Stepping Stones Made Without Molds

Making Your Form

• Sandcasting uses a form to contain the sand that you are going to use to shape your stones. An easy form can be constructed using a 6-foot length of 1-inch by 3-inch lumber. Cut the 1-inch by 3-inch lumber into four sections of 18 inches each. Construct your form with these 18-inch lengths, secured together into a square, using L-brackets. Your form should resemble a wooden cookie cutter, with 3-inch-high walls. Place this form on an outside hard surface, such as a patio or concrete slab. Fill the form with fine play sand, stopping an inch below the top of the form.

Designing Your Stone

• The sand inside your form is going to act as a stand-in for a mold. Soak the sand and pack it down, using a cement trowel. Press an existing stepping stone, or another item such as a large leaf, into the sand to create an impression. This is going to form the shape of your stepping stone. Mix a concrete mix, using slightly more water than the instructions call for so the consistency resembles apple sauce. Pour this mixture into the impression you have made in your form, being careful to pour slowly so as not to disturb the sand.

Finishing Touches

• For a stepping stone to sit level on your garden path or walkway, it has to have a flat bottom. After you have poured the cement mix into your form, wait an hour for the cement to begin to harden. After it has dried to where there is no visible water on the surface of the form, use a cement trowel to scrape flat the bottom of your stone. Wait for the cement to cure, and remove your new stepping stone from the form.

Additional Design Ideas

• You can use wooden letters, pressed into your sand mold before you pour in the cement, to create initials or words in the stone. Experiment with different colors and consistencies of cement and mortar mixes to create differently textured stones. Once you have one stone that is the shape you want, use it as your guide for making more. As with photocopies, designs will become less and less clear the more times they are removed from the original, so don't use a second-generation stepping stone as your guide.