Decorating Your Belly Cast

Lars is going on two-years-old now and I'm just now finding the time and inspiration to make something of that darn belly cast that takes up too much room in our storage closet. Every time I saw it laying there I asked myself what the point of casting this momentous period in life is if it's just going to be hidden away in storage. Here's what I came up with…

I picked some ferns, Queen Anne's Lace, honeysuckle, clover and other pretty plants for drying.

Finding the heaviest books you have around, lay down some newspaper for the plants to be pressed in. Two sheets are best so that any moisture does not filter through to the books pages (found that out the hard way with my husband's, The Hunter's Encyclopedia, uh oh…).

Add additional books to the top for extra pressure and let sit for at least four days. I think I gave them a week to really let the moisture out.

In the meantime, I painted the belly cast with acrylic paint. I used a gold tinted paint, white and various hues of ochre.

Once the plants were fully dried and very flat, I made a mixture of Elmer's glue and water, adhering/painting them to the cast. In retrospect, I would have used Mod Podge, making less of a watery-gluey mess and make a thicker coating over some of the more bulbous flower heads.

Let it dry for a few hours and voila!

Additionally, I added a layer of clear acrylic coating for a more finished look and helping to keep some of the loose bits of plant and flower adhered to the cast.