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Articles, How-To's and Interviews -
DIY and How-To's
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Written by Jennifer Thompson
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Materials:
Cement stepping stone
Colored and/or patterned plates
Dry mortar, about 2 cups
Dry exterior grade grout, about 2 cups
Waterproofing sealant
Latex gloves
Hammer
Tile cutters
Containers for mixing mortar and grout
 You
can find all sorts of great plates at thrift stores and garage sales.
Keep an eye out for colorful plates and interesting patterns. Pastels
and plates with a lot of white in them donĚt look as good as bright
colors and strong patterns, but of course itĚs all a matter of
personal taste. Break up the plates into small pieces by laying them
on the floor, covering them with a towel, and hitting them with the
hammer hard enough to break
them without shattering them into teeny pieces. You can use the tiles
cutters later to cut pieces into desired sizes, if necessary. If you
have plates with a nice center motif, you might try to break off the
edges and then break up the motif into 6-8 larger pieces, for the center
of a tile. Also, if you have plates with nice borders, they make for
nice borders on the stepping stones.
Trace the outline of your stepping stone onto a piece of newsprint or
blank paper. Use this outline to lay out your pieces of china. I like
to design the innermost part first, and then the perimeter, filling
in the rest afterwards. Try not to leave too many blank spaces, as these
will be filled in with grout and give your stepping stone too much of
a plain white look.
 Mix
up the mortar according to the directions and apply a thin, even layer
across the top of your stepping stone, making sure to go all the way
out to the edge. I try to make the layer about 1/4 of an inch thick.
Now youĚre ready to transfer your china pieces to the stepping
stone. Press them into the mortar hard enough to make good contact but
not so hard that they really sink down in to the mortar. You want the
pieces to stick up somewhat so that you can fill in the spaces with
grout.
I like to let my stones sit for about a week and really set before filling
in the grout. When itĚs time to do the grout, mix it up according
to the package directions. I find the easiest way to apply the grout
is to wear latex
gloves and work the grout in with my hands. Again, I like to let the
grout set for about a week before waterproofing it. When youĚre
ready to put on the sealant, one coat is plenty. I use grout sealant
like that used for tile floors.
Have fun!
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