Paving Stone Crafts

Festive Patio Stones

• Turn a patio stone into a holiday decoration with this craft idea from Disney Family Fun. Use acrylic paint to cover a keyhole-shaped paver (the kind that looks like an octagon with a square attached to the side). If you want to use this patio paver outside, Disney Family Fun recommends using an all-weather paint instead of acrylic paint. Use black paint to give your snowman some buttons and facial features, then a scarf out of scrap material, such as an old sweater. You can wrap the ends of a pipe cleaner around large craft pompoms to make earmuffs for your snowman, then use super glue to attach the earmuffs to the paver.

Paver Candles

• This project from Craftbits.com is a simple way to add some light to your outdoor patio area. For this project, use a concrete paver that has openings in some type of design. You'll usually find ones that have some type of geometric shapes in them, which will give you a few different spots to add candle wax. Cut enough candle wicks so that you have one for each section of your paver, then you'll need to melt some paraffin wax (found at craft stores) using a double boiler. You will then dip each candle wick into the melted paraffin and stick it in the section of the paver where you'll make a candle. Wait until the paraffin hardens enough to hold the wick in place, then pour some of the melted paraffin in each section until the paraffin is about 1/4-inch down from the top of the paver. Repeat this for each section where you want to make a candle, then let the wax harden before lighting the candle.

Make Your Own Paver

• Sometimes, coming up with the "perfect" paver to decorate your garden area is challenging, especially if you have an idea of what you want but can't seem to find it. Making your own patio paver is easy to do, and you'll get just the paver you want with this craft project from Factory Direct Craft. You'll need to pour some quick-setting concrete into a mold, such as a disposable, round cake pan, a disposable, square baking dish or even a disposable, 13- by 9-inch baking dish. You'll also need to cut a screen about an inch shorter than your mold on all sides. Fill the mold about halfway with the concrete mixture, then lay the screen on top. Top this off with enough concrete to finish filling the mold, then let it set for about half an hour. You can then add craft stones, crystals or any other items that may have meaning to you. Factory Direct Craft suggests that you avoid using sharp objects if people will walk on your paver. After about two days, you can remove your paver from its mold, and after another four days, lay it in your garden area.