Less is More...

Less water that is...when making a concrete stepping stone for the playground.

This past weekend, in between soccer games, yoga workshops, homework and Grammy’s birthday, we found time to make two stepping stones for the Cranberry Kids Castle Playground.

Although my husband works in the “construction” field (Cranberry Supply Co, Inc), between he and I, we are lucky to be able to hang a picture on the wall.

However, Cranberry Township sent over step-by-step instructions and pictures from the lovely Iaquinta family (owners of Moe’s Restaurant) who had already made three!

I am not ashamed to admit our first attempt was a dismal failure. We added way too much water because, ahem, the person mixing the concrete was not reading the instructions. 

We then worked and re-worked and blotted and blew dry the concrete in order to try to get a hand print, or anything for that matter, to stick into the surface.

Finally, with another round of soccer games looming, we tossed the mix, um, somewhere, and vowed to try again. After discussing the issues and determining we were simply using too much water, we tried again.

We made the concrete mixture into a lumpy oatmeal consistency—well mixed, but not wet or runny in the slightest.  We then followed the instructions and poured it into the mold. We added some mosaic tiles we had purchased pre-cut from Michael's (Just a few dollars). 

We then did another mold with a concrete mixture with even less water. In this case, less was less and the mixture is kinda lumpy and rocky, but we were able to get handprints and write almost all of our name. 

McClymonds is a LONG name so we left off the "s" at the end and called it a day!

I would like to say that clearly the Iaquinta’s are better at making Mosaic Concrete Stepping Stones than the McClymonds. I am not sure if they had early failures as well or if they are just inherently good at this. 

As with us, even if you kind of stink at these kind of projects, you can still make a pretty awesome stepping stone with just a little bit of effort.

If you donate $1,000, which is fully tax deductible, you will have the honor of making your own stepping stone.

You also will get a 8 x 8 inch paver in which you can write your family name or a nice message. These will be professional inscribed (hooray!).

That is what drew us to this option – you get two chances to put your name at the playground!

I know $1,000 is a lot of money. 

I also know that if you got four families together to share the cost, that there would still be enough room on the stepping stone for four medium names or a medium amount of handprints. 

There is a LIMITED amount of these stepping stones available, so if you are considering making a donation and think making a stepping stone sounds fun and within your ability, please contact www.CTCChest.org to make your donation and reserve your stepping stone.

Our family had a wonderful time making and remaking these stones. We brainstormed the design and all helped make it a reality.

This gift will last the entire life of the playground and my kids will always enjoy seeing their handiwork when they visit and play.

Here are some pictures…Enjoy !