You don’t need a fancy schmancy mold to make garden stepping stones; all you need is a non-stick cake pan! And you won’t even ruin the pan!
I stumbled on a new – and EASIER way to make mosaic stepping stones; it’s called the indirect method and it involves contact paper. I think these would make awesome favors or gifts for a garden wedding. Just get your maids together on a Saturday afternoon and have a stepping stone party. They’re inexpensive to make – and they don’t require much skill.
You will need:
- Round non-stick cake pan (You could also use a heart-shaped pan)
- Vaseline
- Contact paper
- Old plates or saucers that you don’t need (I got mine at the thrift store)
- Glass gems
- sea glass (optional)
- concrete
- marine varnish
- Mosaic Glass Cutter
(Optional. I did not use of of these, but if you want more precise cuts, this is the way to go.)
- chicken wire or other type of wire mesh
- safety glasses
- rubber gloves
- dust mask
- hammer
- bucket
- trowel
- water
Put your safety glasses on. Place a plate or saucer inside a cloth bag or cover with an old sheet or towel, and smash it with a hammer. If you have a mosaic glass cutter, use it instead.
Repeat until you have all the pieces you need. You’ll probably want a variety of sizes, as shown here.
Place your cake pan on your contact paper, and trace around it.
Cut out the contact paper circle. Remove backing and place inside pan sticky side up. Add your mosaic pieces to the contact paper with the desired design facing down. Press each piece down so it is firmly stuck to the contact paper. Leave enough space between the pieces so that the cement can fill the spaces in between – but don’t leave too much room. (When I make my next stepping stone, I will move the pieces a bit closer together.)
Carefully lift the piece of contact paper and view your design. (This is the back of my design.)
If you are happy with your design, place the design back into the pan with the sticky side up. Head outdoors, put on your dust mask and mix up your concrete according to the instructions on the bag. It will be the consistency of porridge when it’s ready.
Meantime, cut a square piece of chicken wire or wire mesh to fit inside the stepping stone. This will help to support it. Also, line the inside rim of your cake pan with Vaseline for easy releasing.
Don your rubber gloves and spoon some concrete into your cake pan.
Spread so it evenly covers your design, about an inch thick.
Place your piece of wire mesh onto the wet concrete.
Spread another one inch layer of concrete over the wire.
Let sit for two days. (I set mine in the shed.) When it’s ready, turn it over and tap on the back of the cake pan. It should release easily. Slowly remove contact paper.
If there are holes, you can fill them with cement. You can use sand paper to smooth grooves in the cement. I took a wet sponge and cleaned the entire area after removing the contact paper, then I varnished it with marine varnish.
That’s it! Enjoy your handmade stepping stone! Want more? Check out this DIY garden stone made from flagstone.
