Bruce's Handprint Ornaments

Yes! I successfully made three handprint ornaments with Brucie's little hand! One for us and one each for my parents. As I mentioned earlier, I was a little worried on how they'd turn out because Bruce is one  squirmy kid. He moves a lot even in his sleep but we took Megumi's advice and attempted it that weekend. We bought 3 kits from Amazon just in case they didn't turn out okay but ended up just using one. I can't find it anymore but we got the best reviewed Clay Hanging Keepsake Kit for $8. I read somewhere not to spend more than $10 and I'm glad we didn't because these turned out perfect. :)

Here's a few tips if you're planning to do one yourself:

* Allow some time for the project.

The clay was very easy to work with and the only person that gets a little dirty is the one the kneeds the clay in the beginning. After setting it up and finishing handprint #1, Bruce woke up. He loves making a fist so the next two prints we had to do over a few times. (The great selling point of the product: being able to redo over and over.) Both Brandon and Bruce were getting tired by the 5th redo so we ended up with two not-so-perfect handprints. In the end, I loved them better because it shared a story and a little bit of his personality. :) I would recommend 2-3 days drying time instead of the 24 hours it says on the package.

* Don't forget the ribbon holes.

I almost forgot to do this!

* Press really hard with the cutter.

After you've got the handprints, press down hard on the mold. It's okay if it doesn't come off clean like the photo above because after 24 hours, you can gently break off the imperfections. You can also use cookie cutters and whatnot to create other shapes.

* Don't pick at the little pieces.

While I was cleaning up, little bits of clay fell onto two of the ornaments. I was so sad and quickly tried to pick at one of them. Since it seemed like it made it worse, I gave up. After letting it sit for a day, the pieces that I didn't attempt to take off came right off but the others stayed on. Hahaha, lesson learned.

I totally recommend this project for a baby's first Christmas. Or even just to have their handprints or footprints to remember how small they once were. ;) I'm going to try talking Brandon into making Bruce's footprints with the other kit and maybe Katsu's paw print with the last.

Bruce's handprint ornament on our tree