I have been feeling rather sentimental about my children recently. I think that everyone, especially mothers, get the feeling that they want to freeze-frame time and take in every detail of every second. I have been feeling this way quite a bit lately. Most of it has to do with Jonah graduating to toddlerhood. We're planning his second birthday party already, applying for preschools, and trading in diapers for underwear. Where did my little baby boy go?
And then there's Evie. Last night while my husband was swaddling her, he exclaimed "She's grown in the last hour, I swear!" and it was true. Very suddenly her swaddling blanket did not fit her anymore. It really seems as though she's growing at lightning pace. Because she's most likely going to be my last biological child, I'm already missing being pregnant. Here I am packing up the newborn size cloth diapers, wondering if I'll ever get them back out again and wishing that time would slow down just a tiny bit.
When I first heard about Pinkies and Piggies, I fell in love with the idea immediately. When Jonah was a baby, I took several handprints. Some with ink, some in plaster, some in clay, and even some in a concrete stepping stone for the garden. But none of them seemed to catch the nuances, or the satisfaction that I felt when admiring his tiny baby fingers and perfect miniature palm. Those are the feelings and memories that I long to preserve the most. But Pinkies and Piggies gives a unique spin on preserving baby's hand and foot prints. With their take-home impression kit, parents can create a mold in their own home from baby's hand or foot print. Pinkies and Piggies will then turn it into a detailed 3-d glass ornament. And since the company is so local to us, I knew that I had to try it out.
When the kit arrived, it was packaged in an adorable box. I felt as if I were opening a gift, and would not hesitate to give this as a very special baby shower or baptism gift. The poem on the wrapping of the package brought a smile to my heart.
The kit consisted of a set of instructions, a plastic tray with a modeling compound, and the materials to send our print back to the Pinkies and Piggies studio.
Daryl and I decided to mold Evie's hand. It was a very tough to decide between the hand or the foot, because both baby parts are so precious. I liked the idea of having her hand, because it is her hands that I am always kissing... when I nurse her, on the changing table, playing on the tummy mat. Her little fingers get an awful lot of smooches.We tried to take the impression while she was sleeping. I am all to aware of how difficult it can be to get a newborn's handprint. They like to keep their hands fisted up, and still have the "grabbing" reflex. I thought that while she slept, her hand might be more relaxed and easier to work with. Of course, she woke up as soon as she caught wind of our scheme to poke her hand into cold modeling compound. I typically would have had Daryl hold her while I took her imprint, but because I wanted to document this with pictures, we chose to do it on the floor where she would be level with the tray.
Unlike the imprints that I had taken of Jonah's hands in plaster and concrete, it was easy to get just what I wanted with the modeling compound. I was amazed at how soft it was, and how easily Evie's hand set down into it.
The first impression had a funny divot at the top of her thumb, and the line in her palm wasn't fully imprinted, so I simply rolled the compound into a ball and flattened it back out again into the tray. I did this a number of times before getting the print exactly the way I want it.
I'm really impressed with how detailed the print is in the modeling compound. If the glass can pick up all of these details as well, then it will truly be a treasured keepsake. I'm excited to see how the ornament turns out!
We did have a problem with the tray breaking when I was putting the modeling compound back into it after a failed attempt at getting the handprint. I think that I was pushing it too hard into the side of the tray though and it is not really a fault of the product.
I was also disappointed to find that Evie's full name as well as the date that the print was taken, would not fit. Customers can have the baby's name, plus either the baby's birth day, weight, or the date that the print was taken, engraved on the back of their keepsake. Understandably, space is limited, and we had to settle for Evelyn's first and middle name, as well as the date. There is also a choice of pink, blue, or clear glass. Daryl wanted clear glass at first, but I mentioned that it would be nice to perhaps have one of Jonah's made in blue, and we could hang them side by side and have Evie's in pink and Jonah's in blue if we decide to get his hand done as well. Daryl agreed, so we checked the box for pink glass.
I sealed the handprint and the order slip in the box that was provided, and dropped it off at the post office. In three to four weeks I will be receiving Evie's beautiful hand, preserved in glass. I really cannot wait to share with you how it turns out!
If you are interested in purchasing your own ornament, or want to know more about Pinkies and Piggies, visit the website at http://www.pinkiesandpiggies.net/index.html
That is so super cool! I'll definitely be keeping this in mind for future grandparent presents. I know my mom would absolutely melt if we did impressions of Finn and baby B's hands.
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