Mother’s Day is coming up, and since I am the crafty one in the family I decided to make some stepping stones for my backyard. My garden is just starting to bloom, and as the weather gets warmer and drier I will be spending a good amount of time tending to it. I also want to teach my three-year-old, Athena, about gardening. Well, as much as I can. (Don’t worry, I will have my dad on speed dial.)
So, perfect for Mother’s Day, I figured I would make some personalized stepping stones with my new gardening partner. I have been bitten by the crafting bug. (It isn’t fatal, don’t be alarmed.) It just means that I am constantly making cute Pinterest crafts fails. But also, as naturally as craft stuff comes to me, my husband doesn’t have a crafting bone in his body. So, with the arts and the crafty things, he usually defers these to me. Yep, even on Mother’s Day.
I loved the idea of making stepping stones because that sweet hand print in my newly planted garden makes me feel giddy with mom pride. And I will have the sweet memory of spending the afternoon together with my daughter, getting cement everywhere, and laughing the whole time. That is what makes Mother’s Day extra sweet for me.
I took varied directions from different websites in making the plan for my stepping stones. Here is what I used:
- Quikrete (sand mixture)
- Water
- Bucket (5 gallon+)
- Gardening shovel
- Dollar Store cake pans
- Electric drill
- Paddle mixing attachment for drill (easily found at a hardware store for under $12)
- Decorative rocks/stones/glass pieces/shells (optional)
- Clear sealant (optional)
I didn’t need the whole bag of cement, or even half of it for that matter, so I poured what I thought might make a couple stepping stones. The general rule of thumb is to put 1 part water for every 5 parts cement mix.
Once it was mixed it up to a putty-type consistency with the paddle mixer attachment on the drill, I scooped it into the individual pans with the gardening shovel. I then smoothed the surface with the back of the handheld shovel, and it was ready to get glam! I let Athena squish her little hand in there and then decorate it with little glass beads I had on hand. She loved this part! Her dad even joined in to help decorate. I felt kind of bad when I ran out of stepping stones for us to decorate!
After your little cement cakes are decorated to the nines, it’s time to let them rest. They need at least 24 hours to fully set. When they are nice and hard, peel off the aluminum pans and the stepping stones will be done!
Optional: As they were finished, I chose to spray a couple coats of clear sealant on them to prolong their pretty lifespan. This was not a direction in most of the instructions I came across, but really is important for our rainy weather!
Happy Mother’s Day!
