We had a visitor over the weekend. Known as Grandpa Bob around here. The beginning of the day on Saturday we got some outside work done while there was a break in the rain. Then I brought Bracken inside for a nap and he slept for a few minutes before popping back awake again. And then he didn’t really want to nap (even though he probably needed one) and I didn’t blame him. Too much fun to be had, he didn’t want to miss any of it. After lunch, we started on a fun project, perfect for a rainy Saturday afternoon.
I had called my dad on Friday and asked him if he would bring some of that “plaster stuff” with him from work. My dad has been a dental technician throughout my life. I have fond memories of visiting him at work with my sister when we were kids. A few times when we visited him, he made molds of our hands (and once of our faces.) We both loved it. It felt really magical to us at the time and we treasured those molds. They got lost over the years, which bummed me out. I considered them some of my most precious possessions from my childhood. (My dad thinks he might have them buried in a box somewhere and I hope they’ll be discovered someday.) I thought Bracken would love getting a mold of his hand too. My dad was excited about the idea and brought the needed materials with him. And Bracken did love it. He really loved it. He kept saying “yay!” and “thank you!” and kept clapping his hands and giving extra hugs. It was cute how excited he got.

We set up our project by the kitchen sink. We took some plastic lids, my dad mixed the dental plaster and formed it into a circle. It looked like a pancake. He smoothed it and shaped it with a butter knife.

Grandpa Bob gently pressed Bracken’s hand in the center and held it there.

The consistency was too wet, so my dad re-shaped it and waited for it to harden up a bit.

Then they did it again.

Ta-da! A print of Bracken’s hand! We let it dry and got started on another print.

This time my dad made it in a shape for a foot. He had never done a print of a foot before, but I thought it would be fun to have a handprint and a footprint.

After the footprint, my dad had more plaster left and asked Bracken if he would like to do another hand print. His answer was yes. So we ended up with two handprints and one footprint. 

It can be hard for a three year old to hold still for very long, so my dad decided to let the plaster harden up longer and then just place Bracken’s hand (or foot) in it briefly. That way he didn’t have to stay still too long. The longer you hold your hand there, the better they turn out, but these turned out just perfect for what we were wanting.

Bracken was pleased.

 I brought them outside to photograph, but they just looked like white blobs. These pictures taken near the window inside turned out the best. Grandpa Bob wrote a message on the back of each one with the date and Bracken’s age.

They are on my bookshelf for now. Someday Bracken will love looking back at these.

 My dad’s pictures of Bracken with his hand mold didn’t turn out, so I told him I would send him some and today we went outside to take a few.

It was a special project, that we can look back on and enjoy for many years. 

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P.S. Jeff told me that they make kits for making handprints and footprints. I searched online and it brought me to this page on Amazon. I wanted to share in case you would like to make some at home too. They make good projects for rainy days. And with the holidays coming up, they would make wonderful gifts for grandparents, family, and friends!