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Home » Kid Crafts » DIY Concrete Stepping Stones

DIY Concrete Stepping Stones

April 25, 2022 By Jamie Dorobek 26 Comments

My best and most crafty friend, Annie, made these super cute DIY concrete stepping stones as a Mother’s Day Gifts with her preschool students back in 2010. I loved the idea so much, I decided it was time to update the concrete stepping stones tutorial.
How-to-make-concrete-stepping-stones-with-kids-1
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. This means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more!

DIY Stepping Stone Supplies

  • 5 gallon bucket (or wheelbarrow)
  • Shovel (or something to stir concrete)
  • Quick dry concrete
  • Chicken wire
  • Wire cutters
  • Trowel
  • Tin foil pie pans
  • Embellishments (Rocks, shells, marbles)
  • Tarp (to contain the mess)
  • Non stick cooking spray
  • Small hand shovel
 DIY stepping stones made by kids

How to Make Stepping Stones

Concrete stepping stones make the perfect DIY gift for parents and grand parents. They are sentimental and useful which is the perfect combination for a kid craft!

Step 1 – Prep the area

This is absolutely an outside project, and I recommend setting up near a water hose. I did not use a tarp, but if you want easy clean up, consider laying down a tarp. Also, make sure you have all of your supplies and embellishments within an arms reach.  Talk to the kids about their designs and let them pick out exactly what they want to use.

Step 2 – Cut the chicken wire

Use the wire cutters to cut the chicken wire into small enough shapes that will fit inside of the pie tin. You want to have the chicken wire ready to use when it’s time to pour the concrete into the molds.

Step 3 – Mix the concrete

I used a 5 gallon bucket, but if I did it again I would likely use a wheelbarrow to mix the concrete in. Mixing the concrete in the 5 gallon bucket was doable, but tricky. The more surface area you have to mix in, the easier it is to mix the concrete powder and water. The concrete should resemble thick cake batter. It is also fair to note that we mixed up about 1/2 of the bag and half of the bag made 8 stepping stones.

How to make concrete stepping stones with kids

Step 4 – Spray the pie tins

Use non stick cooking spray to coat the pie tins in before you pour the concrete. This makes getting the DIY stepping stones out easy as pie!

Step 5 – Pour the concrete

Use a small garden shovel to scoop one large scoop of concrete into a pie tin. Then, place a peice of pre cut chicken wire on the concrete and scoop a few more scoops of concrete on top of the chicken wire.

How to make concrete stepping stones

Step 6 – Level the stepping stones

Use the trowel to level the stepping stones. I’m not going to lie, I skipped this step, and they turned out fine, but if you want a more even look I recommend using a trowel on the stop of each stone.

Step 7 – Embellish with stones

This is the fun part! My kids loved decorating their stepping stones. Below is a list of items that would be fun to decorate with, but don’t forget about using your finger to write names, dates, or draw! You can also do handprint stepping stones or foot prints. Another fun idea is to use leaves or shells to make fossils. Here is a list of embellishments for your stepping stones:
  • Shells (We used these!)
  • Rocks
  • Marbles
  • Vase filler gems
  • Tiles (Next time, I will buy these!)
  • Broken pottery
  • Small plastic toys
  • Dice
  • Coins
  • Leaf prints
  • Concrete letter stamps (These look like fun!)
how to make stepping stones
 If you plan to write or do handprints in the concrete, let the concrete set for 30 minutes.
How to make stepping stones with kids

Step 8 – Wait

Let the concrete dry in the molds for at least 48 hours. The stepping stones will come out of the pie tins pretty easily, but give them at least a week to completely set before stepping one them.

Step 9 –  Clean up

Clean up is easy as long as the concrete is still wet. I rinsed off of all of the tools and the bucket with the water hose while the kids were decorating the stones. If you let the concrete dry on your tools, it will be much harder to get the concrete off.

concrete stepping stones

Frequently asked questions about DIY stepping stones

1. Will the marbles pop out?

Maybe! If you don’t set the marbles in the concrete far enough they will pop out. If this happens, just use a little super glue to stick the marble back in its spot after everything is dry.

2. What if I add too much water to the concrete?

If you notice the water pooling around the edge of your stepping stone, pick up the stepping stone and pour as much access water off of the top as possible. You can also gently apply a paper towel to the top of the stone to let it soak up excess water.

3. What if I want bigger stepping stones?

In this tutorial, they line a large pizza box with a garbage bag to make large square stepping stones. I haven’t personally tried it, but seems totally doable!

How to make stepping stones

For more DIY stepping stone pictures, Annie made these stones with an entire preschool class. Here is another tutorial (in Swedish) about making stepping stones with an imprint from a giant leaf! Have you ever made concrete stepping stones with kids? I’d love to hear…

If you like this garden craft, don’t miss:

  • 36 PVC Pipe projects
  • DIY Giant outdoor chalkboard
  • DIY Cinder block bench

Filed Under: Garden Crafts, Kid Crafts, Spring Crafts

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Comments

  1. Jasmine says

    August 19, 2021 at 12:31 pm

    So, my girls and I made some of these this morning and I can’t wait to see how they turn out!
    I just checked in them and noticed that they have attracted a bunch of ants because of the cooking spray. Glad they are outside in the carport!
    Perhaps I’ll use Vaseline next time…

    Reply
  2. jassica says

    July 27, 2021 at 5:15 am

    This is totally the coolest most personalized idea ever! I’m going to do this. I never thought to make my own stepping stones and have been frustrated that the ones you buy are so ugly. GIDDY with anticipation!

