Step into colour: DIY stepping stones for your garden

25 Feb 2026

If you’ve got an empty path or spot in your garden then these painted stepping stones are the perfect way to add some colour to your outdoor space. You can our bird and flower patterns by following the steps below, or get creative with whatever patterns, animals or designs you like!

You will need:

• Pavers
• Resene Concrete Primer
• Coloured pencil
• Paintbrush, including small craft paint brushes
• Resene testpots in your chosen colours. Fleur used Resene Double Cod Grey, Cinnamon, Retro, Palm Green, Wanaka, Bush, Saratoga, Stinger, Karma, Xanadu, Raging Bull and Persian Red

Step 1: Start by priming the pavers with one coat of Resene Concrete Primer. Once this is dry, paint on two coats of Resene Double Cod Grey.

Step 2: Use a coloured pencil (a normal graphite pencil is too dark to show up against the dark paint colour) and draw on the outlines of the bird shapes. To make this easier, find some bird silhouettes online size them to fit the pavers, print and cut them out, and then trace around them on to the pavers. Fill in the birds with paint – Fleur used Resene Retro for the Tui, Palm Green for the Kereru, Wanaka for the Pukeko and Cinnamon for the Piwakawaka.

Step 3: Start adding foliage detail with Resene Bush.

Step 4: Continue filling in the foliage with Resene Saratoga, Stinger, Karma and Xanadu.

Step 5: Finish by adding flowers with Resene Raging Bull and Persian Red. Use a Q-tip to add dots with Bush and Saratoga, Stinger and Karma.

Step 6: Once dry, place them outside in your garden.

project and images Fleur Thorpe

Published: 25 Feb 2026