How Easy is Baby Casting?

Creating 3d castings of your baby’s hand or foot can be a very rewarding experience and needless to say, by doing it yourself, you can also save a lot of money.
The best place to start is with a baby casting kit. There are a number of companies that sell these online, including For Keep’s Sake with or without frames. The kit usually includes the following contents:

• Chromatic Alginate or another moulding material. This is used to create the mould of the baby’s hand or foot. For life casting Alginate is the most popular moulding compound because it is completely safe and in fact used by dentists in the mouths of both adults and children to take dental mouldings. It can also capture all the fine creases in the skin, resulting in a life-like finish.
• High Grade Casting Powder. This is used to create the cast and once dry can be painted in the colour of your choice.
• Poly Bags or a Container. This will be used to create the mould in.
• Cocktail sticks. Once the cast has set and is dry and the rubbery alginate mould peeled away from it, there are often little bits of the mould left in some of the skin creases of the case. Cocktail sticks are useful for cleaning these little pieces out
• Stirrers
• Paint and Paintbrush.
• Deep rebate box frame. This usually includes a twin aperture mount so that a photo can be displayed as well as the casting.
• Complete set of instructions.
• Glue
  

 There are 8 basic steps to the casting process:

• Step 1 – Prepare the baby’s hand or foot by rubbing a generous amount of baby moisturiser on it. This will help to ease it out of the mould when it’s been created.
• Step 2 – Measure the alginate, as per the instructions, and add the water slowly mixing it all the time. Mix vigorously to break down any lumps, the colour will turn pink whilst being mixed.
• Step 3 – When the mixture has reached the desired consistency (consult instructions) you will need to pour it into the container or bag that you are using and place the foot or hand into the mixture.
• Step 4 – Setting time will vary so again consult the instructions. Usually fast setting alginate is used, given a baby’s tendancy to wriggle, which be take under a minute to set. Once set, carefully remove the hand or foot so as not to tear the mould.
• Step 5 – The casting powder is then mixed with water, stirring slowly and carefully to avoid air bubbles. Once the mixture has reached the desired consistency it is poured bit by bit into the mould, swirling the mixture around the mould to ensure that it reaches all the nooks and crannies. Once full the plaster is left to set.
• Step 6 – Once dry, usually a few hours later, the mould can be broken off the cast. It is a rubbery like texture and will break away easily.
• Step 7 – The cast can now be painted. Most kits include a silver or gold paint, but any colour acryllic paint can be used on the cast for an effective finish.
• Step 8 – If you have chosen a kit with a frame, the last stage of the process is framing the cast. You may find that the flat side of the cast is a little uneven and may require a little light sanding. This can be done easily using a fine sandpaper. Once flat the casting can be stuck to the backing board and the back of the frame closed.
  

So how easy is baby casting? I think you'll agree, that provided you buy the right kit and get the right instructions it's much easier that you would have ever imagined.

3D casts of your baby’s hand or foot (or both) make excellent keepsakes and will ensure that you can never forget how small they once were. Invaluable!

Don't forget to visit www.forkeepssake.co.uk to see our range of baby casting kits.