I've made quite a few stepping stones, usually with left-over concrete mix from a building project, sometimes using barrel hoops as a mold, which makes pretty good-sized stones. I often embed things in the tops of the cement after it's poured and the concrete on top is "puddled", with the stonier stuff below the surface, making the surface nice and smooth; such as stones, bits of ceramic tiles, etc. I've pressed fresh leaves into the concrete and when it is dry, and I peel the leaves away, the leaf impressions are in the surface. Sometimes I inscribe a name or the date in the drying cement. As it dries, I "turn" the hoop slightly a time or two a day so the concrete doesn't adhere to it and I can remove it when it is dry. (a barrel hoop is slightly smaller from the top to bottom side, I always make sure the smaller circumference is at the top to make it easy to lift off.) I pour the concrete directly on the ground, with a piece of plastic sheeting under it, and for strength I use a piece of chicken wire placed inside the hoop before I pour. When I am done decorating it, I put a piece of plastic over it, anchored down, to slow the drying time as the slower it dries and cures, the stronger it is. I always work in the shade. A week drying is good before I place my stepping stone where I want it. If it is drying too fast, I remove the plastic, wet it down, and re-cover it. For smaller stepping stones, I cut a couple of inches off the top of a plastic nursery pot and use that ring for a mold. You can also make a form with wood, if you want a square or rectangle. I have poured a whole patio worth of stones with a wood frame, in place, then removed the wood and put crushed rock between my stones. The time I did that, I embedded pretty stones and shells in the cement and brushed them with a broom for texture, washing the excess cement off when it was nearly dry. I've made stones with the grandkids' footprints and handprints, with names inscribed, and pennies with their birth year embedded in the cement. My grand daughter and I once made a table top using a barrel hoop, which wasn't removed, with tiny ceramic tiles embedded in the top, like a mosaic. I still have them in the garden. She was 8 at the time, and is now 21.

Thanks for the pictures and story. I like your manhole cover design. I look forward to seeing the fabric after you are done. When I was a child we made batik T-shirts. I'm not sure what kind of wax we used. I remember it often cracked and the dye got under the wax a bit, but I still really liked how they it turned out and the process was fun. Lola

Can I make wine in 5-gallon soy sauce containers? If yes, what do I need to do to prep the containers?

Update - We waited about 10 more days after this post and then harvested. The result was totally different than the year before. In year 1, the wine was crisp and light, similar in body to Savingnon Blanc, but really, really dry. In year two, when we harvested three weeks later, it was full bodied, darker yellow in color and with a lovely and complex flavor. We definitely prefer year 2, but the trade off was that we only had enough to make 29 bottles (versus 40 the year before). This year we have had a lot of rain (we are in Santa Barbara), so it will be interesting to see what impact that has.