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View Full Version : Homemade Christmas gift - Is this lame??



new_mommy25
11-28-2003, 01:10 PM
I want to make presents for grandparents and great-grandparents from Noah.

I have a ton of Fimo and Sculpey left over from a project I did last year and had dreams of making handprint ornaments. The problem is my baby is too young to be very coopertive. Although not nearly as tight, his hands are still in little fists most of the time. I could try while he is asleep but I fear waking him as it is getting increasingly difficult to get him down for a nap. I tried a foot print but it was hard to get good pressure for indention.

So on to plan B. I was thinking I would print B&W pictures and paste
onto a piece of cardstock (I would use red, green, gold, silver, shiny blue etc.) On the back I would have his tiny foot (using an inkpad) and write 2003 or "Love Noah, 2003" or "Merry Christmas 2003" on the bottom. Any ideas on good wording? Then I would take it to Kinko's and laminate. FInally I would cut it into the shape of a bulb ornament, punch a hole and attach a pretty piece of string or yarn etc. I actually have the perfect string. It's called craft cord and it's availiable at Micheals. I have a bunch of different metallic shades that I think will be perfect.

So what do you all think? I don't think it's nearly as cool as the sculpey idea, but I'm going to have to wait a few years before that comes into play.

s7714
11-29-2003, 01:22 PM
I'm going to try the Fimo hand print ornament thing too. I'm hoping DD will cooperate, but she'll probably just try to grab the clay instead of letting me flatten her hand into it...

I think your "plan b" would be just fine. I'm sure the gp's and ggp's would love them just because they are from Noah anyway! :) Something I just thought of, maybe you could get some actual bulb ornaments and decoupage his picture and foot print(s) onto it? They also sell clear ones that you can fill with stuff. I saw them doing decoupage on the INSIDE of the clear ornaments the other day on a craft show and they looked really nice. Hhmmmm...now the wheels are turning...maybe I'll do something like this myself if the Fimo doesn't work!

Jennifer

Annalia 03/03/03

new_mommy25
11-29-2003, 06:46 PM
Wow, great idea. I'm going to look into that, Thanks!!

amp
12-01-2003, 05:18 PM
After DS's birth, when his hands wouldn't/couldn't cooperate, we did footprint impressions. Adorable! You might want to consider that for grandparents! Ours loved them!

luvbeinmama
12-02-2003, 06:47 PM
The sculpey may actually be possible! But you will need a good helper to hold Noah. There is a local company who makes hand prints in clay and fires & colors them for a keepsake (look at www.littleprintco.com). He's done day old babies! Anyway, he gets REALLY great impressions all the time, so it IS possible!! Try rubbing the knuckles to get him to open his hand, put it down firmly, press on the hand and then each finger. At least try it. I think you may be surprised.

new_mommy25
12-03-2003, 04:13 AM
Those are so beautiful. I'm going to be in so. Cal next week. If I have time I want to go to a show! Thank you.

luvbeinmama
12-04-2003, 03:14 AM
You're so welcome! BTW - I had to post that I LOVE your new avatar!! VERY cute!!

calebsmama03
12-08-2003, 11:42 PM
Hi there,

Question for you - where do you get the FImo and is it softer than sculpy? I looked at Michael's and only saw sculpy , which seemed too hard to use for handprints.
Lynne
Mommy to Caleb 3/3/03

s7714
12-09-2003, 12:16 AM
They sell Fimo at Joann's, but I don't know if they have those where you are. The Michael's here in SoCal used to carry Fimo, but my local one closed a few months back and I haven't been to one since.

I actually went and bought some Sculpey because it felt a little softer than the Fimo, but it's still pretty firm. Our first attempt at making prints didn't result in anything usable, but I'm going to try again (when DH ISN"T around to "help" :7 ) Sculpey does make a clay softening agent, but I decided against getting that because it says on the bottle that it can cause skin irritation (don't want to irritate DD's hands).

My craft store (Beverly's) also had a air-drying clay that felt really soft--much softer than Fimo or Sculpey. I may go get some of it this week and try that instead. I don't remember what brand it was, but I'll post if it turns out to be something that works.

Jennifer

Annalia 03/03/03

luvbeinmama
12-10-2003, 01:00 AM
You do know your Michael's only moved a few miles down the freeway, don't you? On New LA Ave in Moorpark.

s7714
12-10-2003, 01:23 AM
Yep, I visited the new Michael's in Moorpark during it's grand opening actually. But I've got both Beverly's and Joann's literally about a block away from me...so close it's dangerous really. :)

Jennifer

Annalia 03/03/03

luvbeinmama
12-11-2003, 01:13 AM
LOL! I know what you mean. Those stores are all totally dangerous. I could get lost in there for weeks at a time! :P

calebsmama03
12-11-2003, 04:11 PM
We do have JoAnn's here, but if Fimo is harder than sculpey it's probably not worth it. I had planned on doing this but when I felt the sculpey at Michael's a few weeks ago it felt too hard to use for handprints. Let me know if you find something that works!
Lynne
Mommy to Caleb 3/3/03

s7714
12-16-2003, 11:22 PM
Here's my review of the new clay I tried:
It's called Makin's Clay and it is definitely a lot softer than the Sculpey and Fimo. I bought two of the large packages, and thought at first I was going to get four ornaments, but when DD made her hand prints, the heel of her palm pressed almost completely through the clay, so I had to redo them, this time making three slightly thicker ones instead of four. I still had to press DD's hand pretty firmly into the clay to get her whole handprint. The fingers and palm heel are easy, but the upper portion of the palm was still a little hard to get a good impression of.

This clay air-dries instead of baking. According to the package, it can dry within 24 hours depending on the thickness, but doesn't give a time per mm/cm or anything. My ornaments are about a 1/4" thick and have been drying for several days now and still have a little way to go. (Although I should mention I had them sitting in the coldest room of the house for a couple days...as soon as I moved them to a warmer room they started showing a lot faster drying. :P )

One negative I noticed about this clay is that after they had been drying for a little bit, I noticed some hairline cracking showing where I'm assuming the separate pieces didn't adhere to each other was well as I'd thought when kneading it. But, I have a feeling they'll be hard to see after I sand the edges and get them painted. Perhaps with a little more thorough kneading that wouldn’t happen.

I say give this clay a try if you can find it. According to their website ( www.makinsclay.com ), it is sold at a lot of Michael’s stores. I bought mine at Beverly’s. I’m still debating on how I’m going to go about decorating mine, but I’ll post a picture as soon as I get them done (need to get them done soon! Aaarrrggghhh! Not…ready…for…Christmas…just…yet….)

Jennifer

Annalia 03/03/03

new_mommy25
01-07-2004, 11:02 PM
How did your Makins clay project turn out? Any more cracking? I do love Fimo and Sculpey but you're right, it is a bit of a pita. You have to massage it for a long time to make it soft.