General purpose sand or playground...doesn't matter. I used general. DH carried the cement....a whole half coffee can full, from the garage to the backyard! We already had half a bag full from my last leaf project with a neighbor. You'll use nearly a half bag of sand for each large leaf, like an EE, because of building up the sand to shape the leaf. Otherwise, the leaf is pretty flat...which is okay, if that's your preference. Sand is reusable too.
