Here is a craft of making garden pebbles and
stones. You can decorate your garden by the craft of stepping-stones.
Craft Of Stepping Stones
Creating a garden in your home is a wonderful idea.
Apart from indulging your hobby of gardening, it would also serve as the
perfect adornment for your house. At the same time, having a colorful
garden at your doorstep will expose you to mesmerizing natural beauty on
a daily basis. While adding new flowers and plants is a wonderful way to
personalize your garden, putting in handmade pebbles and stones takes
the customization a bit further. If you want to explore the unique craft
of making stepping stones and pebbles, then the information given below
will surely come handy.
Making Garden Stones
Supplies Needed
- Molds/ Roasting Pans
- Stirring Stick
- Baking Pans
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Buckets
- WD40
- Cements
- Acrylic Paints
- Clear-coat Spray Paints
- Paintbrushes
Instructions
- Prepare your work surface for the task, by covering it with
layers of old newspaper.
- Take a bucket and put 2½ cups water in it, followed by 5
lbs. gravel-free cement or mortar, while stirring constantly with a
paint-stirring stick.
- After the cement gets well mixed, add another 5 lbs. of it to the
bucket and stir well. Keep on mixing, till the mixture attains a
smooth and thick consistency.
- If you feel that the mixture has become too dry, add a bit of
water, one tbsp at a time. In case it seems too runny, add more
concrete, but not more than ¼ cup at a time.
- Place the stone mold on a flat surface and lightly spray it with
WD40. You can also use a roasting pan for the purpose.
- Now, take the cement mixture and put it in the mold, filling the
latter halfway only.
- Using minimal effort, shake the mold gently, so that the bubbles,
if any, get released.
- Now, fill the mold completely with the cement, making sure to
shake it gently once again.
- After letting the cement set in, for a few minutes, you can
decorate it. Thereafter, you need to keep it in a dry place,
undisturbed, for at least 48 hours.
- Place a thick towel on a flat surface. Above the towel, turn the
mold upside down and tap on its back, till the time the stone gets
released.
- Finally, you can paint the stone and finish it with a clear
acrylic over-spray
Decorating the Stones
Supplies Needed
- Seashells
- Rocks
- Tiles/ Pottery Chips (or other mosaic fodder)
Instructions
- If you want to decorate the stone with objects such as shells or
mosaic tiles, after putting the cement in the mold, you need to keep
it aside for five minutes, to let the cement set in properly. Now,
all you need to do is place the decorative items on the surface of
the cement. Shake the mold, gently, a couple of times, so as to help
the cement settle around the objects.
- If you want to write or draw something on the stone, keep the
mold aside for twenty minutes. Thereafter, you can go ahead with
your writing or drawing. In case you see the words or the picture
filling with water, smoothen out the cement, with the stirring
stick. Wait for a few minutes, before writing/ drawing again.
- In case you want to make hand prints or footprints on the stone,
you will have to wait for 30 minutes, so as to let the cement set in
the mold. Thereafter, you can go about making the prints.
- After you have decorated the stone, you need to let it set in the
mold completely, for somewhere around 48 hours.
