The Baby Show is coming! 9-11 March

Preparations for the new Baby Show event at Excel, London are now in the final stages here. We will be exhibiting on stand E34 & have some great offers on our casting kits & frames.

Demonstrations of how to make a life cast of your baby's hand or foot will be done by myself on an hourly basis & if you would like us to cast your baby's feet we will be offering this service at the show with prices from £85.

This of course means we are very busy in the office & it's all hands on deck! Even Mum's are roped in this week - how do we do without them. If you need to treat your Mum then what about giving them a cast of your children's feet or hands as a unique & memorable gift??


Specially for those Dad's out ther who are struggling for an unusual gift we have a casting kit in a beautiful white keepsake box - see our website for details!

Baby casting - more feet from just one cast, is it possible??

This is a question I am asked many times so thought I would make it

February's tip - Recasting from a plaster positive using alginate.

The answer of course is sometimes and no, I can't guarantee you'll succeed. There is also a real chance of damaging the original cast so be warned!! For more general tips on taking a mould from baby you should take a look at our taking a baby cast page on our baby casting website.

The basic problem is that the cast doesn't flex like a baby's foot so how can you minimise the risks. What advice would I give to someone who wants to take copies of the lovely cast they have of baby's foot?

1. Try not to use the only good cast you have if at all possible. Try to get 2 good feet from each foot & then you still have a good pair should you break the cast trying to remould it.
2. Clean up the cast first. Remove any bubbles on the plaster surface which need knocking off with your fingernail or a cocktail stick. If you have a lot of ankle on the cast, leave it on for now as it will give you something to hold when remoulding.
3. Do not try to recast a hand or a foot with toes that are sticking out individually. They are very likely to be broken off if you recast them using the alginate/impression powder. Closely bunched toes are the easiest option.

The easiest way to recast is to use the impression powder you already have but that remould tends to be rather inflexible & can only be used once as before. It is however still the way many home casters will go so is the method I'll explain now.

• Take the foot to be remoulded & place it in a bowl of hot water for 5 mins. This allows it to soak up the water & should stop the alginate mixture from sticking to it. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! If you do not soak the cast before putting it into the alginate mix you will not get it out again!
• Mix a runny & therefore softer batch of impression mix by adding a bit more water than the instructions suggest. This makes the mould easier to remove from the cast as it will be more flexible.
• Remove the mould as soon as possible after it has set. You may have to split the mould from the top of the foot to the toes to allow you to wriggle it loose. Be very careful to allow the air to release the vacuum from around all the toes before you go for the final pull out as this will help release them.

If you want to go for a more technical approach you can make a RTV silicone or latex mould using some of the solvent based rubber casting materials available from many good craft stores. CFS Fibreglass Supplies , Cornwall is one such online site as well as Tiranti's in London. This method is not really suitable for doing in the home kitchen however so I won't go into details here.


Hope this helps those of you who don't want to put baby through the casting process any more than necessary!

Valentines is over - not long 'til Mother's Day!

So we have a new gift for you - Our Mother's Day keepsake box with a 4 cast kit inside it.

A lovely white board box with organza ribbon as a closure. The box is finished to a high standard & would be lovely for Mum to decorate & keep as a keepsake box. Take a look as they are a limited offer only - Creative Casting homepage.

For some other lovely gift ideas, take a look at the Artful Hen website. My favourite are the Millie Mac aprons - dead funky & I'd like one for Mother's Day if anyone is listening.....

Back later in the week once the kids go back to school!

Baby's First Year - a time to remember...

Half term has arrived here once again & as we brace ourselves to survive the week it is worth remembering that they won't always be under our feet. Indeed when I stop & consider my boys have grown up pretty quickly.

Despite now spending my time helping other people create lifecasts I have no casts of my own kids as baby's at all & of course I can't go back so that's that.

As new parents time flies by & it can be difficult to stand back enjoy the first year of your baby's life but you really should. You should also capture as many moments as possible to help you remember when you do get chance when they are older.

'Firsts' worth capturing

First Smile - a wonderful moment that only a mother can really appreciate. Combine a photo of that early smile with a print of baby's foot for a perfect reminder of how cute & tiny they were. See our imprint kits for some ideas.

First Grab - I was delighted when he first tried to reach for a toy - I then went into overdrive for educational toys. A common ailment I hear but for a range of the best try those at the Early Learning Centre (always great quality) or Blooming Marvellous

First Roll - the start of things to come!

First Tooth - also the beginnings of what can be a painful & trying element of your baby's life. Bonjela was an essential in my medicine cabinet for a long time!

First Sleep through the Night - you can only hope this comes in the first year..... If not, try controlled crying (as long as they're not too young) . If you can keep up the initial agonising regime it does work.

First Crawl/walk - one of mine sons didn't crawl but the other did, so this first really can vary & often comes outside the first year. It is a treat to buy their first shoes though & don't forget to keep them & put into their keepsake box. Here's one of my favourite sites selling keepsake boxes - Freya design.


In recognition of this important stage of your baby's life, Creative Casting have developed a casting kit especially designed to help you capture the most amazing aspects of the first year - the rate at which your baby will grow! From a nursing newborn to a tiny person trying to get around on their own the speed at which you go through babygrow sizes is shocking. The same is true of baby's hands & feet & this is where our Baby's First Year casting kit fits in.

Giving enough materials to cast baby's feet on 3 separate occasions you can build up a picture of how they grow over that first 12 months. Finished off with the words 'Baby's First Year' in a cut out at the bottom of the frame mount this kit is lovely to own & makes a unique christening or new baby gift.


I just wish I had thought of it when my two were little.....

Creative Casting at The Baby Show, Excel. 9-11th March

We are looking at our stand layout for this new show today. We have supported The Baby Show events for the last 2 years & find it is a great chance to meet our customers. When your main sales channel is the internet it is easy to forget what a new mum looks like!!
We are often amazed at how some people get there before midday - I never managed pre-noon shopping for months after having my first baby!

So, the stand is bigger than ever & we are going to do baby casting demonstrations every hour so people can get an idea of how to do a cast of their baby. Come & see us - stand E34 & let us know what you think! We will have some special offers on our casting kits with prices from just £9.95!

Alginate/impression powder - how safe?

Those of you who are active lifecasters may have heard reference to free silica in alginate & the potential for it to be harmful. Well, this topic has been raised this last week on the ALI forum where a baby casting company have had the topic raised by one of their consultants.

The response by Ed McCormick is an excellent summary of this issue & should be read by all who supply & sell baby casting kits - many of whom don't understand the wording or chemical terms they are using to describe their products. You can read the post yourself or take my word for it that the health risks involved in using alginate to make moulds of baby's hands or feet (or anything else in fact) are incredibly small if the powder is used correctly & the key things to consider also apply to any other powder as millions of household powders contain free silica. Avoid creating clouds of dust & as one ALI forum member suggests you could mix your impression powder in a ventilated room away from baby.

Of course, this all said you should always seek medical attention should any kind of irritation occur & you should be able to get a copy of the health & safety report & material data sheet off your alginate supplier. I would reconsider buying from them if you can't.

I hope this is a useful summary for some of the UK lifecasters who may not be prepared for this question from a client as well as to those of you who have bought a Creative Casting baby casting kit.

Keep casting & enjoy!