Baby Prints Jewellery

Trying to catch up on the website & we have started adding our new range of Baby Prints jewellery this evening to complement our existing fingerprint range.

Have a look for yourself on the fingerprint jewellery page. The prints can be taken from a set you already have or for a guaranteed high detail hand or footprint, use our excellent inkless footprint kit specially discounted for use with the jewellery.

All items of jewellery can be hallmarked & personalised with a limited number of letters & they are sent to you within 28 days of us receiving your prints. Presented in a lovely jewellery box this is something every new Mum will want!

More Olympic Castings...

Not much time for baby casting at the moment!

Both Julie & I have been out taking impressions for Camelot & The National Lotteryof various athletes these last few days:

Lynn Davies MBE - 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Gold Medallist, Long Jump



What a lovely man! It was a busy day at the National Indoor Athletics Centre & he took it all in his stride!!!

Karen Pickering MBE - Commonwealth Games & World Championships Gold Medallist, freestyle swimming.





With more medals than I've ever seen in her hand, Karen had her hands & feet cast & spoke to the local radio & press about supporting the 2012 Olympics.

Karen has her own swim school & works to raise moeny for many good causes, such as the British Olympic Foundation.





Gregor Tait

Ahead of going out to compete in the Beijing Olympics, Gregor added his support to The National Lottery 'Go for Gold' Scratchcard promotion by having his hands & feet cast by us. Once again he was great to work with despite never having had an impression done before.


After all this excitement Julie & I had better get some proper work done before the next Olympic casting next week!

3D Castings for Nick Gillingham, Olympic swimmer

Had some fun this week! As part of some work with Camelot we took casts of two Olympic medallists this week, the first being Nick Gillingham MBE.

The press call was to highlight the role of The National Lottery Scratchcards in raising funds for the 2012 London Olympics & we were on BBC Midlands Today that evening doing our thing!

Nick was a great guy & put up with having both his hands & feet cast several times. I even got to hold his beautiful bronze & silver medals!

Thursday saw us in Cardiff creating casts for Lynn Davies Olympic Gold medallist in 1963 & President of UK Athletics. More on that very soon!

See the other pictures of the casting on our news page or go get yourself a lottery scratchcard - I never knew there were so many till this week....

Name Frames - New from Creative Casting

Just a quick post today but I know a few people have been waiting for these to go live on the site & finally they are here!



Look great don't they!




Proving to be very popular as gifts for first birthdays, bridesmaids & pageboys these lovely name frames allow you to personalise the cut out letters by mounting a 6"x4" photo behind each one.

There are 3 sizes depending on the length of your name & many mount colour options. With beech or silver effect frames to choose from there's something to suit most tastes so why not treat some one today! Take a closer look at the name frames on our website.

New casting kit frames - new contemporary style.

Having neglected the blog for some weeks it's time to tell you a few of the things we have been up to apart from sunbathing!

New Deep Rebate Frames

Adding a sleek, modern box frame to the collection has been a goal for us for many months & we have finally found a frame which we feel is perfect for our product range.

This one piece solid wood frame has a deep rebate allowing the depth needed for mounting hand & feet casts but maintaining a clean contemporary look when hung on the wall.

All our casting kits are available in this frame with two colour finishes - natural or dark wood.



The clay imprint kits are also being moved into this frame from the beech & silver effect frames currently used allowing a greater depth for your clay footprints. All the clay photo kits now have a fold out stand on the back meaning they can also be displayed as freestanding desktop gifts as well as hung on a wall.

The silver & beech effect frames will still be available in some styles for a few weeks yet but so far the new frames have proved very popular!

We have a few other lovely new ideas on their way so do take a look at our gift range on the website where some of these new baby gifts will be popping up.

Fathers Day is coming: gift ideas from us with next day delivery

It's not long now & have you got something for them yet? Take a look at our bestsellers so far & our ideas for personalised gifts that any Dad would love.

Silver Fingerprint Cufflinks


The deadline has passed for fingerprint cufflinks but we can still send a gift voucher for this lovely gift idea.

These are my husbands & with my boys prints on. He gets plenty of comments about them at work!

Get a gift voucher by calling us on 01252 715700






I Love Daddy Mug


Quick & easy gift which is sent by next day courier.

At just £4.95 (+p&p) you can't beat it!

Buy an 'I love Daddy' gift mug






There are plenty more gift ideas on the site so take a look!

The Baby Show, NEC 16th - 19th May

Having been on a lovely holiday to see Mickey I thought it time to get on with some work before Julie expires!

Whilst away the world of baby gifts & keepsakes has been mighty busy & we are off to the NEC once again next week to offer visitors to The Baby Show some great discounts. Do visit us on stand H14 where we will be doing 3D castings & a Fathers Day Hand/Footprint Mug Offer in conjunction with Marabu Ceramic paints.

There are a few online special offers for those of you who can't make it to the show - take a look!

