hi Josie_2 - I love making stained glass garden stones - have been for 5 yrs - in answer to your questions:
- for any round molds I use "serving trays" (the ones that are found with plastics glasses for the patio/deck/poolside) they are just the perfect depth & usually there are no indentations in the tray. A plastic pan will work. you can use anything for a mold as long as it's not aluminum (concrete will stick) Rubbermade has some great molds in all different shapes & sizes & don't forget "dollar" stores - a cheap place to find stuff
- the contact paper will not pull out the glass but just be careful of which brand of paper you use - DON'T use "Con-Tact" brand- they've changed their adhesive so it turns out gummy & sticks to the concrete. Try local craft stores for their products
- I use "King PSI 6000" but any concrete will work for this type of craft.
Just something I learned from making some great to not-so-great stones - if you are not happy with the end result - instead of throwing your work away (or hiding it) get a flat head screwdriver & a hammer (no - you are not going to smash the heck out of it though I was tempted a couple of times) & carefully "score" around each piece of glass until you can pop it out. This way you can try again without having to start from the beginning - but you have to do this within the first 24 hrs before the concrete starts to cure.

hope this helps
Gardenrose

Oh Gardenrose I do thank you for all your advice.I can't wait till morning for shopping.I do have a glass grinder and some other stained glass tools.I went to a night class to learn years ago.Then I read somewhere that working with lead was not too healthy.So my equipement has been sitting idle.Your work is outstanding.Regards Josie

Working with lead has no health issues unless you eat, smoke while handling the lead. It does not seep into your skin, I promise you. Get back and enjoy a wonderful hobby.

I was also looking for the "perfect" round mold as a base for my orchid step stones. I had carved the flowers out of clay but just couldn't find the perfectly round base for the finished product. I made my first one in the cap from a roof turbine. Perfect size and depth, but try keeping everything level balancing on that little handle! Then it dawned on me! I cut all but 4" off the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. You can find them at every construction site on earth! They normally contained drywall mud at some point but for a few bucks you can buy a new one at any Home Depot/Lowes, paint or hardware store. Slather the bucket remains with your release of choice (WD-40, CRC, Butcher's Wax, Teflon wax, whatever), Place your contact paper in the bottom, making sure it is cut to size. You can do this by placing the contact paper in the bottom, shoving it down firmly and cutting around the edge with a sharp hardware or Exacto knife. Place your glass in the desired pattern on the contact paper.

For step stones I recommend you take the cut contact paper shape and use it to cut a piece of diamond mesh and cut a circle about 1/4" smaller than the bottom of the bucket to use as reinforcement for your paver)

Mix equal portions of cement and sand, and when well mixed, add water to thin mashed potato consistency in a bucket. After mixing, thump/drop the bucket containing the cement on the floor a few times. This will force any air out of the mix so that you don't have a lot of bubbles or voids in your paver. Pour the mix to a 1" depth over the design. Place the wire reinforcement firmly yet gently into this and cover with another 1" of concrete. Thump on the outside of the bucket mold with your hand, feet, anything you can. The more the mold moves, the more air will come to the surface. I sometimes put my projects on my a/c unit while it is running. Nice vibration! Anyway....if you wait 24-36 hours after you have made your creation, there shouldn't be any way that removing the contact paper will disturb your glass or stones.

When you have unveiled your creation, should any little airholes/bubbles present themselves, simply make a loose cement/water slurry, put on a rubber glove, and rub the slurry over those little holes, follow with a wet sponge and voila!

BYW...for the above I just use cheapo portland cement and playsand from Home Depot. No Way contact paper will give you any resistance when your masterpiece has cured!

Thank you Buckyforce.I am so grateful for advice.This is a great forum.

You are welcome! Glad to help. This forum is where I learned everything too! Didn't intend for that post to be so long and am happy you could use the info. Would you post pictures of your stepstones when you finish them? I haven't tried using glass yet and would love to see your project!

Hi again Buckyforce,yes I will.I do have a Kodak easy share camera.My grand-daughter will help as she is a little computer whiz.It will probably be a couple of weeks before I get anything suitable for "show".Regards Josie_2

Just a bit of advice...don't bang the mold too much or you risk knocking loose the glass and getting too much concrete mix underneath and can actually cause more air bubbles. A slow pour of the concrete and twist the mold about 180 degrees after you pour about an inch of concrete into the mold. Then slowly pour in the rest of the concrete and give another twist.

DH pours decorative concrete for a living, does NOT use any vibrating, only the twist method, and gets virtually NO airpockets.

Also, if you insist on using wire mesh (not necessary) don't get it too close to the surface as it can cause heat expansion cracking if exposed to heat.

The stepping stones won't stick if you coat the pan with vasaline.

I love the idea of the contact paper holding the glass in the bottom. Also the twisting technique is good to know. As an amateur, my stuff ends up looking more grainy and pitted than the pros, but if I do a paint tx like granite or rusty iron, the pits and irregularities contribute to the realism. That said, my paint has overwintered one winter without sealing - should I be doing something else to it?