Numbered Garden Stepping Stones

Introduction

Here’s a fun project: create numbered “stones” for your garden! There are plenty of possible uses: your house number; games (think bases!); an important person’s birthday or special event, or anything number-related. We chose “Hopscotch”. Making the numbered stones is easy and only takes a few hours, plus drying time.

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What You Need:

• 10 eight-inch pie tins to make 10 stepping stones
• Can of cooking spray
• 2 plastic drop cloths
• A bag of concrete mix
• A trowel for concrete and shovel
• Wheelbarrow or a large tub for mixing concrete
• House numbers, suggest 0-9
• Pencil
• Small glass beads or marbles
• Rubber gloves

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What To Do:

1. Protect your hands with the gloves, concrete is harmful to the skin. Be sure to protect your work area with a plastic drop cloth.
2. Think about how you would like to make your numbers. How free form or structural would you like to be? Use house numbers as a guide. Make an imprint of the house number and use it as your guide to set the stones. Use the eraser side of a pencil to draw the number as you wish it to appear.
3. Spray each pie tin thoroughly with cooking spray and place them on the plastic drop cloth.
4. Mix the concrete according to the instructions on the package.
5. Fill each of the pie tin molds full of concrete and smooth with your trowel. Be sure to remove any air bubbles from the tin, this will add to the strength of the stepping stones.
6. Arrange the beads or marbles before the concrete hardens. Having two people working together can make the job easier and more fun, although it is not necessary. One person can pour the concrete and smooth while the other prepares the beads or marbles and sets them. Remember, you do not need to make numbers, you can make pictures if you choose. Work until all the stones are completed.
7. Gently push the stones down to set them into the concrete. You can always glue them back in later if one tries to escape.
8. Cover your new stepping stones with the second drop cloth and allow to dry for 24 hours.
9. The next day remove the stepping stones from the molds and keep them in a dry place for 4-5 days to cure before setting them in their new homes in the garden.