On May 12th, 2018, three sisters got together to make garden ornaments celebrating their mother’s 75th birthday. The result of the creative process were precious stepping stones to commemorate a beloved mother.

Jennifer Patterson, Lizzy Kirstein, and Catherine Krajewski surprised their mother Barbara Jacob with a fun filled day for her birthday. Jennifer’s daughter Ashleigh also joined in on the festivities. After a fancy lunch and gift opening at Lizzy’s house, it was time for the best part: the garden craft. The sisters had purchased stepping stone making kits with the idea to make them with Barbara and then give them to her for the backyard garden.

After setting up the room with drop cloths and folding craft tables, it was time to begin. Each kit came with a bag of decorative glass mosaic pieces and gem stones, a bag of dry cement powder, stir sticks, a circular plastic mold, and instructions. Some of the kits also came with patterns for a proposed design. The process took about 4 hours (plus curing time) and included mixing, pouring, designing, laying glass, and stamping.

While some of the girls were a bit more serious than others, everyone had a great time.  Jennifer and her daughter Ashleigh both freehanded a design without a pattern. Lizzy and Barbara, the mother, chose to use a very intricate floral design pattern, which ended up causing some stress. They each spent almost an hour just cutting out the pattern design, which made the beginning of the process more timely. Catherine also chose to follow a pattern, but since her mold was smaller, it was simple. All the women had a lot of fun, agreeing with Jennifer, who said “I think this was a really nice activity to do together.” Now Barbara will have beautiful daily reminders of the day.