So, off to make some sample pieces with our new mouldings for the stand out on the deck. Who says you can't get a tan & work at the same time!




This is one of the new styles we are introducing in the next couple of months. Like it? Let us know if you do....

Baby's First Year Inkless Footprint Kit

New in our online shop this week is this lovely gift idea for recording baby's footprints for their first year.

Available in a beech or silver effect frame the kit was so popular at The Baby Show, Excel we decided to add it to the range!

The hand or foot prints are created using the amazing inkless print technology used to create mess free prints in black on the specially treated paper. Easy to do & clean as well! There are 3 inkless wipes & 6 sheets of A4 paper included in the kit so you have plenty of materials to work with.

Priced at £34.95 this makes an unusual baby gift idea & we are offering it at a discounted price of £29.95 until the end of May as an introductory special offer. Take a closer look or order through the Creative Casting online shop: Inkless Prints First Year Frame Kit.

Not tempted? Then take a look at the rest of our great range of unusual personalised baby gifts, all centred on baby's handprints & footprints.

Pouring plaster - techniques & advice

Pouring plaster into your impression mould is something I have been busy doing all week so I thought I'd pass on a few helpful hints while I'm still in 'casting mode'!

The first thing to remember is this is not an exact science. Many professional sculptors & craftsmen never measure quantities of plaster & water & rely on experience to get the mix they want. It doesn't matter if you add slightly too much powder/water when mixing your casting mix - it should still work out ok. What may vary is the amount of time you have before the mix sets & how strong the final piece is.

Secondly, plaster sets quicker the older it is. If you have a kit which has not been used within 6 months of purchase the plaster is likely to set quicker than stated in the instructions, giving you less working time!

Now for some real advice:

Plaster types: there are many & they vary in coarseness of the powder, hardness & setting time. Our kits use a plaster with a total working time of 5/6 minutes at room temperature. It is a form of dental plaster that gives excellent detail & good hardness whilst not being too hard to carve & sand once dry. There are many other plasters available & if using them you should obtain a data sheet with mixing ratios & setting times & experiment before pouring a mix into your precious baby foot mould!

Adding plaster to water: As a rule, you need 1 part water to 2 parts plaster. You should always add the water to the plaster & not the other way round. Pour the plaster into the water & make a little mountain in the middle of the water. This should be left to soak up the water for 1-2 minutes before you start mixing. This allows the water to be absorbed by the plaster in a nice, even manner & you are less likely to get lumps.

Mixing techniques: Mix from the bottom of the container in smooth circles. You are trying to mix without putting bubbles into the mixture. Mix for a minute or so - the more you mix the faster & harder the plaster will set so don't overdo it! As soon as you have a mix which is smooth like single cream you're almost ready to pour.

Removing bubbles: they are your enemy as they will catch in fingers & toes leaving your cast digitless. Tap the tub of plaster on a hard surface to 'knock out' as many bubbles as possible before pouring into the mould. If pouring a foot, half fill & using the bristle end of a paintbrush, 'paint' around the inside of the mould into every toe & as much of the inside surface as possible. Tap the mould to dislodge any more bubbles & then top the mould right up.

If pouring a hand, fill the mould once, empty the plaster back into the tub & then refill slowly. Clamp a cloth over the open end of the mould & shake well, tipping the mould upside down & shaking it in all planes to give bubbles a chance to escape. Then, remove the cloth, top up the mould & leave to set.


Lots of words here I know but it's all good advice! I think I need a video of these tips - watch this space!!

Unusual baby names make for a lucky future!

Children who have been given strange names by their celebrity parents tend to do better in life.

New research suggests that odd names such as Princess Tiaamii or Peaches can be an advantage.

Certain sounds in a name or links with royalty can make people seem more successful, lucky or attractive, according to psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman.

His team polled more than 6,000 people to determine their perception of certain names, as part of a study to launch Edinburgh International Science Festival.

People called James and Elizabeth are seen as the most successful, Jack and Lucy the luckiest and Sophie and Ryan the most attractive.

But Lisa and Brian are the most likely to fail, Helen and John are the unluckiest and Ann and George are the least attractive.

Mr Wiseman said: "Traditional names with royal associations are viewed as highly successful and intelligent.

"Attractive female names tended to be soft-sounding and end with the 'ee' sound, whereas the sexiest males names are short and much harder sounding."

During the study, 6,686 people were given a list of 10 male and 10 female names and asked to rank them in terms of success, attractiveness and luck. Mr Wiseman also analysed some unusual names celebrities have given to their children.

Princess Tiaamii, Jordan and Peter Andre's daughter, should have a lucky life because her name has royal associations and ends with a double 'e' sound, according to Mr Wiseman.

Peaches Geldof, Bob Geldof and Paul Yates' second child, has a soft sounding name with positive connotations which make it attractive.

Kal-el, the son of Nicolas Cage, has a short, hard-sounding name which is also the original moniker of Superman, making it sexy and attractive.

Article taken from: Sky News