Let's Show You How to Make Garden Stones Stained Glass!

An interesting project you will enjoy is making garden stones stained glass pieces to put outside as a walkway or however you'd like.

We thought of doing something fun with the pieces of glass left over from other stained glass projects we'd produced. My lovely wife, Kim, always wanted a walkway to the garden and pool in their back yard.

We found a mold that would make a perfect stepping stone. To make the pattern desired, Kim drew a picture or sketched out how she wanted it to look. She loves beach themes so a lot of the garden stones stained glass are ideas from the beaches we've visited.

She looked over the remaining pieces and chose the specific colors for the pattern.

Some of the patterns made were abstract with out doing any cutting to the glass pieces. Some of the glass she cut into long thin pieces, circles or triangles.

She designed her pattern with these simple pieces or cuts. She designed the pattern leaving concrete between each piece of glass.

Kim set up her pattern on a level table next to where the mold would be so she could transfer the pieces from the pattern to the mold.

I proceeded to mix up the cement (quick set mix) with water. I then mixed the water with the cement a little at a time to make the cement wet, pasty like cookie dough (YUM - but don't eat it!).

We then poured the wet cement mix into the mold. My next step was to smooth out the cement and tap the mold on the table to remove any air pockets.

While the cement mix was wet Kim placed the stained glass pieces into the cement pushing down the glass with a popsicle stick.

Tip: Push down enough so the glass piece will fix into the cement. It you don't push down far enough the glass pieces will evenually fall out of the pattern (people will be walking on these unless you tell them otherwise).

After the pattern is placed - let it sit and set in the mold until it's completely dry. At least 24 hours is typically a good rule of thumb.

When the garden stones stained glass dry, turn the mold upside down and tap on the bottom to remove the stepping stone from the mold.

Brush off the loose concrete and remove any concrete that may have stuck to the glass. This is easy to do with the edge of a knife. Oh, and be sure to wipe clean the top of the stone.

Next, we waterproofed the stone using a waterproof sealer by using an old paint brush to brush the top, back and sides. Apply 2 to 3 coats to ensure that water won't ruin your hard work. Let things dry in between coats.

Now, the stepping stone is ready to put anywhere you want. One great thing about making these garden stones stained glass is you can do anything you want with them!!