How to Make Your Own Garden Stepping Stones

Do you love the look of garden stepping stones but don't want to pay a ridiculous price for one? You can make your own for a fraction of the cost.By gathering your own materials you can make several garden stepping stones for the price of one do it yourself kit. Plus you can awaken your creativity and experiment with different styles and designs. It’s easy and fun and soon you can have a garden full of decorative stepping stones.

Bag of Mortar or Quick Drying Concrete Mix

Containers like pizza boxes, old cake pans, disposable pie tins

Small rocks, glass rocks, river rocks, broken pottery, mosaic tiles, shells, etc

Heavy Duty Scissors

A file or very rough sandpaper

Work gloves

Goggles/Protective eye wear

Gather all your materials. Most of the items can be found at dollar stores and home improvement stores like The Home Depot and Lowes. Pizza boxes, pie plates, disposable cake pans and pie plates all make great stepping stone containers. If you want to get real creative look for disposable cake pans that are fun shapes; flowers, trucks, animals, etc.

Set up in an outdoor area. You’ll want plenty of space to lay out your stones overnight so they can dry. Make sure the pans and containers are on a level surface so they dry evenly.

Mix your concrete or mortar following the manufacturer’s instructions.

Pour the mix into your containers. Leave about ? inch space from the top of the container. If you have really thick containers, only fill them about 1 ? inches full. If you make the mix too thick it may not dry well or it can crack.

Let the mix settle a bit and evenly spread out. You may want to gently jiggle the pans and tap the sides to get out air bubbles. As your mixture starts setting it will get a gummy like texture to it. This is when you should start adding your rocks, mosaic tiles, shells, glass rocks, or whatever you are adding to decorate your stepping stones. Push them in far enough so they set inside the concrete but are not covered. Kids can add handprints or messages, too.

Allow to set completely. It is best to let the stones dry overnight.

Remove the stones from the pans once they have been allowed to dry overnight. Sometimes the stones may not want to come out so you may need heavy duty scissors to cut them out of the pans. This is why it is best to use cheap disposable containers.

Sand or file sharp edges and points on the edges of your stones. You want to have smooth edges that won’t cut anyone when the stones are being moved around.

Place your garden stepping stones where you want them and enjoy.

Follow the directions on the mortar or concrete mix. You don't want the mix too thick or too runny.

Always wear protective eye wear and gloves. You may also want to wear a mask when mixing the powder, you don't want to breath any of it into your lungs.