Life Casting Starter Kit With Alja-Safe Alginate

I have never done an art project of this sort before but I thought it would be a cool thing to do with my son. I watched the dvd that came with it which really helped. Also if you look up Smooth-On's website they have a bunch of other videos and demos for other products. I first made a test mold of my finger so I understood the process (recommended) and then made a mold of my sons hand. He thought it was really cool. It was enough alginate for the finger and the hand but that's about it. There was more than enough plaster.I would recommend this for anyone. Great product.

I managed to get two fidgety kids, 4 and 7, to keep their hands still long enough to make a perfect mold, so I'd say pretty much anyone can get a good result. You do have to act fast with the mixing of the mold material, because it starts hardening immediately, but the instructions make that very clear. Just get everything set up before you mix and be ready to act fast!

Easy to use, detailed directions. I followed the advice in the instructions to do a small thumb impression first, to get an idea for it and avoid bigger mistakes. That was very helpful.I tried to get all the air bubbles out and fill the mold completely, but several fingers needed to be touched up. Also, kid's fingers are VERY delicate. I broke a couple getting them out, but gorilla glue worked great to fix them. I also used spackle to fill air holes and finish fingers.I followed the advice of another reviewer and put a bolt in the wet cement so I could mount it. Worked great!

Easy to use, and easy clean up! Will definitely buy again, probably in a larger size. I bought 2 kits to experiment with. I was hoping to "hand cast" my little boy, and wound up having to use it myself first in order to incite his interest. I squeezed a little too hard while removing my (large) hand and then got too excited removing the cast of my sons! My casting was amazing in detail and only a couple of the fingertips were messed up. My son's would have been perfect - except I broke all the fingers off - after I had revealed enough to show how perfect his little thumb turned out! My son has already jumped on board and listed the relatives who need a casting of his hands. We'll try a few more times! Awesome product, and we didn't even watch the video for what are probably very helpful directions (no dvd player).

Extremely disappointing. Lousy instructions, and it set so quickly we couldn't use it. I wanted to cast my 90 year old mother's hand with her 8 year old great granddaughter. They adore one another and this would have been a wonderful keepsake. They live 1,500 miles apart and may not get another opportunity.

I used cold water to mix the molding gel, and it set in 3 minutes! This kit is doable, but you better use cold water, and mix quickly. We used it to do clasped hands. It will work fine volume=wise if you pour the molding gel into a windshield washer (1 gallon) container. I will get another one, and try again. The difference this time is that i will mix into the windshield washer bottle, add 1/4 volume MORE water ( it mixed pretty thick) and immediately insert our hands. it says to dip your hands in...pull out, and put back in. I will only do that if the mixture shows no sign of curing. Your body heat in your hands will add to the curing, and make it quicker. good luck!

My wife bought this for our first anniversary. This is the first time we are trying lifecasting. We have gone through all the instructions twice and did exactly what it was mentioned. Reviews from amazon helped us alot. Finally we did this today and It turned out amazing. It casted all the minor details on our hands. Very happy with the purchase 😊😊😊 Make sure to use coldest water from tap to mix moulding gel and pour the plaster liquid slowly by dabbing the container to prevent air bubbles from trapping. Recommend to everyone 👍🏻

I made all my "homemade" Christmas gifts this year with my kids. I divided the mixture up and made 5 molds of my daughters hand (she's two) they give great detail! She held little plastic toys as she did it which turned out great. I would say if you have a hyper active child it will work just not as great I'm guessing, my 5 year old son only made 2 because he didn't wanna stop moving his hand in the goo. But he was able too and his turned out awesome! Some spray paint and I'll be finished!