How to Mount a Belly Cast to Canvas

Display a keepsake of your shape.

Belly casts are plaster casts made of the abdomen and torso area of pregnant women as a keepsake. If you want to display your belly cast by hanging it on a wall, one method for this is mounting it to a painter's canvas. Combine this with a decorative frame and, perhaps, a coat of paint to make it a real work of art.

Things You'll Need

• Rotary power tool or handsaw
• Garment leather
• Craft knife
• Self-healing mat
• Pencil
• Rubber cement
• Painter's canvas
• White craft glue

Instructions

1. Place the belly cast face-up on a flat surface. Use the rotary power tool and cutting wheel or a handsaw to trim the edges of the cast just enough so that it will sit flat without rolling. For best results, cut a little at a time and test the cast to see how it lies periodically.

2. Cut two 1-inch wide strips of garment leather using the craft knife and self-healing mat. Make one strip 4 feet long and one strip 3 feet long.

3. Locate the rough center point on the inside of the belly cast. Draw a cross shape in pencil to mark where to glue the leather strips. Make each arm of the cross at least 5 inches long.

4. Apply a layer of rubber cement to the vertical arm of the cross. Fold the long strip of leather in half to find the center point and press this against the center of the cross. Line up the leather strap with the arms and press it into place. Apply more rubber cement to the rest of the strap and press it against the inside of the cast, conforming it to the shape of the plaster. Continue until you have reached the edge of the cast.

5. Glue down the second strap over the first and on the cross arm perpendicular to the first. Glue the strap out to the edge of the canvas as you did with the first. Let the rubber cement dry for at least two hours.

6. Place the cast against the canvas with the leather straps splayed out. Experiment with the positioning of the cast to find a spot you like.

7. Cut slots into the canvas for the straps using the craft knife. Position them at the points on the canvas beneath where the straps emerge at the edges of the cast. Make each slot 1/8 inch wider than the straps.

8. Apply a small amount of white glue to the inside edges of each slot using your fingertip; this will keep them from fraying.

9. Insert the straps into the canvas slots. Pull the straps taut behind the canvas.

10. Apply rubber cement to the leather straps where they emerge on the back side of the canvas. Press them down against the canvas; make sure they are still taut as you do so. Glue at least 6 inches of each strap against the canvas and trim the excess.