handprint help please

[Raina]

We just tried to make two large octagonal stepping stones with our two year old twins' handprints.  The first seemed too runny, the second too dry, although we thought we added the correct amount of water and waited until the runny one seemed dry enough. By then, the drier one was too hard to make an imprint. When we made the handprints on the runnier cement, the cement stuck to our girls' hands, making peeks on the impression.  Could we spray cooking oil on their hands to avoid this? Also, we tried several different writing implements, tooth pick, plastic knife, pencil, and all of our letters ended up with "crumbs" of cement all over, very difficult to read.  We'd appreciate any suggestions you have and we look forward to our next attempts.  Thanks:)

[Jeff Clark]

Hi Raina,

Thank you for your posting! There are a couple of things you can do to prevent that sort of thing from happening. The first one has to do with the water. Be sure to add the correct amount, which it sounds like you did on the first one. The mixture will seem kind of runny or soupy after you pour it into the mold and smooth the surface. That is from the water rising to the top, trying to "get out" and evaporate. That's normal.  After you pour the mixture into the mold and smooth the surface, allow the mixture to set for about five to ten minutes. During that time, if you gently place a paper towel over the surface of the mixture, it will soak up some of the excess moisture. This will take care of some of that runniness.

As far as the handprints, a certain amount of the mixture will stick to the hands. However, if you make sure to do the handprints with very clean, dry hands, this should eliminate most of the problem. I'm not sure I would recommend the cooking oil. It could affect the curing of the mixture, but we haven't tested that yet.

For the lettering, it's all about the technique. What I find works well for me is to do a series of little "slices" to form the letters. What I mean by that is to not try to write so much as make impressions with the end of the writing tool, almost like you're carving the letters rather than writing them.

I hope all of that make sense and if you have other questions, please feel free to email us directly at marketing@milestonsproducts.com.

Thank you again for your post!