If you haven't hit the garden yet this season, what are you waiting for?! After an excruciatingly long winter, it's about time the sun is shining and the trees and shrubs are budding. I spent nearly the entire long weekend outside, tending to my garden, patio, weeding, planting. It's a lot of work, but I felt so accomplished when it was done. Now I can enjoy my sanctuary.
One thing I plan on adding to my garden is a little bit of personalization. Last year, I incorporated fairies. This year, I wanted to create a stepping stone. While this was a Mother's Day gift I created for my mom, mother-in-law and grandmother, it will also work for Father's Day, or a "just because" craft.
DIY Stepping Stones are easy, very inexpensive and make an impact on your garden.
- Aluminum roasting pan (dollar store purchase)
- River rocks and glass stones (dollar store or craft store)
- Cement Compound (hardware store or craft stor3
Timing is very important for this craft. You will need to purchase good quality cement compound, and get one that is fairly quick drying or you'll be waiting forever. We did this craft in the garage, with my hubby mixing the concrete and I did the footprints and the stones. It really is a two person job, especially if you're using a small child or baby for the footprints. Once the concrete starts to set, you only have a few minutes to work!
Mix your concrete in a pail or bucket and once it's smooth, pour into the aluminum trays and allow to set. Keep checking on it. Depending on the type of cement you purchased, this could take minutes or hours. We aimed for one that dried in 30 minutes. When you see it's setting, stamp your child's footprints and really press them in so you get a solid imprint.
Parent #1 can go and wash off their feet while Parent #2 decorates the rest of the stone with river rock and glass stone. You can opt to make a design, a mosaic or just scatter. I added the date to the bottom with a crayon.
That's it! Now you need to be patient and allow the stone to dry for at least 24-48 hours. Once it's dry, you can simply pull the aluminium tray away from the stone and chip off any sharp edges with your family.
The cement stepping stone is already weather proof and ready for the garden!
This makes a great, personalized gift or element to add to your 2014 garden!
This is beatiful
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