    Reply
  3. Ethel Lawson says

    July 7, 2021 at 1:29 pm

    Thanks for the tips, bought a 12kg bag of remix mortar and marine varnish for the top when dry and have chicken wire over from projects in my garden and broken porcelain. Good idea to get the grandchildren to put their foot or hand print in them.

    Reply
  4. Linda Whitman says

    August 9, 2016 at 7:25 pm

    Love this .Thanks I will be doing a neighborhood kid concrete party for the end of summer. I am inviting the kids to come make their stone and the parents to come and get to know each other. it is all about community and safe places for kids. Blessings GrammaW

    Reply
  5. Jeanne says

    May 2, 2016 at 4:26 pm

    You will need help carrying the cement and you need to get mortar mix. I did these projects with the concrete mix they sold me at Lowes’ and it is full of rocks. The kids couldn’t even make a dent with their hands and the stones just sat on top and promptly fell off. Forget even trying to write anyone’s name. I was very disappointed and out money too. My son looked at the pics here and then realized it is mortar mix, make sure you buy the right product.

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      May 13, 2018 at 10:16 am

      We had the same problem and we now I don’t have have mother’s day gifts for the grandmas! I’m so bummed!!!

      Reply
  6. Jen A says

    May 7, 2015 at 12:32 pm

    Should these be brought in for the winter, if you get a lot of snow and below freezing temps?

    Reply
  7. Kimberly says

    March 9, 2015 at 3:27 pm

    I’m loving this! You always bring such amazing things to our party. Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see you tonight at 7 at our party. I can’t wait! Lou Lou Girls

    Reply
  8. Cathy says

    March 8, 2015 at 12:20 pm

    Such a cute and simple craft for Spring – love it. Thank you for sharing at Share It One More Time. Cathy

    Reply
  9. Tabitha Blue says

    March 7, 2015 at 7:13 pm

    What a great idea… especially with spring on the way!! I’d love to do this with the kids 🙂 Thanks for linking up with the #DreamCreateInspire blog hop!

    Reply
  10. Rose 's DIY Crafts at FineCraftGuild says

    March 7, 2015 at 5:51 pm

    Jamie, these are really fun. The blue peace symbol is my favorite! Lovely and personal way to decorate the garden.

    Reply
  11. Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life says

    March 6, 2015 at 1:16 pm

    We used to make these all the time when the kids were little! Such a fun project! We still have all of them even though everyone is teenagers now and they are fun to look at in the garden. Thanks for sharing them with us at #FoodieFriDIY!

    Reply
  12. Liisi says

    March 5, 2015 at 2:29 am

    Amazing idea! Your stepping stones look so lovely 🙂

    Reply
  13. Anna says

    March 3, 2015 at 12:49 pm

    This is such a good idea! I’m going to try it with my boys.

    Reply
  14. jenny says

    June 11, 2014 at 12:10 pm

    I am just finding this, and wanted to know how long they hold up. Specifically the marble/glass that is set in. It looks like they would pop out.

    Reply
  15. Olga says

    June 11, 2014 at 1:25 am

    Hi! Looks like a great and easy idea. I would like to make these for hubby for Father’s day gifts. Do you think it would “hold” hand/footprint shapes, or do you have to use something sharp to make it stay? Thank you again!

    Reply
    • Jamie Dorobek says

      June 11, 2014 at 9:10 am

      I think you could definitely do hand foot print shapes!

      Reply
  16. Betty819 says

    May 24, 2014 at 9:25 pm

    There are several tuitorials that I have pinned on how to make stepping stones from pie tins..but they all looked like the crafter used some nice pie pans..I would have never thought about using a disposable foil one. Can buy them at a Dollar Store cheap and when finished put them in recycle bin for pick-up.. My biggest challenge would be to get the bag of Quikcrete out of my trunk after I got home with it. But I’d sure like to try making one like this. I saw where some crafters sprayed their mold with Pam cooking spray or one crafter used WD-40 spray. It helps to release the mold when it has set up completely. Thanks for your tuitorial.

    Reply
  17. Pavers Las vegas says

    August 3, 2012 at 2:50 am

    what a great idea! it’s so cute. i love it!
    http://www.artificialgrasslasvegasnevada.com/

    Reply
  18. Funky Junk Interiors says

    July 4, 2010 at 1:34 pm

    This is totally the coolest most personalized idea ever! I'm going to do this. I never thought to make my own stepping stones and have been frustrated that the ones you buy are so ugly. GIDDY with anticipation!

    Donna

    Reply
  19. Rory from Tools Are For Women Too! says

    May 25, 2010 at 1:21 pm

    Love the chicken wire tip! Thanks for helping to make this the most successful Modern Craftswoman Monday so far! Rory

    Reply
  20. jenjen says

    May 5, 2010 at 11:59 pm

    So cute! I love that!

    XOXO
    Jen

    Reply
  21. Kaysi says

    May 3, 2010 at 10:03 pm

    What a great idea!! Those are so fun

    Reply
  22. Fawnda says

    April 30, 2010 at 2:16 pm

    Fun idea! What a cute story about you and your friend! 🙂

    Reply
  23. Stacey @ Fun to Craft says

    April 28, 2010 at 10:44 am

    That is such a great idea. I love it! Thanks for sharing at 'Look at me, I'm SO Crafty!' at Fun to Craft.

    Reply
  24. Stephanie Lynn says

    April 27, 2010 at 10:02 am

    What a fabulous idea! I would love to try this with my little guy! Thanks so much for sharing at the Sunday Showcase Party! I greatly appreciate it! Hope you have a great week! ~ Stephanie Lynn

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Jamie!
I Create Really Awesome Free Things for your home, wardrobe, kitchen, and kids in Austin, TX with the sometimes help of Andy!
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