Hand-made Goodie of the Week: Plaster Hand and Foot Prints

When our son was born, I knew I wanted to make a set of these.  Partly for me and my sentimental heart and partly as decor for his nursery.  These make great grandparent gifts or you can give the plaster and molds as a shower gift.

To make your own, you'll need:

 

One half pound bag of Faster Plaster, found at Michaels or Joann's.  This bag makes two prints, unless you are using a larger mold then the one I used.

One or two square 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. Mosaic molds, also available at Michaels or Joann's.  They are reusable so unless you want to do more than one at a time, you really only need one.

Ribbon (optional)

Prepare the plaster according to the instructions on the bag.  *Note: Only prepare enough for one mold at a time!  This stuff starts to dry fast and in the time it would take you to do one print, the plaster for your other one would be too stuff to use.  

Fill mold with plaster and let sit about 1-2 minutes.  Press hand or foot into plaster.  Remove body part and wash immediately.  The plaster is non-toxic but it is best not to leave it on skin longer than necessary.  Dry according to package instructions.

If you are wanting to hang yours like I did with ribbon, here's what you do:  After doing the hand or foot print and washing, make two holes near the top corners (I used the eraser end of a pencil for mine) making sure that they go all the way through-you should see the plastic mold.  I also "engraved" my son's name and the date that we did the prints on the front using a sewing needle.  

And that's it!