Cement Stepping Stones

Area news in brief: July 30, 2011

Brett McEachern, 18, of Chauvin, was westbound on Tunnel Boulevard at about 6:45 a.m. when his 2000 Ford Ranger struck the curb, Houma Police said. The pickup crashed into the concrete wall, sideswiped a utility pole and hit several road signs before coming to a stop in the grass on the side of the road, police said.

McEachern was wearing his seat belt and was not injured in the crash, police said, though the entire rear axle of the pickup was ripped off. He was ticketed for failure to maintain control.

A 29-year-old from Cut Off is accused of stealing mail from more than 40 south Lafourche mailboxes.

Eric Ougel, 421 E. 25th St., was in jail on a disturbing the peace charge when police received a tip that stolen property was at his house, including potting soil, stepping stones and other items. Police also allegedly found dozens of pieces of other people’s mail in the trunk of his car. It is unclear what Ougel was looking for in taking the mail, police said.

All of the stolen mail has been returned to the Post Office and will be delivered to respective residents after it has been processed by postal inspectors.

Three people were arrested by Assumption sheriff’s deputies Thursday for allegedly stealing and selling items from several vehicles in Belle River, police say.

Kayla Field, 20, 437 Belle River Road, Pierre Part, Ryan Perrault, 17, 2171 Rue Pinckney, Mandeville, and Adrian Adels, 21, 680 Nancy St., Mandeville, were charged Thursday with eight counts of simple burglary, according to a news release. The three were identified as suspects after several people in Belle River reported vehicle burglaries in July.

GPS devices, radar detectors, portable DVD players, cash, jewelry and two handguns were stolen. Field confessed to pawning some of the items, police said. Several items were recovered from Adels’ vehicle and a hotel room in St. Tammany Parish. Both stolen handguns were recovered from the people who bought them from Perrault, police said.

The three are awaiting bond at the Assumption Parish Detention Center. They face a maximum of 12 years in prison for each charge if convicted.

The Golden Meadow Bridge crossing Bayou Lafourche will be closed until further notice so work crews can repair an electrical failure, state officials said.

The Larose Pontoon Bridge is also closed until further notice while crews make repairs to the bridge’s approach.

Easy Big Leaf Stepping Stone

Sand mix also called topping mix concrete is probably the best to use for the most definition, however any bagged concrete mix will work.  If you have never worked with concrete mix before, avoid fast setting kinds as they require you work with them quickly. Also make sure you are using a concrete mix, not pure cement, which requires sand and aggregate to be added to it. Any large leaf will work as well; rhubarb, gunnera, fuki (as shown in the photos), even big leaf maple leaves work well for small stones. 

Prep first before mixing  the concrete. Find a flat surface to work , preferably on the ground such as a sidewalk.  Cut open a garbage bag and lay it on the ground, then add your leaf, bottom side up for the best impression.  Here you can add small stones, colored glass etc, pressed against the leaf. Try to get the leaf to lie as flat as possible. You’ll also want to cut out a piece of fencing smaller than the leaf. The fencing isn’t absolutely necessary, but it does reinforce the concrete to prevent breaking.

 Next, add a generous amount of concrete mix to your mixing container.  It’s a good idea to mix a bit more than you think you will need, a large stepping stone will take about half a 60 pound bag of concrete mix to create. Add water gradually and mix completely with the trowel until it is somewhere between a stiff cookie dough and cake batter consistency. You don’t want the mixture too wet that is runs. A note about safety here- concrete is caustic, it’s a good idea to wear gloves when you work with it, and wear a dust mask when mixing. 

 Now starting in the center of the leaf, scoop or trowel the mixture over the leaf. Be careful if you have stones or other items that you pressed into the leaf, these you want on the surface, not mixed in.  Once you have about a  ½” to 1” layer  press the fencing into the surface, then cover with another ½- 1 inch or so of concrete mix. Concrete mix starts to cure once water has been added, so you have about 15-20 minutes to work with it for the best results, depending on the mixture you are using.

 

Wait a day or three before unwrapping. The longer you wait, the better the results will be, in my experience. After a day it’s also a good idea to keep the stone wet, this helps with the curing process for a stronger stone. Now comes the fun part! Unwrap you stone, flip it over and carefully remove the leaf.

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