I made stones for myself and my mother last year. We had leftover slate tiles from a bathroom project so I broke those up and used the tiles to decorate the stones. I used various things as "molds" because I wanted a variety of shapes and sizes. One of the things that worked the best for me was the plastic liners placed under planters to catch excess water. I would first break up and lay out my pieces of slate for finished top. I would then take some leftover wire mesh (chicken wire would probably work just as well) and cut to approximate size to use as rebar. I then mixed up portland cement and filled the bottom half of the stone, then place wire mesh in center and continue to fill to top of stone with cement. I then decorated the top with my slate pieces and let dry for a few days.

I would take a picture, but still under 2 feet of snow. Anyways, I like them and think with same basic process you could make an infinte variety of stones to fit your style. Have fun.

Our gardening club has made them using huge rhubarb leaves as "molds". And you definitely need the rebar - maybe more than one layer of it. I found mine broke apart after awhile anyway.

Well that sounds pretty cool and not really too complicated.

Montana Rose - Are the plastic "molds" easily removed so they could be reused, or do you have to break them to remove them from the stepping stone? That would determine what type of mold item I may try to use.

Marcia - The leaf molds sound awesome. The pattern would be so unique. I assume you put them into a container to keep the cement from going further than the leaf?

Nope - just pour a pile of cement on the leaf and spread it out to the edges. We put a bit on, added the rebar, and then another pile of cement. When you use other molds, such as the clear plastic plant saucers that you can get for cheap, line them with plastic wrap and the stone should come out easily without breaking the mold.

Thank you. That sounds easy enough.

I'm starting to feel like I'm running out of time already. I have so many projects I'd like to do this year, that I think I'll need some extra unpaid labour. DH will be so glad =:)

I've made the rhubarb things but made them into low planters by putting the leaf upside down on a pile of sand or soil and then putting cement on top of that. The size of the pile will be the inside size of the planter. I shaped the centre of the top of the cement to be a base for it to sit on.

They aren't pretty; but, I just bought ~20 rectangular plastic covered weights. One of the possible uses is as paving stones. At $0.25 each, I couldn't resist.

We made a bunch of rhubarb leaf stepping stones about 6-7 years ago which worked out well. We reinforced them with wire grid, leave them out year-round, and they are still intact despite the cold winters. Need to make sure they are on an even base of sand when putting them down in the garden. Also I expect the concrete mix must be correct for them to be durable.

We also made hypertufa plant pots using various containers as molds and the important thing is to make sure the concrete doesn't bond to the container. We used plastic bags but with stepping stones you could use grease instead.

Here is a link that might be useful: rhubarb leaf stepping stone

Thanks everyone.

We have old tiles, rhubarb, nicely shaped plastic containers, and I'm keeping my eye out for anything else I can use.

We even have a friend who could maybe bring me premixed concrete if I'm ready to go when he's got a bit left =:)