Several generations ago, parents used to have their baby’s first shoes bronzed. The shoes were heavy and mounted on a base for display. When parents wanted special mementos of their baby’s earliest childhood days, they turned to footprints, like those the hospital takes.
Of course, parents have lots of pictures of their babies, but none of them remember how their babies’ real footprints are. If you are looking for a clay keepsake kit that is loaded with extras, take a look at the Zazazozeza Deluxe Baby Handprint and Footprint Kit. It makes a great keepsake and a wonderful shower gift.
Whether they are called baby footprint kits or baby handprint kits, the objective is still the same. They are ways to create keepsakes of your babies’ tiny hands and feet from their very earliest days. There are three basic formats you can choose to make permanent remembrances of your baby’s footprints.
Footprints are as unique as fingerprints and are a form of identification. Ink kits make baby footprints similar to the ones doctors and nurses make at the hospital. Ink kits come with ink, paper and a frame. Inks are nontoxic and can be washed away from any surface with dish soap and water. The ink dries in minutes. Ink footprints are two-dimensional.
Clay footprint kits come premixed in a sealed package to keep the clay soft and easily malleable. You roll out the clay to flatten it and remove the air bubbles, then press your baby’s foot into the clay to create the depth of impression you want. Clay is easy to use and easy to handle. Clay allows you as many do-overs as you need until you get the result you desire. After clay figures dry for several days, they won’t break if you drop them. Clay adds a bit of depth to your baby’s footprint.
Plaster footprint kits make the best impressions because they form harder, sharper and crisper edges than clay. The downside is that plaster is the messiest of the three media and the most challenging to work. The plaster cast can be easily disturbed by motion when the plaster is setting. Plaster dries within a few hours and is likelier to break than clay footprints. There are no do-overs with plaster as there are with clay and ink. Like clay, plaster also creates a three-dimensional footprint.
If you want a display to mount on a wall or a nightstand, ink, clay and plaster footprints are all excellent choices. Some keepsake kits include only the ink, paper, clay or plaster needed to make your baby’s footprints. Others include a frame. Look for kits with frames to include real glass and pre-cut mats sized to fit the frame. Choose frames that hang on the wall or sit on a desk or nightstand.
Because your baby’s feet are so tiny, even clay and plaster footprints and impressions are lightweight enough to hang on your Christmas tree like an ornament for the baby’s first Christmas. You can also shrink ink footprints for inclusion in a locket as another treasured keepsake.
Simple paper and ink, clay and plaster footprint kits cost around $10-$20. Kits that come with extras like frames cost as much as $40-$50.
A. The best way is to have someone help you. One can hold the baby while the other makes the print or the impression.
A. Yes, but you will soon be on your own because ink, clay and plaster footprint keepsake kits are sized for very tiny feet.
A. Yes. Some baby footprint keepsake kits say so right on the box.
Zazazozeza Deluxe Baby Handprint and Footprint Kit
What you need to know: This deluxe clay keepsake kit comes loaded with extras and is a great shower gift.
What you’ll love: This kit arrives in a gift-ready New Mom package. Inside is a real wood memory cabinet with a lock and a picture frame, glass and a pre-cut mat. The clay is ready mixed and ready to mold with the included rolling pin. Use the solid wood storage box for saving shoes, socks, bonnets, name tags, pacifiers and all your baby treasures. Mount your baby’s footprints and a photo right on top of the box.
What you should consider: This is a pricey footprint kit.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Pearhead Newborn Baby Hand and Foot Print Kit
What you need to know: Your newborn’s hands and feet never touch the ink.
What you’ll love: The clean-touch ink pad means no messy ink for you or your baby. The frame holds one handprint, one footprint and a 4-inch by 6-inch photo of your baby. The small-sized pad and paper are best for newborns while they are still tiny.
What you should consider: If your ink pad arrives dry, add a few drops of water to it.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Mengni Baby Foot Hand and Paw Print Kit
What you need to know: Use this ink keepsake kit to make footprints of your baby and your new puppy, too.
What you’ll love: Baby gently touches the dry side of the very flexible ink pad, and the pressure transfers the ink from the other side to the paper with no muss, no fuss and nothing that needs cleaning. This footprint kit has four ink pads and eight imprint cards, more than most kits. This kit comes with your choice of 10 different colored inks.
What you should consider: This kit comes only with ink and paper and does not include a display case or frame.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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David Allan Van writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
