Stepping Stones

This was a fun craft to make with the kids.  You really need children at least 3 years old to really understand what to do.  

You will need:

• Square or Round Cake Pan (Dollar Tree Sells Them)
• Vaseline
• Contact paper
• Old plates or saucers that you don’t need 
• Glass gems
• stones
• concrete
• clear outdoor spray paint
• chicken wire or other type of wire mesh
• safety glasses
• rubber gloves
• dust mask
• hammer
• bucket
• trowel
• water

Before the kids come around you want to break up the plates using the hammer so that they are already in pieces the kids can handle.  You can use a pliers to remove any really sharp points.  

Cut the contact paper so that it fits in the bottom of your cake pan.  

Rub the entire inside of your cake pan with vaseline.  Then remove the backing from the contact paper and place it into the cake pan sticky side up.  

Have the kids use the gems, stones, and broken plates to create a design of their choice.  Make sure they press it into the contact paper well.  

Mix the concrete as instructed by package.  This stuff is super cheap at your local hardware store.  You will need a bucket, trowel, and water for this step.  You will likely also want gloves and a dust mask.  

Spread a small amount of concrete into the cake pan so that the design is covered.  

Cut a small piece of chicken wire so that it will fit flat on top of the concrete you just poured.  

Gently tap the pan to the ground to ensure that the concrete works itself into all of the groves.  Use the trowel to spread it into the pan.  

Fill the cake pan the rest of the way to the top with concrete and tap again to make sure the pan is filled.  

At this point you can use your finger or a stick to write names or years into what will be the bottom of the stepping stone.  

Leave these in a dry location and in a few days they should be dry enough to remove from the pan.  Once all the way hardened wash them off with clean water and let them dry.  Then you can coat them with several layers of outdoor clear spray paint to help with longevity.