DiY: Leaf-look stepping stones
The journey is the destination . While this often unhelpful saying is actually true with this DIY project, it will be right there in front of you: your path. Paved with homemade concrete stepping stones in the shape of a leaf. Let's go!
This is what you need:
- cardboard
- Large leaves
- rapeseed oil
- plastic gloves
- Concrete or screed
- White facade paint
Tools required:
- Paint brush
- Bucket or mason's tub
- trowel
And this is how it works:
Step 1: Preparation
One thing is relatively certain: you won't be able to get the concrete to land only on the leaves, no matter how hard you try ;-) Believe us, we've tested it.
Therefore, it's best to cover the floor of your work surface with cardboard. Then place the leaves on the cardboard, underside up. It's important that the grained side of the leaf faces up. Now brush the leaf with oil. This will make it easier to remove from the concrete later. 
A little tip for you: Rhubarb leaves are ideal, but you can also use any other large leaves, such as those from the bluebell tree, hosta, or chestnut. The leaves should have as pronounced a grain as possible and be free of holes.
Step 2: Concreting
Now it's time to put on gloves and mix the concrete. Whether you mix it yourself or use ready-mixed cement, make sure the mixture isn't too runny. Once you're happy with the consistency, grab the trowel and apply the concrete to the leaf, about 4 centimeters thick. The concrete shouldn't extend beyond the edge of the leaf, so it's best to leave a 1-centimeter border. If you can get the base as smooth as possible, all the better; if not, no problem. You can smooth it out with sand when you later place the stepping stones in your garden. Now it's time to let it dry.
Tip: Whether you use screed or concrete is entirely up to you. In any case, it's important that you don't dry the stepping stones in direct sunlight, as this could cause them to crack. We also recommend watering the mixture periodically while it dries. It sounds counterproductive, but it actually makes the stones even harder.Step 3: Tada, already done
Once the concrete has thoroughly dried, you can turn the stones over and remove the leaf from the concrete. Sometimes you have to poke around a bit to get all the leaf residue out of the concrete. Optionally, you can give the stones a "used look." To do this, take a paintbrush and apply a small amount of white exterior paint to the leaf. Done! Now you can use the stones in your garden.
Is DIY your world?
For you, old no longer means useless, broken no longer means unusable, and junk no longer means general waste? Great, then we've achieved our goal. In the future, you'll look at the world with different eyes and see potential where others see bulky waste.
You can find more ideas for great DIY projects in our book " Your Creative Garden ." Thanks to step-by-step instructions and helpful pictures, many of our DIY ideas can be recreated with children. The internet also has a lot to offer. So if you want to get active, the following websites are a good place to start:
We hope, of course, that you stay true to the DIY theme and wish you lots of fun and success with your next construction projects!
