Personalized Stepping Stones

Giving gifts to my parents is always a challenge for me. They have everything and more than they need. If I give them a nick nack, they will keep it because of the sentiment behind the gift, but they really don't need it cluttering up their space. If I buy them something nice, they feel guilty that I spent money on them. I am always searching for gifts that won't clutter up their house, that don't cost a lot, and will be special to them. Pictures and home movies are always great gifts that they love, but I wanted to do something different this time.

When I was at Joann's buying my kids tie-dye and lip balm crafts I saw these stone kits:
My mom's birthday was coming up and I thought this would be perfect. She loves to garden and she can put it outside and it won't clutter up her house! It will be special because her grand kids will make it and it wasn't really expensive. I know I could have bought a large bag of cement at Lowes for less and I could have used anything for the mold, but I bought the kit. The kit came with alphabet and number stamps, glass decorations, the mold, and cement mix. All I had to do was mix 2 cups of water with the cement and pour it into the mold. So easy! I also bought an extra box of cement so that I could make another stone. Buying a large bag of cement at Lowes, trying to measure it out, find a mold, and write in the names without stamps, would have been a big hassle for me. I would have extra cement left over to store and add to my clutter in the garage. this is why I went with the kit.
The kit came with more than enough glass decorations for both stones and the stamps and mold are re-usable. I was also able to make a stone for DH for Father's Day.
Here is the stone we made for Father's Day. I stamped the date in the corner and the names of each of my kids next to their hand prints (I blocked the names of my kids in the photo to protect them).
Here is the stone that we just finished making for my Mom's birthday. It is still wet and will dry a lighter color (names are blocked to protect my kids again). The blue blocks are the stamps I used to stamp the date and names.

I paid $15 for the kit, but there were smaller ones for less. I needed to make the biggest stone so that I could fit all 3 hand prints. I bought an extra box of cement for around $4, so the second stone was a lot less to make. I also still have the mold and stamps for any future stones I might like to make. I think it would be fun to use the stamps in the corner of a new driveway, patio, or other cement project we may have in the future.