For Mother’s Day I whipped together some stepping stones and the results were pretty spectacular, except my stones are not designed for bare feet as you will see. Broken pottery shards are not kind to the bottoms of your feet, but they sure look good! This would be a fun craft or kids’ activity for a Memorial Day get together.

1. Round up your supplies. One bag of Quik Crete per stone.

2. For the molds, I used clear plastic deli trays, and foil pans. But you could even use a cardboard or pizza box. You’ll need to round up a bucket, hose, and mixing utensil. Raid your stockpile of junk jewelry,  broken glass or dishes, and beads to embellish your stone. Lay out your supplies, because once you start the concrete mix, you’ll have to work quickly.

3. Add water to concrete and start to mix until consistency of pudding. Depending on the depth of your mold, pour the concrete in almost to the top. Spread to level.

The first couple of batches, I poured too thin.

4. Start decorating, gently seating your adornments in the mix. Don’t worry if they sink a bit or are submerged in a little water. The stones will need 2-3 days to cure. Let them sit undisturbed and the stone should just pop out of the mold. Clean it off and blaze a trail.

Maybe you are not into crafting and want something more traditional and immediate?

After the death of my mother-in-law I started experimenting with making garden stones. They are fun and easy and a great garden expression or gift.

Early experiments yielded thin stones that cracked later. But after we got the hang of it, we produced some masterpieces! I was able to collect a lot of Peggy’s costume jewelry and set pieces into the concrete for some stunning stepping stones for family members.

Small bags of Qwik-Crete cement, a plastic lined pizza box or deli trays to use for forms, and a stash of shells, glass beads or other embellishments and you’ve got a garden keepsake! Recipe and simple instructions here.