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2.    Plan the area – With the appearance already set, you would now need to plan the area. You can make use of graphing paper to get a more scaled drawing. Keep in mind that adequate drainage would be needed, and make sure that the pavement slopes away from other structures.

3.    Gather you materials – By now, you may already have an idea on the number of pavers you will need. It would be best to purchase about 5-10% more than  the amount you were initially planning to use. Materials needed are safety goggles, kneepads, glovesconcrete paving stones, natural paving stones or interlocking paving stones, sand, gravel, plywood, plate compactor, landscape fabric, tape measure, string, rubber mallet, wood stakes, 48-inch level, small sledgehammer, pencil, framing square, brick hammer, pitching chisel, spade, and a broom.

4.    Mark the area – Make use of wooden stakes and strings for this. Mark the area at the sides of the slope of the pavement to allow you to stay within the premises, and to assist in working neatly.

5.    Excavate the area – When excavating, bear in mind the three layers that you will have to install. First is the foundation. This is usually made of crushed stones and will take up about 4-6” if the pavement is to be used for walking, and 12” if it is for driveway paving. The second layer is composed of sand. This is what holds the pavers in place. This will take up around 1-1.5”. The third layer is the stone paving slabs. You would want them to be higher than the ground, so water will not puddle on them.

When excavating, go 6-12” beyond the boundary. This is to provide you room for the installment of edge restraints.

6.    Install the three layers – First, make sure to compact the base with a plate compactor every time you lay 2” of the rocks. This ensures that the base is well compacted. Second, establish the edge restraints. This is to keep the shape of the pavement. Edge restraints are usually made of aluminum, steel or plastic. Third, apply the sand. Make sure to screed the sand to have a smooth and even layer. Finally, you can now install the pavers. Leave a 1/16” to 1/18” gap between the stone paving slabs.

7.    Compacting and sealing the pavers – Use the plate compactor to secure the paver stones into place.  Once this is done, sweep sand into the gaps. Sand acts to lock the pavers in place. Make sure the sand is dry when you do this. Finally, seal the pavers with sealing product.

Now that you have these steps in mind, you may now start your own paving stone installation. Now you can say you have made your own driveway paving stones, garden paving stones, or patio paving stones!

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1.    Foot and Hand Prints – Creating stepping stones for the garden is a fantastic way to spend the afternoon with the kids. Featuring their foot or hand prints (and yours), on a stepping stone will add emotional value to the pathway that leads to home.

2.    Paint – Let out the inner painter in you and paint your garden stepping stones in bright vivid colors. For a better outdoor feel, you can decide on a motif, and work on that. For example, if you decide on the theme “insects”, you can paint one stone as a ladybug, the next as a grasshopper and so on. It does not have to be complicated, keeping it simple will make it just as adorable. A type of paint you may use is patio paint, a weather-resistant acrylic paint, ideal for outdoor decorating.

3.    Leaves – If you are opting for a more elegant and classy feel, you can use leaves as a pattern for your decorative garden stepping stones. You do not need a mold, just turn the leaf upside down, spoon the concrete mixture onto the leaf, place chicken wire for added stability, then add more concrete. Once you have done this, leave it to dry then turn the leaf upside down and peel the it off. Great leaves to use are rhubarb and hosta leaves.

4.    Smooth pebbles and shiny glass stones – One of the simplest ways to decorate your garden stepping stone is to strategically position smooth pebbles and shiny glass stones on top. You can have a pattern for uniformity, or you can simply express your creative side and go wild with it. When applying the stones, make sure you do not press them too deep into the mixture that they will not show. Be careful not to overcrowd them. Bear in mind that your decorative garden stepping stones are still meant to be walked on, so do not forget your feet’s comfort.

5.    Colored tiles and glass – Application is the same as that of pebbles and stones. If you are skilled with working with tiles, you can create your own mosaic garden stepping stones. There is no limit to the designs that you can make. Some ideas would be sunsets, flowers, fruits, and shapes. If this may prove to be too difficult for you, you can purchase a kit with stained glass mosaic pieces and other tools. A butterfly stepping stone proves to be a beautiful and timeless design.

6.    Common household objects – Reuse and recycle! Who knew common household objects could enhance the steps leading to home. You can add things such as coins, (coins from different countries would be great if you have them), old keys, dog tags, and other things you can find at home. Just make sure that these articles are durable and will last a long time under wear and tear.

7.    Photographs – Oh yes, photographs can be integrated into your garden stepping stones. Just seal the photographs in between two pieces of clear glass and set them into the stone. Now these are certainly personalized garden stepping stones!

Now that you have all these ideas, you can mix and match them to suit your own style and preference for your landscaping. Make sure to include the kids with this activity, and this will certainly be something the family will never forget.

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• Natural paver stones – Natural stone pavers are naturally occurring rocks that are obtained from quarries or rock outcrops. It is rather more expensive than brick and concrete pavers. However, natural stone paving is still the most common way of paving due to its sheer beauty and aesthetic quality.
  
  Advantages of using natural stone pavers are the fact that they are extremely durable, weather resistant, and may quite frankly, outlast all of us. It can also hold an enormous amount of weight. With natural stone pavers, you may even choose to have what they call as “crazy paving”, wherein the stones are laid while retaining their natural shape. The irregular shapes of natural stones will be keen to use as garden paving stones.

• Concrete paver stones– Concrete paving stones, in contrast to natural paving stones, are manufactured. This being the case, concrete stone pavers offer a wide variety of colors, style, textures, patterns and shapes. With such a wide assortment of choice, getting that perfect combination to use as driveway paving stones will certainly be made a lot easier.
  
