Concrete Leaf Stepping Stones

Hey, hey, how was your holiday weekend? I know. It’s Tuesday. I just had to have a day to recoup from our big Fourth of July party this year so I cleaned the house and took a break from blogging yesterday. I’m here today, though, to show you how easy it is to make these concrete leaf stepping stones. I was inspired by ones I found on Pinterest and featured in my roundup of DIY Concrete Projects. Although I couldn’t find step by step directions, I figured it wouldn’t be too hard, so I gave it go, and now I know…there’s no need for step-by-step directions. It’s so easy! My whole family got in on this project one rainy Sunday in the garage and it was a lot of fun.

Concrete Leaf Stepping Stones
Nap Rating = 1 nap (not including cure time)

Tools and Materials

Large leaves (ours were about the size of dinner plates)
2-3 bags of Quikcrete (we used 3 bags to make 7 stones)
5 gallon bucket
Paint stirrer
Large pieces of cardboard
Trowel or handheld garden spade

Steps

Pick as many leaves as you want stones and lay them vein side up on large pieces of cardboard.
Mix the concrete mix with water in the 5 gallon bucket using the paint stirrer until you get a thick consistency that won’t run all over. I’d liken the thickness of our mix to somewhere between cookie dough and a cake batter. Pourable, but not runny.
Scoop the mix using a hand spade onto each leaf, trying to stay within the perimeter of the leaf so it has the right shape. Be generous. You want this to be about an 1 1/2″ to 2″ thick on each leaf, or else your stones will crack. Use the back of your tool of choice to smooth the concrete mix out so it will be flat on the bottom.
Let the concrete cure, then flip the stones and peel off the leaves.

So, like I said, not my original idea, but I had to share how truly easy this Pinterest project was! I hope you’re inspired to make something out of concrete now. Until next time…