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The simple directions which follow tell how you may have—and to your profit help others to have—small individual plaques imprinted with tots' hands. The hand is used because characteristics—lines, mounts, proportion of fingers and palm—are as distinctly individual and as unchanging except for growth, as a fingerprint, and, of course, much more interpretive of personality.

In kindergarten, children often make indented or outlined patterns of their hand as a gift to mother. Imprint of a baby's hand, or of a very young child, is more heart-catching—not only because it is small and dainty but because in the process described here, the hand is in relief, rather than indented. Lines in the palm are much more clearly seen. In making the impression, possible motion of the hand in the soft compound rather than against a flat surface, gives opportunity for characteristic expressions. For instance, a recent mold of one child showed two fingers unnaturally close together. I said at once, "We'll take another impression."

"Oh no," exclaimed the mother. "That wouldn't be Jimmy. I've had to pry those two fingers apart ever since I first tried to wash his hand."

A DENTIST-FATHER or a dental hygienist-mother would know exactly how to proceed with this project; but anyone, as did I, can follow the directions my dentist gave me and achieve the adorable results here illustrated.

Necessary materials may be procured at any dental supply company. One needs to buy only a box of red compound, such as is used for models of dentures, and a can of dental stone. I buy two boxes of compound at seventy cents each. This gives me enough quantity to make a second impression while the plaster in a first one is hardening. Dental stone at $2.95 for ten pounds comes under various trade names, Albastone, Hardite, etc. This stone is a powder similar to plaster of Paris but is the strongest plaster made and therefore preferred for a model which one desires to be permanent. Ten pounds make innumerable plaques. One cannot say just how many because they vary in size, due to the age of each child.

Proceed as follows: Slowly soften the cakes of red compound in very warm water. I dedicated a pan to this use alone. If the water gets too hot, the material becomes sticky. Gradually work the compound into a smooth even mass. In order to define the outer size and shape of the plaque, select a cardboard box top—either round or oblong—slightly larger than the child's outspread hand. The edges of the container need to be about ¾ inch deep and firm enough to withstand moisture. For instance, it is better to use the bottom of a cereal box than to use only the cover with its lightweight cardboard edge. The cover may also be used if put back onto the box, then cut ¾ inch down.

Rub a light coat of Vaseline on both the baby's hand and the container, then wipe excess off thoroughly as Vaseline will gradually disintegrate the compound. Use enough compound to about half fill the container. Work this into approximate size and shape; pat quickly into place. Experience will help you know when the substance is warm and soft enough for detailed impression. Care must be taken not to have it too warm else the child will instinctively react with muscular tension of withdrawal. A pre-school child, especially at negativistic-age-two, might be allowed to handle a little of the compound beforehand to become familiar with the warmth and interested in impression possibilities.

If the child himself does not press fingers, thumb, and palm well into the compound, you will need to do so with pressure from above. It is sometimes necessary to take several impressions, like proofs in photography, until one has the most satisfactory one possible.

Cold water, poured immediately into the mold, not only hardens the compound instantly, but measures the amount of liquid to use in dissolving the dental stone. Refill the mold with cold water or set it in the refrigerator to keep the compound firm. Pour the measured water into a bowl. Add the dental stone gradually to this liquid without stirring, until you have a saturate solution. After standing a few minutes, the clear excess water which rises to the top is easily poured from the surface. Now stir the solution smooth with a spatula. My dentist flattened an old spoon for me. Be careful not to stir in air bubbles. Inevitable ones may be broken with your finger as they come to the surface.

NEXT, PLAN for the hanger so the plaque will hang balanced as well as right side up. After the plaster is poured and the impression can no longer be seen, it will be too late. So, make a line on a piece of paper. Center the impression below this in upright position as shown in the photograph. A projecting hanger may be used; or one may use a paper clip. Bend the curved tip of a clip back at right angles with a pair of pliers. When the stone is partially set, so that it will not sink in too far, insert the clip below the upper edge of the plaque. It is then completely out of sight as in hanging a picture. Line and hanger ready, fill the impression with the stone which has been hardening in the bowl for not more than five minutes. After a bit, insert the hanger parallel with your line. The plaque will be well set in fifteen minutes more.

Now peel off the cardboard container. With a paring knife, scrape clean the juncture of compound and dental stone. Carefully remove little pieces which may have flowed down between compound and container. Care is taken because the compound can be used over and over again. If kept as free as possible of small particles it will be smooth for countless future impressions. Now place the plaque, red compound side down, in very warm water to soften again. The stone will not be affected. Soon the compound can be carefully lifted off the plaque. It is always a thrill to see each detail revealed—chubby fingers or long spatulate ones, lines in the palm, sometimes even the grilled texture of the skin.

Next, use a paring knife to perfect the outer edge, to smooth blemishes or fill a possible air bubble hole. Often a hand is not well centered, then one side of the plaque needs to be trimmed down to make the whole symmetrical. If time is at a premium because of many orders, a small electric drill with buffing and sanding attachments will be worth the initial investment price. An old ice pick is a good utensil to use to mark name, age and date on the back of the plaque. The surname of a girl is usually added because after marriage this perpetuates her maiden name.

