DIVAS: Stepping stones add whimsy and color to your garden
To celebrate our beautiful spring weather – are you looking for a fun outdoor project? Stepping stones for your garden are much easier and less expensive than you might think.
This is a great project to do with the kiddies because they love creating something permanent to decorate their outdoor living space.
The cost is minimal. The concrete costs about $3 per bag and makes three or four stepping stones, depending on size.
Any box can be used as a mold but cereal boxes are an ideal size. You can use any kind of rocks, marbles, shells, tiles, or even broken china to decorate your stepping stones. See? Cheap!
DIY GARDEN
STEPPING STONES
What You’ll Need:
Boxes as concrete molds
Tape
Concrete mix – I used Quickcrete
Container for mixing the concrete
Shovel or trowel
An assortment of rocks and beads
Here’s How:
Use duct or strapping tape to strengthen the sides and corners of the boxes.
Mix the concrete according to package directions. If you’re using multiple bags of concrete to make a number of stones, mix only one bag at a time or it will begin to set before you have time to decorate all the stones.
Working quickly, shovel the concrete into your molds. Be careful to avoid any air pockets as you pour.
If you actually want to step on the stones, they need to be at least two inches thick. If you want them to be more decorative than functional, they can be thinner. The thicker you make them the heavier they’ll be, so if you want to make a large stone, I suggest you make it in place so you don’t have to move it.
Use a trowel to smooth the surface. Now you get to decorate your stepping stone. Press your decorative stones into the wet concrete but be careful not to completely bury them.
Let the concrete set overnight to cure.
When the concrete has set, just use a knife to split the tape and rip the sides off the boxes. No need to remove the bottom of the box as it will just decompose into the soil below the stepping stone.
Wipe any concrete residue off the surface of your pretty stones with a sponge. Find the perfect spot to display your new works of art.
Some ideas for stepping stones –
Have your children put their hand and foot prints in the wet concrete and chronicle your kiddies growing up with a yearly stepping stone. I sure wish I had thought of these 20 years ago.
Collect rocks, shells and small trinkets on your next vacation. Make a stepping stone with your treasures and include the date to commemorate your adventure.
Use stepping stones to make a backyard hopscotch game. Put a different letter on each stepping stone and spell words or names. Use your beads and rocks to make images of flowers, trees, rainbows or hearts.
Let’s hope the lovely stepping stones will distract and mesmerize any visitors to our gardens so they won’t even notice the weeds. Am I right?
Frugal Family Fun contributed by Patti Diamond from Divas On A Dime – Where Frugal, Meets Fabulous! www.divasonadime.com Join us on Facebook at DivasOnADimeDotCom.
