Making a stepping stone from a plastic nursery flat

My crafty friend, Cheryl, and I have been at it again! We had a brainstorm!  This stepping stone can be made in a snap using Ready-mix concrete and a plastic flat used by nurseries to hold ground covers. You can even reuse the mold to make more than one!

How many of us have a stash of these plastic flats with the built in pattern?

Materials:

• A ground cover nursery flat
• A dry cleaning bag
• Concrete
• A large leaf or leaves with thick veins
• Old or disposable gloves
• Large galvanized pan or plastic tub

Steps

1. Lay down a tarp over your work surface. Lay your leaf or leaves upside down in a design onto the bottom of the flat.
2. Cover the plastic flat and the decorations with one thin layer of the dry cleaning bag. This makes it easy to unmold. Leave the edges wide enough to fold up over the project.
3. Mix your concrete in the tub with enough water to make the consistency like thick brownie batter. Spread or pack carefully into the mold, patting it down with gloved hands.
4. Fold the plastic over the entire project and tuck underneath to hold in the moisture and not blow in the wind.
5. Unmold after a day or two, discard leaves and let it sit in its plastic for about a week to cure. Prepare a flat place on firm dirt or sand to place your stepping stone
6. Repeat!

I placed this one at an intersection in the path that gets a lot of traffic

Note: For added strength, you can spread half the cement mix in then lay down old metal coat hangers or a square of chicken wire.

You can also decorate the stone by packing the concrete in, then pushing stones or glass beads into the flat surface. Dry and cure the same way. The stepping stones come out in a nice big size and just the right thickness! Set them down in a square pattern or diagonally like diamonds.

More garden stepping stones

Jill Waltenspiel’s step stone

Jill Waltenspiel has another slick way to make stepping stones.  Here’s her scrap Glass and concrete stepping stone:
“My husband made me round, rectangle, shoe shaped and kind of square metal molds. They hold together with clamps & when the concrete is set up, I take off the clamps and they come apart. I do spray with Pam or coat with Vaseline. I use contact paper underneath to hold the glass in place while the cement is being poured. Then, just peel off the paper.”

“I use Portland Cement for my stepping stones, mixed just as you would for any concrete pour. And, yes I set them on a very flat surface, a table or something of that sort. With the glass – or flat craft gems – stuck to the contact paper, you don’t get as much mix on them. I often have to do some clean up when the liquid oozes under the glass, but it can be done fairly easily with an orange stick, either wood or plastic. Metal can scratch the glass.”

Becky Norris made several concrete stepping stones for her Big Patio Project! This is a fabulous story of how you can accomplish a challenging patio project, with limited help and at any age and ability! Here’s a couple photos as a preview:

Becky’s reverse painting process

Becky Norris’ step stone

I hope you try one of these easy projects.  Have fun!  ~~ Sue

Pin it!

More:

Make your own concrete planters

Leaf-casting a rhubarb leaf

12 Unique hypertufa projects for the garden