What is Belly Casting?

Keepsakes of newborns are common. The hospital blanket, pictures from delivery day, and ink footprints all serve to commemorate the birth of a new addition to the family. Keepsakes of pregnancy, however, are newer. Mothers today can help remember the forty weeks leading up to junior’s arrival with many crafts and events designed to celebrate the period of pregnancy in its own right. Pregnant women become models for new schools of photography and get belly casts. Yes, belly casts. Body molding with plaster strips can immortalize the shape and contours of the pregnant body, including the belly, hands, and breasts.

In this free video series, belly casting experts Amanda Cooper and Sally Dumas show you how to make and decorate a belly cast. You will learn what supplies to need, how to prepare the model and work area, and safety precautions to take. Amanda and Sally show you how to add hands or breasts to the casting and how to safely remove the plaster after the cast sets. Decorating takes a variety of forms, from traditional painting to decoupage and beads or silk flowers. You will even learn how to restore an old belly cast and keep yours new with repainting.

"In this clip, I'm going to talk about what belly casting actually is. A lot of pregnant women have decided to go a littler further with their keepsakes for their pregnancy. Instead of just doing ultrasounds and going to a photographer, they'd like to make a three-dimensional keepsake of this time in their life. We use medical grade plaster when we do it, so it's very durable and they just hang on the wall. You can decorate it in many different ways. And it is something that is catching on in popularity. It has been mentioned many times on different TV shows, along with Time Magazine articles. It's just something new that has come into the general idea of making something that will last. It's a three-dimensional keepsake of this wonderful time in your life. And this is what belly casting is all about."