form had dividers so that the stone looked fancy.
My dad has done them with all the grandkids, so they now have nine wonderful stepping stones off the back of their house!
I don't have much information other than I know he used concrete and for the form used whatever he could recycle around the house. I know at least some of them were made in a plastic saucer that you put under big potted plants.
Good luck!
My art friends and I went through a 'stepping stone' phase with all of our kids one summer, in 1998 and the 2 I've kept are still in fine condition.
What's interesting, is that the ones we hand made are still in tact - relatively speaking, a few items have chipped off.
The professional one ordered by my sister as an anniversary gift has cracked in half - go figure.
so we used all kinds of shiny baubles, from marbles to broken plates from thrift stores, to colored rocks, etc. laid out the pattern first in the container, flipped the pieces over and poured in the concrete over it all. We used weather friendly pieces. Be careful when breaking a plate or sauce as the the pieces can cut and the sharp edges will stick out if not laid correctly.
We used cheap plastic food tops that we asked for at Safeway or other bakeries, the bottom for planters work well too, with a good 1.5 inches of space for appropriate thickness. I would worry using a plate as mentioned below would be too thin and would not last.
I recommend you google stepping stone images for design inspiration.
My DS and I did this with the left over tile after our bathroom renovation. we used kits that I got at Michael's, our craft store. my only note was that the stick that came with the kit was too flimsy for stirring what turned into some pretty think concrete. we used a paint stick instead and that solved our issue. they turned out really well and have aged well too.
I am so pleased to hear you're getting to spend this time with them. my mom never takes my son for any period of time and he hardly knows her. this will go a long way for bonding between you all. have fun!! S
My kids made concrete stepping stones in Kindergarten. Handprint in the middle, glass 'gems' and beads stuck into the material, name etched on the bottom. I've had them out in the flower beds for 8-10 years now.
They do wear down and lose details over time, but that's the nature of the object. I think you can use a patio sealant to make them even more durable after the concrete has fully cured.
