How to Frame Baby Hand Casts and Baby Footprints Like a Pro

How to Frame Baby Hand Casts and Baby Footprints

As we explain on our Baby Hand and Foot Casting Courses, unless you upgrade your 3D Baby Casts to a material more durable than Plaster Baby Casts, such as Cold Cast Metal Baby Casts or Resin Baby Casts, we would always recommend that you frame your 3D Baby Casts, to ensure they are well protected.

3D Baby Casts are so precious and whilst some people like to present them on a mount or Plinth, these would not be protected from potential damage, if they got dropped or knocked over.

We realise that some customers like to touch and feel their 3D Baby Casts and therefore do not wish to have them displayed in a Baby Casting Box Frame.  If this is the case, we would always recommend that you upgrade your Baby Casts to Cold Cast Metal or Resin Castings.  This would involve making a duplicate of the original plaster mould in Silicone and then upgrading it to either Cold Cast Metal or a Resin Cast.

In terms of framing your Plaster 3D Baby Hand and Feet Casts, here are our tips on how to frame your Hand Casts and Baby Footprints.

Framing Baby Feet Casts

If you know from the start that you are planning to frame your baby hand and feet casts, we recommend that you put less alginate in your container, when you take the alginate mould or casting. This is because, you will not want to cast too far up the ankle. Alternatively, take your alginate moulds as usual, but pour less plaster into the cavity when casting your baby feet. 

Once you have cast your baby hands and feet and left them to dry completely, so that there is no moisture remaining in the plaster (this may take several weeks) you can begin the process of repairing any broken hand casting, cutting them to size and framing the Baby Casts.

How to Cast Baby Hand and Feet Casts

First of all, assemble all of the tools, material and equipment that you will need for framing your Baby Casts:

1. Baby Casting Box Frame

2. Your set of 3D Baby Casts

3. Sand Paper 

4. Bosch Multi-tool

5. Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks

Hand Casting Framing DIY is extremely easy, simply follow these instructions:

1. Repair any broken hand castings (small air-bubbles in the fingers or toes etc) with white epoxy resin as demonstrated on our 3D Casting Baby Course.

2. Cut the ankles of your baby feet casts down to size using a Hack Saw or an electric multi-tool.

3. Once you are sure they are cut to the correct height to fit in your baby casting frame, sand them down to refine the edges and smooth down to a flat surface.
4. Leave a slightly rough surface on the base of the ankles, as this will help the glue bond the cast securely to the frame mount board.

5. Paint and seal your Baby Hand and Foot Casts, as demonstrated on our 3D Baby Casting Training and leave to dry fully.

6. Open up your baby hand and foot casting frame and glue the coloured rear mount board to the back of the frame, using a Hot Glue Gun.

7. Next, position your Baby Hand and Foot Casts, wherever you want them in the Box Frame.

8. Don’t forget to leave room for personalising your Baby Casts with name and date of birth.  You can either hand write, using a Calligraphy Kit  an Engraving Kit, or you can order personalised name plaques here.

9. Once you are happy with the positioning of everything, apply a small amount of glue to the surface of your Baby Casts, using a hot glue gun.  
10. Important note: Don’t apply too much glue, that it will be visible, once you press the hand and feet casts down onto the mount board.

11. Hold each hand or foot in place for a good 30-60 seconds, until the glue has bonded and the cast is firmly affixed to the rear mount board of the Baby Casting Box Frame.

12. If you are personalising your baby casts with an engraved name plaque, bond this either with double sided sticky tape or a small amount of glue from your hot glue gun.

If you would like professional training on how to do Baby Hand and Foot Casting, you can find out more about our series of Life Casting Training Courses and how to start your own Creative Home Business here.

If you are looking for Baby Casting Box Frames or Baby Casting Photo Frame Kits, you can browse our recommended Baby Casting Box Frames in the Baby Casting Framing Section of our eshop, along with alternative ways of presenting your Baby Casts, for example on Mounts or Plinths or Rustic Wood Slices. 

How to Frame Baby Hand Casts and Baby Footprints