How to Create an Amazing Hand Cast Heart Lamp
Nothing kills a romantic atmosphere like the wrong lighting! Soft candlelight sets the scene for love; or, alternatively, how about a heart-shaped light made from a cast of your hands? That surely gets bonus points for originality!
Our hand-cast heart lamp has got the seal of approval from our followers on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest – with lots of cooing over its cute styling. We made it using a plastic LED heart light, which we found online, along with our Family Hand Casting Kit . To prove how simple it is to make, we demoed it LIVE on Facebook.
Here are our top tips for getting brilliant results with this creative hand casting:
1. Use a placeholder to create space
There are lots of options for creative hand castings that involve the hands holding an object. In this case, it’s a heart light; but it could just as well be a photo-frame, candle, or pretty much anything!
The first step is to create a placeholder for the item you want your hand cast to hold, using a flexible material (foam or polystyrene). Cut this to the same shape and dimensions as the item your hand cast will hold. Then, cover it with a smooth, waterproof material (packing tape or cling film), so that it doesn’t get stuck to the plaster.
2. Use a Family Hand Casting Kit
You need a large bucket for this creative hand casting, and alginate powder to create enough moulding jelly to fill the bucket. Our Family Hand Casting Kit, usually used for a four-person hand casting, is perfect for this.
3. Dress rehearsal
Practice holding your foam or polystyrene placeholder and dipping your hands into the empty bucket. Find a position where you can hold your wrists into the bucket vertically, rather than at an angle. When you’re happy, it’s time to roll!
4. Get casting
Follow the casting process, as detailed in the booklet provided in our kit. The four steps of hand casting include: Mixing the alginate (60 seconds); Making the mould (2-3 minutes); Mixing the stone and filling the mould (5 minutes); And revealing the cast (5 minutes).
5. Casting notes
The most important thing to remember when hand casting with a placeholder is to leave the rubber or polystyrene inside the cast when you remove your hands. Don’t attempt to remove it!
6. Call for help
If you are casting your own hands, or one of your hands and one of your partner’s, you’ll need another person to help. Delegate mixing the alginate and ask them to hold the bucket steady while you wriggle your hands free.
7. The big reveal
When your cast is ready for the big reveal, go steady! Pull away chunks of alginate, a little at a time, working from the top down. When you come to remove the placeholder foam, be gentle to avoid damaging any of the casted fingers. It should slide out easily – leaving the perfect space to slot in your heart light.
Here’s our video, which aired LIVE on Facebook, to show you exactly how it’s done. Please note that the flash sale code mentioned in the video is no longer valid:
Fancy having fun with hand casting? Check out our hand casting kits here. If you need advice on using our hand casting kits creatively, get in touch for our expert tips. Happy Casting!