MOSAIC STEPPING STONES

Mosaic Stepping Stones image

My sweet friend Pam invited me to a "Stepping Stone" class at Myrddin Winery (a local winery in Ohio) and this is the results. We had so much fun making our stones that I thought I would share with you all. It was a great night out with my girlfriends. None of us had made a stepping stone before so it was a new experience for all. We went on a Wednesday evening for several hours and then back the following week to finish up with the grouting. It is a fun project to do with girlfriends or would be fun with the family too. I would love to see your "Stepping Stone".

Provided by Kimberly Biegacki @pistachyoo

Number Of Ingredients 18

Ingredients

1ST CLASS
1 large cement stone (home depot, lowe's)
1 - broken dishes, cups, saucers, pebbles, stones, shells, beads, keys, flat marbles, gems, small mosaic tiles, beach glass, stained glass, other materials & etc.
1 gallon type 1 mastic ---tile adhesive
1 bunch(es) craft sticks or platic knives
GOOD EATS & DRINKS
- wine, sangria and/or sodas, fruits, cheeses & crackers
2 CLASS
- plastic gloves
- sponges
- craft sticks or plastic knives
- grout (can make or buy colored grout)
- water for mixing grout
- newspaper
FOR SEALING STONE
1 bottle(s) mosaic grout sealer
1 medium sponge brush
- newspaper

Steps:

1. FOR A FUN EVENING: Serve up some wine, sangria or refreshing iced tea, sliced fruits, assortment of cheese & crackers.
2. MAKING YOUR STEPPING STONE: Start with a cement stone as your base. 9-9-13 --We bought our stones at Lowe's for a little over a dollar each. I think they were $1.12 each.
3. Pick out the broken pieces of pottery, glass or whatever you decide to use and arrange them on your stone.
4. Or you can draw a design if you would like.
5. Since this was my first stone I just made a mosaic of different textures and colors. I placed all my pieces on my stone and then glued them down.
6. Start gluing each piece down separately with tile adhesive. Try not to have the pieces touching each other so that when you put the grout on it can go down between each piece.
7. 9/19/13----We bought this tile adhesive at Lowe's and it is called Type 1 Mastic. It was $11 dollars for a gallon.
8. Mix water with grout a little at a time till it gets to the right consistency. You don't want it to thin or it will not set up well.
9. Lay down your newspaper to cover the table you are working on. Then, start spreading the grout into all the nooks and crannies. Make sure you to fill up on the sides of stone as well by making it even all around. Do your best to not have any jagged edges from the stones or glass.
10. Once grout is set, use a sponge, old toothbrush, cloth or paper towel and clean the grout off the stones, marbles and/or glass. Use a firm hand, but don't dig, or the grout between pieces will come out. The grout won't stick to glass or glazed pottery.
11. The next day I did a little more cleaning of the top of my stepping stone and then found a place to put it outside. I am thinking about putting a sealer on top of it too.
12. 8-23-13--Finally got our 4 stepping stones covered with a mosaic grout sealer. This is 2 of my finished stones, my 9 yr old nephew Noah's stone and my mother Jeanie's stone.
13. I wanted to add a link for Myrddin Winery as it is such a lovely place and has good wine too. Just in case anyone wanted to order some Ohio made wine. The photo here is of the patio overlooking Lake Milton. It is a beautiful little hideaway spot to enjoy delicious wine, good eats and stunning scenery of Ohio. http://www.myrddinwine.com/Myrddin_Winery/Home.html