  An advantage of using concrete paving stones is the relatively low cost.  Size and color are mainly consistent, making paving stone installation fairly easy. Chips and breakage in stones can be easily replaced thus aiding in maintenance.
• Brick paver stones – There are two types of brick stone pavers. One is made from clay materials, while the other is made from concrete and its aggregates. Many homeowners prefer the use of clay bricks as it produces natural shades of red, brown, and orange tones giving the home a more cozy feel… Beautiful to use as patio paving stones.
  
  Advantages of brick pavers are its durability and strength, easy installation, low cost and maintenance and environmental responsibility. However, bricks can be subjected to discoloration and dullness as time passes. If this occurs, you may wash them with soap and water, which can bring back its vibrant colors.
• Interlocking paver stones – Interlocking paving stones are by far the easiest to install since they do not require mortar. They basically install themselves already. By definition, interlocking paving stones are manufactured in such a way that each stone prevents the other from moving.
  
  Interlocking pavers have a wide range of geometrical designs to choose from. They are also easy to repair, have a low incidence of cracking as compared to bricks and concrete, durable, and environmentally friendly.

With these types of paving stones in mind, you may now start planning your stone paving. Visualize ahead how you would want your patio or driveway to look like, what the pavement will be used for (will it be for people to walk on or will it be used for cars?), and your budget. Having all these in mind will aid you in choosing the type of paving stones you will be using, thus eliminating long hours of going over catalogs.

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Here are the nine easy steps on how to make your own garden stepping stones:

1.    Mark the path of the stepping stones.  First things first. Plan out the path of the garden stones. Estimate how many stones you will need, and their size. You don’t want to have made your garden stones already, only to realize that they don’t fit the design that you want. Planning out will also give you an idea on how much supplies you will need.

2.    Gather your supplies.The supplies are mainly basic. Most can be bought in crafts and hardware stores. You can even use old household supplies for molds, such as cooking pans and plastic plant containers. The supplies that you will be needing are:

• mold
• petroleum jelly or cooking spray
• concrete
• water
• wheelbarrow, tub or any container for mixing
• decorative items such as mosaic glass, paint, shiny stones
• shovel

3.    Prepare yourself and your workspace. Make sure to wear gloves and comfortable clothes. Long sleeved work jackets would be ideal so as to protect your skin from coming into contact with the concrete. Lay out newspapers in your work area for an easy clean-up afterwards.

4.    Prepare the molds. Lay out your molds on your workspace. Liberally apply petroleum jelly or cooking spray on the molds so as to prevent the concrete from sticking on to the mold once it has dried.

5.    Prepare the concrete mixture.Now you are ready to mix the concrete with water. Follow the instructions written on the bag of concrete as to how much water you are supposed to mix it with. Remember that the texture is similar to that of cookie batter. It should be thick enough that it needs to be spooned, not poured. If the mixture is too dry, simply add more water. If it is too wet, add more concrete.

6.    Place the concrete inside the mold.Spoon the mixture into the mold. Tap the sides of the mold to make air bubbles rise to the top and to even out the texture. Leave it for 45 minutes before decorating.

7.    Decorate the stones.Now here comes the fun part! Make your own personalized garden stepping stones by adding your own artistic touch. You may use decorative stones, seashells, or tile pieces to create mosaic garden stepping stones.

8.    Leave it to dry.Leave the stepping stones for the garden to dry for about 2-3 days before removing it completely from the mold. Cracking may result if you remove it too early.

9.    Remove the stones from the mold. When you are ready to remove the stones from the mold, tap the bottom and the sides of the mold gently. Eventually the stones will peep out, allowing you to remove them completely. Leave it for another week or so for more durability.

Now you have your decorative garden stepping stones ready! The new addition to the outdoor landscaping of your garden will surely be the envy of the neighborhood. So get your materials ready and get started now.

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Firstly you can cover up space which is looking empty due to reasons like grass not doing well etc. You can distract the attention towards the garden stepping stones by placing each garden stepping stone all along the grass to form a path or in the form of a design.

Secondly they can be used as a walk-way which is very useful especially during rainy times to avoid grass or mud making your feet dirty and soaked, making it problematic to walk with such feet into the house. You can use various colors of stones or a single bold one.

If you want your garden to be personalized which stands out and looks attractive you could always go for garden stepping stones. Stepping stones for garden also reflect your choices and thereby your mindset and nature. These augment the beauty of the whole home and surroundings.

You can also place a garden stepping stone in a pool, one after the other to form a step – stone bridge. This also enhances the beauty of the garden by many times.

Mosaic garden stepping stones are always an excellent choice. Many times you can make your own garden stepping stone and mosaic ones are the easiest. You can choose any shape in the mosaic and show your imagination and creativity. You can use various colors for the pieces in the mosaic stone or use a single color or even a combination of two or more colors which ever you are interested in. These stepping stones would also suit any kind of plants around them and are an amazing choice to ornate your garden.

You could also improve your garden by placing decorative garden stepping stones on walls of the pool in the garden or on to a tree trunk in the garden. Decorative garden stepping stones are much costlier and have intricately designed surfaces which are highly attractive and mesmerizing. They form good water resistant outdoor decorative articles.

You could also use personalized garden stepping stones to decorate your garden just like you can with your decorative ones. You can just get your name or your organization name carved in it or you can get any other letter or word carved in it. You could also get the letters or words or logos of your company or the symbol you like the most embossed on it. These obviously would reflect your thoughts and style very clearly to the visitors of your garden.

As you could notice you can always use garden stepping stones to improve your garden in numerous ways and only your imagination is the limit.

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