fawn&forest

When Eliot was a newborn everyone told me the first year will be over before I know it, they grow so fast. It wasn't until I was putting away the newborn clothes + pulling out the 0-3M size that I really realized Eliot really was new + different each day. He was growing. Fast. And I had not even taken him to the photographer yet! In my sleep deprived daze I was not quite ready for him not to be a newborn. 

And those tiny hands and feet! So in addition to sniffing the sweetness of baby skin until I was over the moon, a bit of detailed documentation was in order. Geared with a big tub of  Model Magic by Crayola  and determination, I put my plan in action. Every three months I would smoosh Eliot's tiny little hands + feet into the clay and at the end of the first year display them in a specimen box.

A big tub of the Model Magic in white has 4 individual packages of super light weight air-dry clay. Using one package for each 3rd month was enough clay for 3 hand prints + 1 set of foot prints.  I found it beneficial to make 3 sets of hand prints as, in the quickness of working with tiny hands, they don't always turn out as you would expect and grandparents will always appreciate a set of handprints. I did not cut out a particular size of clay for each handprint (but a circle or rectangle would work), but rather rolled out a ball about 1/3" thick into an organic form, as shown above. For the footprints (not shown) I rolled out a 5x7" rectangle, 1/3" thick, which ultimeltly ended up being big enough for Eliot's 1 year old foot.

To assemble the specimen box, I adhered orange cotton fabric to the inside back + sides of the box. Using a date stamper I dated each handprint with a small piece of paper, tacking it in place with a pin. Before adhering the  handprints to the background, I wrote a  simple descriptions of each age on a paper card (for 6 months, "silly + thinking about crawling") and glued it to the background so it would appear behind the handprints when fully assembled. With a big glob of hot glue, attach the handprints in place. Using another bit of paper, I titled the collection with my son's name + birth date, attaching it to the inside of the box.

Another option would be to create specimen boxes with each month's hand + footprint displayed together. If you cannot find a specimen box big enough to hold your precious collection, use a clear acrylic box frame as I did. It's a bit more work figuring out how to repurpose the frame, but creates a very streamlined presentation as a result. Clear acrylic box frames are available in a selection of sizes, perfect for this project.

Fun. We'll have to have another Memory Keeping week as there are still so many good ideas, projects + products to share!