Types of Baby Keepsake Footprint

1. Ink Baby Keepsake Footprint ($9~15)

The simplest and cheapest method of obtaining baby keepsake footprints are in the form of an ink keepsake. Ink keepsake kits can be purchased online or in stores for a very reasonable price of around $9. They usually include several pieces of acid free cards and a couple of non-toxic, infant safe ink plates.

The keepsake footprint themselves are obtained by first placing the baby's hand or foot onto the ink plate and then onto the card. The ink can be cleaned off the baby very easily using warm water + soap or a small amount of baby oil.

The advantage with this type of footprint is the fact that it is so quick and easy. Also as mentioned before this is the cheapest of all the keepsakes which is a big plus. However as the print is taken using ink, care should be taken not to place the keepsake in humid areas. It should also be noted that these types of keepsakes are not forgiving in terms of mistakes. If you fail to take a good keepsake, your second attempt must be on a new piece of card.

2. Plaster Baby Keepsake Footprint ($15+)

Although a little more expensive than the ink keepsakes, these are robust. The kits contain everything you need and to produce the keepsake footprint you just prepare the plaster and place your baby's foot into it. Once this has been done the plaster is left to dry and harden. A heat source such as a hair dryer can be used to quicken up the process although care should be taken not to over heat it.

One advantage with this form of keepsakes is the fact that you can make mistakes. If you are not happy with the results of the first impression, you can just even out the plaster and try again until you have the perfect footprint. The disadvantages include the fact that it is heavy, and that it may crack if a large enough force is applied, e.g. dropping it.

3. Clay Baby Keepsake Footprint ($40~$60)

A generally more preferred form of keepsake come in the form of clay. As with the plaster keepsakes, this form of keepsake is very robust and is relatively cheap.

Some companies offer themes for clay baby keepsake footprints. For example one company "Little Keepsakes" produce clay keepsakes with a sand theme. These keepsakes incorporate real sand and seashells to mimic a footprint in real sand - just like those you would see on a beach.

4. 3-D Clay Baby Keepsake Footprint ($40~$60)

Both types of keepsakes described above (plaster and clay) and imprints, i.e. they are indentations into the impression material. Some companies such as "Little Keepsakes" provide "3-D" clay baby keepsake kits. These provide keepsake footprints that "stick out" of the impression material. This provides a more realistic keepsake footprint in terms of touch.

5. Bronzed (Professional) Baby Keepsake Footprint ($70~$250)

Professional companies such as "Heritage Keepsakes" (est. 1946) will produce 3-dimentional bronzed keepsakes of your baby's foot or hand for prices ranging from $70 ~ $250. The process itself can take from 6-10 weeks. The advantage with this is the fact that you know you are getting a quality product, that is long lasting.

The process itself consist of the following:

A representative takes an impression of your baby's hand or foot using non-toxic impression material.
The impression is then handcrafted via a 35 step process. This part is the most time consuming part of the whole process.
Final touches are made such as mounting the keepsake.

6. Other Baby Keepsake Footprint

Other impression material are used in addition to the ones mentioned above. An example of this is produced by "Cherry Lane Keepsakes", which make use of a mixture of water, flower, wheat and calcium carbonate to produce a non-toxic, air-drying impression material. As we have no experimented with this type of impression material we are not completely sure what advantages/disadvantages they have. If you have used this type of keepsake please contact us at "admin (at) babykeepsakefootprint.net" and tell us of your experiences.