Stepping Stones

Jackson
by Jackson
3 Materials
$30
4 Days
Easy

I did make leaves with concrete for my frontyard as stepping stones... But I also wanted steppingstones for the backyard, and I was tired of leaves. One night at around 3.30h I woke up ...and I knew what I would do

First steps for my steps


Got me all kind of plastic buckets and bowls and glued tea lights, the little ones with the aluminum foil covers, with the waxy side down into my buckets. Then I brushed a little oil over the tealights and inside the buckets. Filled it with cement about a finger high over the tealights, because I did not want to have the holes go all the way through and have the grass grow through them. In the small bowls I used bottle caps. Did not work good, because they get so stuck, the end pieces break. I did let the cement dry for a few days in the buckets

those are my leaves


for the front yard

Back to the molds with bucket and bowls


Those are the first ones I took out --- buttons.It worked so good with those tealights, because when they get stuck in the cement, all you need to do is scratch out the wax and you can peel the aluminum foil out easily

And that what it looks like now -


- to the delight of my grandchild who hops from one to the other. 

I painted them with paint from the builders market. I do not really know the word for them. It is colours that you can use to mix into a bucket of white paint to get the colour you want to paint your house with. So far they have kept the colours through rain and sun.

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  • Brenda Brenda on Sep 25, 2022

    Hi there! I'm an admirer from Oklahoma's T-Town and am always looking for something whimsical for the garden. The materials cost on this post is shown as $30. How many buttons did you make for that $30? Can you provide a breakdown on the cost? Your tip about easy removal of the wax/candles has opened up a realm of possibilities using aluminum foil and melted wax to create any impression my imagination comes up with!!! Your instruction were concise, complete and easy to follow. Your warning about the difficulty in removing the bottle caps is much appreciated for the headache it saved me from. I'll be experimenting with different wraps (think foil, parchment paper, plastic wrap from trash bags or grocery bags etc.) Thanks so much for your time spent providing us with this great tutorial!! P. S. I just pushed your follow button. You just found yourself another fan!!!

  • Deb34620591 Deb34620591 on Sep 23, 2023

    Good luck trying to mow your lawn!!!

  • Billie Peach Billie Peach on Sep 24, 2023

    Jackson: do you have a tutorial for the leaves?

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  • Jackson Jackson on Sep 28, 2022

    @ Tam23726961 yes, I thought about that. But especially the buttons are losing a lot of charm then. Naturally it would be a lot easier.


  • Kay Cloninger Kirby Kay Cloninger Kirby on Sep 23, 2023

    Could you use plaster of Paris for the molds or in your opinion would they break easily I used it before in buckets for decorative trees and for pvc poles for curtains on my deck...but was wondering how strong they would be without the protection of the bbucket

    • Jackson Jackson on Sep 24, 2023

      You mean like ceramic molds ? I don´t know if the cement would stick to the plaster of paris. Or do you mean make the buttons from plaster of paris ?

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