Valentine's Day Heart Plaster of Paris Hand Project for Kids

This plaster of Paris heart hand is wonderful Valentine's Day project for kids. They can use their own hands and create a keepsake that Mom, Dad, and even Grandparents will treasure for years to come.

To Make a Plaster of Paris Hand with Heart You Will Need:

Wooden heart cut out

Air Drying Clay

Plaster of Paris

Acrylic Paint (optional)

Picture frame folding stand (optional)

Now, the first step is to cut off a slab of your air-drying clay. You can use a piece of twine tied to a pencil at each end to cut through the clay. This slab needs to be about two inches thick and about as and wide as your child's hand. Really you need to add about two to three inches to the length and width of your child's hand.

Now, lay the slab out on a flat work surface that is protected with newspaper.

Have you child press their hand into the clay. They need to get is pressed down in there so that the top of the clay is level with the top of the back of their hand.

Now, you could make this slab of clay ad wide as both of their hands and they could make two hands.

Now, have the kids remove their hands from the clay.

Now, take your wooden heart cut out and press it into the clay right in the middle of the hand.

You should press it down at least 1/8^th of an inch.

Now, you need to let this block of clay with your child' palm print complexly dry over night. The plaster of Paris will have trouble drying if the clay is not dry.

Now, mix your plaster of Paris according to the packaged instructions. It is important to follow the instruction on you specific package of plaster of Paris because the measurements can vary between products.

Carefully pour you plaster of Paris in to your child's palm print and heart. Fill it up till it is level with the slab of clay.

Allow you plaster of Paris to completely dry. This does not the long.

Turn the block of clay over and let the hand and heart fall out onto some soft clean fabric. A towel will do.

Plaster of Paris does shrink little when it dries, so you should not have too much difficulty.

Now, let the kids paint their hand and heart in any colors they want. They could also paint their names, the year, the date, or even their initials on the hand.