DRY THE dental stone casting thoroughly. The several days needed may be hastened, if desired, by placing the plaque in a warm slow-drying place such as on top of a furnace. Now the treasure is ready for the final finish. You will need half-inch brushes of ox hair. It is wise to have two so as to use one only for shellac. It and the two other liquids used are not compatible. There are helpful hints here as in every trade craft—use alcohol to thin shellac, turpentine to thin enamel or glazing liquid. If the brushes are to be used soon again, they may stay immersed above the hair line in the proper liquid. If not to be used soon, clean them in the liquid, then wash them soft in soap and water.

First, close the pores of the dental stone with a coat of white shellac. This dries quickly. Then apply a coat of eggshell enamel. Let this dry overnight. The drying will not be marred if the plaque is hung from a nail. Now add both a little raw sienna and a little raw umber to some glazing liquid until the color is a delicate brown. The consistency should be that of oil, not as thin as water. Paint this on with a brush, then wipe most of it off with a cloth, using a light sweeping motion. This will highlight the higher surfaces. Pick up any excess in corners and creases with your brush; what remains will better define lines and hollows. Let dry thoroughly. All this may sound complicated but becomes second nature after once done. Average cost per plaque for finishing materials should not run more than ten cents.

I've made a plaque of a child only three weeks old and of children eight to ten years. One needs to be careful in any plaque larger than that of a preschool child to keep fingers rather close. Otherwise results look too much like a stop sign.

IN THE Grauman theater court in Hollywood, there have been experimental variations from the usual hand and foot prints—such as: Jimmy Durante's nose Betty Grable's legs, the mouth of Joe E. Brown, a profile of John Barrymore, and some signatures. We too have experimented. My dentist's wife made plaques of her husband's hands. They were too large to be pleasing but were sentimentally kept as loved symbols of his craftsmanship. Another dentist wanted no hand or foot models but takes great pride in casts of his children's teeth. My one attempt to get both palm and dimpled back of a hand in one complete cast, was gruesome. The hand looked amputated. But one mother very successfully used oblong plaques of both the right and left hands of her two little girls as the four sides of a lamp base. She then had the children decorate a plain lamp shade with hand prints—made by placing a hand first on an ink pad, then on the shade, which was afterward given a protective coat of shellac.

Now, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where I live, groups of plaques hang in countless homes. In one, where there are six children, each of the plaques is interestingly different. In another home, there are two groups of two plaques each, a hand and a foot print of each little girl.

Every mother treasures these precious mementoes! This is your certainty of sale and of continuing orders. Once seen, another desires. I conceived the idea first as a gracious service to the nine parents on our church nursery school roll. Within the year our roll increased from nine to eighty-one! Our total church membership was growing but not in this proportion, so I know the hand plaques were a factor. When our church started a building program I began to charge $2 each for the plaques and gave the money to the building fund. Persons outside the church began to ask for plaques. I charged them $3 with a cut-rate of $2.50 if more than one plaque was made at the same time in one family. These are still my charges today because from the beginning the plaques for me are primarily a friendly or a church service. With time worth what it is these days that would be ridiculous from a commercial standpoint. One of our art stores asked me why I did not set up a studio. They said $10 would be a fair charge for time and work upon such an unusual and personalized treasure. Of course volume of sales at that price would depend upon the community served.

SINCE THIS can be a home hobby and materials cost such a minimum, one can set his own price upon his time. One can schedule appointments half an hour apart when children are brought by a parent to you. Time counts up in the retouching, especially if done by hand. I let orders accumulate for shellac and glaze until I have ten to a dozen, then do them all at one time.

Without any effort to seek orders I have made well over 500. I have refused outside orders when I did not have time. I always have an order when there is a new baby in a family which already has one or more plaques. Though I gave up the nursery school several years ago orders come to me from the school for a dozen or two plaques a year. An altruistic friend made them as Christmas gifts for the working mothers of children in the day nursery of one of our settlement houses.

Sometimes I make three plaques of the same child's hand, one for the parents and one for each grandmother. A war bride sent plaques of her two children's hands to her mother in Germany and I now have an order for two plaques for the baby just born last June. When more than one hand is desired it is well to explain that two plaques are as much work for you as one. Unlike photographs, only one can be made from an impression because the mold is disturbed when the compound is softened.

JO SCUDDER, a friend to whom I taught the craft before she moved to Little Falls, Minnesota, used a clever promotion idea to introduce them where she went. She made a tiny sample plaque by placing a doll's hand in a bit of compound in a bottle cap. She laid the retouched and finished sample plaque on the cotton of a small jeweler's box. An accompanying card, printed locally, read "A life-size Patti Plaque is waiting for you. For appointment call 4106, Jo Scudder." One of these invitations-to-order was placed in the window of a cooperative florist. These samples sold at $3 each, as paid-in-advance gifts to new babies, the price including a full size plaque to be made later. The lists of new births in any newspaper would furnish likely prospects. In many instances this would mean an older child or two as well as the new baby.