Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Look WHAT I did (with RA) Wednesday

I'm going to try any do a little project every Wednesday, and share it on my blog. So, today I decided to finish a project we started on our recent trip to California! It's an idea I have been wanting to do since before I had Muffin. It's a sand handprint, and it was so much fun (and super easy) to do! In fact I think we are going to make it a little family tradition, and do it every time we go to the beach! Let's hope we go enough times to fill a whole wall with these hand prints! Ha!

Here's what you will need:

At least 1 cup of Plaster of Paris (you can get this at Michaels or any craft store)
Water
2 foil pie tins (from the dollar store)
Beach sand
Glue gun and glue sticks
Shadow box frame (I got mine at IKEA for $9.99!)
I sharpie fine tip pen

Step 1: Fill the pie tin with beach sand all the way and level it off on the top. Then press your hand or foot or whatever you want an impression of into the sand. Make sure to firmly press and make the imprint at least 1 inch deep into the tie tin. This will ensure that your hand print will be thick and won't easily break once it's dry.

Step 2: Next fill the other pie tin with equal parts Plaster of Paris and water. Mix it together until it is a smooth consistancy. (Like cake batter) If it's too watery add more plaster and vice versa.

Step 3:Pour the plaster mixture into your sand imprint. If you want your print to be like mine then let the plaster over flow a little. If you just want to see a hand print then make sure your plaster stays inside the print. Tap it on the ground a couple of times to make sure there aren't any bubbles.

Step 4:Enjoy the beach with your family until the plaster drys. After it's dry lift the print out of the sand and dust it off. Your beach keepsake is done!

We took our handprint home and let it sit for a few days just to let it harden as much as possible. Then I...,

Step 5: dust off any extra sand from your print then set it aside. Open your frame, put heaps and heaps of hot glue on the back of your sand print and glue it to the lining that came with the frame while centering it neatly.

Step 6: Let the glue cool. Take your Sharpie pen and write a name, place, and year in the corner.

Step 7: Place the print in the frame, and hang or put on a shelf.

Step 8: ENJOY!!!

We really had so much fun at the beach this time. I was in my wheelchair on the sidewalk. I couldn't go on the actual beach, but I'll be out there soon enough! I'm working really hard on being able to walk again. It's a lot of hard work, but when it happens I just know my whole life will change for the better. I'm so excited for what the future holds! That's what I think about when I look at this sand print... For me it represents hope.

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