Something not to try for Christmas....

The night before last we tried something that I recommend not doing. I don't think we'll ever do it again; at least not until Keegan is older.

In one of the many kids' catalogs that I now receive (not sure what mailing list I ended up on to receive these) there was a really cute kit to make a plaster caste of your baby's hand. The kit was set up to turn the caste into a Christmas ornament. I had been trying to think of something neat to do for Keegan's first Christmas, I really wanted something cool that we could hang on the Xmas tree that would have some significant meaning.

The kit was $9.95 so I went online and ordered it. I was so excited. Apparently I hadn't thought this one through very well.

When I received the product, the picture on the box showed a pristine baby handprint complete with fingerprints. Did I mention I thought I was clever for doing this and super excited for having found this? So I read the directions.

Step 1 - mix plaster with 3 cupfuls of water (cup provided) and stir until even consistency

Step 2 - pour the mixture into the mold and let sit for 2-5 minutes until the mixture firms up.

Step 3 - Dampen child's hand and place on plaster firmly pressing the hand down to get good indentation of all fingers.

Step 4 - Let mold sit for 2 hrs for plaster to completely harden

Easy breezy, right? So I mixed up the plaster. Some of the plaster missed the mixing bowl and ended up on the floor and counter. Seras (our three-legged wonder) thought it was baby formula and tried to eat it. As the mixture lumps together in the bowl I am chasing Seras away and trying to clean the plaster up off of the floor.

I mix the plaster to "even consistency" and pour it into the mold. There is too much plaster for the mold and it drips over the edges of the mold onto the counter. It also drips off of the counter to land on my new black suede shoes. That sucks.

Still, I am doing okay here. I set the kitchen timer for 5 minutes and clear all cats from the area. 5 minutes goes by and I check the mold. There is no firmness here; it is still liquid. I refer back to the directions. In tiny letters at the bottom it says that setting time may vary depending on room conditions. Okay the house is at 70oF and ~35%RH...pretty standard.

I wait another 5 minutes...still liquid. I set the timer for 10 minutes and wonder if maybe they wrote these directions in Arizona in the middle of the summer.

After - add it up - 20 minutes, the mixture is somewhat not-liquidy. Keegan is crabby because he is tired. We were going to do this right before his bedtime and now it is getting late. Lyle brings him over and holds him up while I straighten out Keegan's hand and hold the mold. I carefully, painstakingly, press Keegan's hand into the somewhat firm plaster. Now, everyone think about what is going to happen here...wait for it....

What does a 9 month old baby do when something touches its hand? Yes, you have it! Keegan closes his hand trying to grab the plaster. We now have a pretty darn ugly plaster Christmas ornament and Keegan has a handful of plaster he is trying to eat. Lyle gives me a look that says that this was just a great idea of mine.

I will not be detered though. After washing the plaster of Keegan's hand; I flatten out the plaster and we try again. We still are not able to keep Keegan from grabbing the plaster. I suggest we let the plaster firm up a bit more.

10 minutes later I realize the plaster is almost solid and I have an epiphany. Let's do Keegan's foot instead. I pull of Keegan's sock and get Lyle to hold him over the mold. I press his foot into the plaster cast and Keegan starts crying. He is tired and wants his foot back! A vaguely foot-shaped print is in the plaster. I don't like the way it looks. We wash off Keegan's foot.

I rewet the surface of the plaster and we try Keegan's hand again. He is unable to dig his fingers into the plaster now but instead leaves only a vague handprint. Keegan is crabby and Lyle is pissed that I didn't leave the footprint on there. I say "Let's just do it one more time." Lyle says "Keegan's going to bed now." I glare at the vague handprint and shrug. Taking my fingers I press down into the vague handprint shape with my fingers making it deeper while keeping it Keegan sized.

I look at the mold, it is disgusting. Apparently Keegan had been playing with the cat between prints, so there is cat hair stuck in the mold. Now it's not even Keegan's handprint but my fingerprints following the trace of Keegan's hand print. I suppose one way to look at it is that that the ornament has a little bit of everyone (including the cats) in it. I am not sure if I should keep it or toss it.

As Lyle comes back into the room; I suggest next time maybe we should stick with finger paint and construction paper.

To add insult to injury apparently Seras had her paws down the drain in the garbage disposal again. She does this every night to look for food. I guess this time she found some leftover plaster. When I came out yesterday morning there was plaster tracked all over the kitchen in the shape of little cat pawprints. She only has three legs so we know it was her.

Note to self. This was all a bad idea.