Raised Handprint Stones

I came across this post, and decided this was going to be our Mother's Day project! Aren't they adorable?!

I followed the instructions, but here is my take on it:

1. I made this playdoh recipe step by step, minus the food coloring. For 14 kids, I made 4 batches of it. I was able to reuse it, but you will have to add more flour as the water from the plaster of Paris will soak in.

2. Divide one batch in half and fill in an empty container. I used a recycled Cool Whip container.

3. Press the kids hands in really deep. You want to make a deep enough imprint that it will feel lifelike when the final product is ready! If you mess up, no worries. You can reset the dough and start again.

4. Once that's done, start mixing the plaster. The recipe is two parts plaster to one part water. I did 2 cups of plaster and one cup of water.

5. After mixing, dump it right in your container. It is liquidy enough to fill in the handprint spaces! Now just let it dry. I let it dry overnight in the classroom and in the morning the plaster pops right off the play dough! Cool huh?

I didn't take a picture of the final product :( But they turned out really cool!!



One problem I came across was that plaster of Paris will dissolve in the rain, if placed in a garden as a stepping stone. I'm not sure how to make them waterproof? I did think about using a cement mix instead of plaster, but I'm not sure if it would capture the details and/ or even conform to the mold? Anybody have experience doing it that way? Please share!