Father’s Day Stepping Stone

By: Kim

My kids love making DIY Father’s Day gifts fro their Dad! This year, we made a Father’s Day Stepping Stone!

I was very intimidated to work with concrete. You have to get the mixture just right, and I figured I would have a goopy mess that was too wet to hold an imprint, or that it would harden up too quickly for the kids to finish decorating it. But, my kids were really excited about this project so we jumped in anyway, and I am glad we did!

Supplies for Making a Stepping Stone

First, we made the basic stepping stone. For this you will need a mold, concrete mix, water, oil or cooking spray, a bucket to mix the concrete in, and something to stir with. We started with a paint stirring stick but had to upgrade to a real spoon once the mixture stiffened. You might also want to add some colorant to the concrete for a unique touch.

You can use a disposable round aluminum pan for the mold but I found this stepping stone mold.

A basic quick setting concrete mix at your local hardware or home improvement store will also work, but this stepping stone mix is just the right amount to fill the mold. It even has the correct measurements for how much water to add to get just the right texture for that size mold!

Directions for Making a Stepping Stone

• Coat your mold with oil so that it will easily release the stepping stone once it has dried.
• Pour the concrete mix in the bucket. Our stepping stone six made 8 lbs. of concrete.
• Add water per directions.
• Mix to the consistency of sour cream.
• Mix in colorant (optional).
• Blend well, then pour into mold.
• Spread out concrete in mold to get a smooth surface.
• Decorate and personalize for Dad! You can use a stick to write words or decorate the stone with small glass tiles or marbles.

Making a Father’s Day Stepping Stone Is So Much Fun! 

The kids had plans for decorating their Fathers Day stepping stone before it dried. They started with each of them pressing their handprint into the wet concrete. Then, they wanted to write “Daddy Rocks” in rocks, so I added some dot letters to give them a guide for where to place the rocks. Then, they pulled out their collection of pebbles and went to work filling in the letters.

Wet concrete is so much more forgiving than I expected.  My 3 year old poked her finger deep into the wet concrete, and I didn’t even realize what she was doing until she had completely ruined two of the letters they had filled in, and she had gouged out a chunk of wet concrete.  But, it was easy to smooth the concrete back in place and fix the letters.

We added each child’s initial to their handprints and a date, and then waited for the concrete to dry and set.

It sat overnight, and then we popped it right out of the mold the next day. We’re pretty sure Daddy will love it!

More Father’s Day Crafts and Activities

Check out these other great Fathers Day gift ideas:

What DIY gifts are you making for the amazing Dad(s) in your life? Comment below! 

Source: https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/15014/fathers-day-stepping-stone/

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