How to Make 3D Baby Footprints, Hand or Faceprint

by Marina Sestan December 17, 2021

written by Marina Sestan December 17, 2021 144 views

Are you looking for a bit of a challenge and want to know how to make baby footprints and handprints at home? How about we go a little further and even make a 3D faceprint of your toddler? We had a lot of fun with this keepsake memory craft activity, and trust me, it is quite simple to make!

When my oldest was born I wanted to treasure every moment I could. Besides photo albums, first haircut memory, and stuff like that, I also wanted to capture those little hands and feet. I made them as a personalized gifts for grandparents. And I must say, they enjoyed it more than anything you can buy.

This year when my girls are 6 and 3 we came up with an idea to make a 3D faceprint as well! To my surprise, I couldn’t find that kind of project anywhere online. It’s simple, creative, and very effective.

To make it easier for you I made a short tutorial you can easily follow::

How to make a baby 3d footprint with molding powder

All these steps are the same for

3D footprints,
3D handprints,
or 3D faceprints

STEP 1 – SALT DOUGH DIY RECIPE FOR 2 FACES

2 CUPS / 500G OF FLOWER
1 CUP / 250 g OF SALT
0,85 CUP / 200 ml OF LUKEWARM WATER
TABLESPOON OF OIL
Knead the dough until smooth.
For better results put the salt into the water, and it will dissolve faster and be smoother.

STEP 2 – IMPRINTING AND CASTING BABY HANDS, FEET, OR FACE

Put the dough in a bowl, a cardboard box, or anything that fits feet, hands, or a face. We used a cardboard box for the face and a smaller bowl for 3d footprints and handprints
IMPORTANT: If you are using a bowl, make sure you place a plastic wrap before the dough. Make it go above the edges so you can easily get it out once it’s dry.
Even up the surface
For a better imprint, you can place some oil on top of the dough
For casting baby hands and feet press slightly each finger to make a deeper impression
For casting a face, place it on the kid’s face and give it enough pressure to feel comfortable. Mine enjoyed this part, we had quite a laugh doing it!

STEP 3 PREPARE THE MOULDING POWDER

Put the molding powder and water into a bowl – a ratio of 2:1
Leave for 1 minute
Then stir
Pour out into your salt dough.
Place some straws right away, so you can remember on what side the wholes need to be, so you can hang it on the wall
Leave for 24 hours

STEP 4 – SHAPE YOUR 3D PROJECT

Grind the edges
Smooth uneven surfaces with a soft sandpaper
You can leave it in a shape of a bowl with hands and feet, or fully shape it as I did with our 3d model of a face

STEP 5 – DECORATE YOUR KEEPSAKE MEMORIES

You can leave it like that, the natural look
Or you can paint it
I really can’t draw, but I wanted to highlight the lines of a face, so did the painting with some golden acrylic matt paint
I used a brush and a sponge as you can see in the video tutorial

When you take out the dough from the 3d imprint, you can still reuse it to make lots of crafts with salt dough. You can make some ornaments, make a new imprint, or just play with it as homemade playdough.

how to make baby footprints with your hand

IS CASTING SAFE FOR BABY?

In this tutorial, we only used flour, salt, water, and oil.
Those are the only ingredients your child’s skin comes to contact with
So Yes, this method of casting is perfectly safe for your baby and toddlers

Now you know how to make baby footprints and handprints with these extra interesting ideas. This baby footprint kit is quite budget friendly and simple to make.

HOW TO USE THIS SENTIMENTAL GIFT

You can use it for so many occasions:

As DIY project and things to do for Mother`s Day
Sentimental gifts for Christmas for Grandparents
DIY gift for Dad’s Birthday
Last minute DIY gift for a relative
Good aunt and uncle baby keepsake gift
Place it on your wall, or just save it in your baby keepsake box

Some more ideas for creative projects with kids: