Are you looking for a creative and sentimental DIY Mother's Day gift to give the important women in your life this year? This project is just the thing! Create a beautiful casting of children's hands and give it a sparkling bronze finish to create a keepsake Mother's Day present that she'll treasure.
Supplies Needed to Create Faux Bronze Hands for Mother's Day
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ACTÍVA Insta-Mold temporary mold-making compound
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ACTÍVA Perma-Stone casting plaster
- Alternatively, try the NEW Quick-Casting Kit, which contains InstaMold and PermaStone, along with stirring sticks and a mixing bucket!
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Mixing Bowls
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Pan large enough for all hands
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Acrylic Paint: Black
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Golden Fluid Acrylics: Iridescent Bronze (Fine)
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Glazing Medium
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Gold Paint pen
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1” paint brush
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¼” flat paint brush
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Black Sharpie marker
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Spray bottle with water
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Cooking oil
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Electric Mixer or hand egg-beater
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Measuring cups
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Sandpaper
How to Make Faux Bronze Hands for Mother's Day
1. Find a container large enough for all of the hands you want in your plaque.
2. Put the dry InstaMold temporary mold-making compound into this container so it is approximately an inch deep. Now measure the dry powder and set aside.
3. Determine how much water you will need according to the directions in the InstaMold box. Put the water in a bowl large enough to accommodate the water and the InstaMold powder.
4. Mix the powder into the water, if you have an electric mixer this works well; you can also use a hand egg beater. If this is the first time you have used InstaMold, you need to work fairly quickly and keep the mixture on the thin side. Have everyone ready to put their hands into the mixture.
5. Tap the bowl on the counter to bring the air bubbles to the top, and pour the mixture into the container. Have each person put their hand into the mixture and leave it there until the mixture is set. This will take about 3-5 minutes.
6. Take hands out slowly. Put cooking oil around the edges of the container.
7. Use the same amount of PermaStone casting plaster powder as InstaMold powder, mix according to label directions, tap on counter to bring bubbles to the surface, pour into the mold, tap the container on the counter to get out the air bubbles, set aside to dry. Be sure to rinse off all of the mixing items before the PermaStone dries as it will stick to them.
8. In an hour or two it will be dry enough to remove from the pan. Turn it over on a towel and tap the bottom of the pan; put a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen if necessary. Remove the InstaMold from the plaster, and allow drying over night. Discard excess InstaMold in the trash can.
9. Sand of any bumps with sandpaper.
10. Mix the bronze paint half and half with glazing medium. Spray water onto the plaster plaque, then paint on the bronze paint mixture, spray again, and keep doing this until the plaque is covered including the sides.
11. Write Happy Mother’s Day with black paint, and use the gold paint pen to highlight the letters. Use a black Sharpie marker to sign the names.
12. Display in a strong plate holder.
Project Designer: Carolyn Stearns
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