This is the first time I've visited this site, but it looks like your question has gone begging for an answer, so I'll try to help.

I used one of the cobblestone forms and it worked pretty well. I made a path from the house to the tool shed, and I just laid the concrete right on top of whatever dirt happened to be there. Then I filled the cracks with top soil and sprinkled a little grass seed on. It ended up looking like a sort of overgrown cobblestone path, which is what I was hoping for. I don't know if I would ever use the forms again though, because it was s-l-o-w work, mixing each batch of concrete in a wheelbarrow by hand, shoveling it into the form, and smoothing the tops off with a trowel. I still have my form if you want it. :-)

ThinMan

A home improver told me she got tired to mixing concrete and that it was very messy. So she poured the dry concrete into the form and gently wet it down. She said it worked just as well without the mess? Could this be true??

I did a few of these using the brick form. I actually went to a local concrete supply company and purchased the concrete colorant from them- much cheaper than the kind in the big box stores and better quality as well. I also bought a release agent in a contrasting color which I top dressed the concrete with and ended up with a nice two-tone effect.

That said, I would not go with the brick pattern again. I think the cobblestone pattern would have a better overall effect. I found mine to be a little brittle (one of them broke along the score lines) but I wasn't very experienced with concrete when I made them so that could be 'user error' on my part.

I'd say that it is slow work but looks reasonably good.

Another option is to look into concrete mix yards that specialize in homeowners. We have a local company like that and in addition to delivering small batch loads (as little as one yard) they also rent the professional concrete stamps by the day. If you want to do a large area, I'd recommend this option.