Little Hippo Baby Handprint Kit With Name Letter Stamps | Baby Picture Frame & Non Toxic Clay! Baby Footprint kit, Perfect for Baby Boy Gifts, and Baby Girls Gifts! (Espresso, Standard)

I got this for my wife for her first mother's day and used it with our 4 month old. I saw a lot of reviews complaining about the quality or ease of use. There may have been some quality issues at one point (some of the reviews I saw were a few years old), but there certainly was not with my kit. While the video instructions and things I saw said to mix three mounds together to create the clay, mine came with just one package of clay and it was very moist and easy to use. It does say you can use olive oil if it seems dry, but I did not need to do that. It took me 10 minutes to really roll it out in the frame piece for it and I assume the people complaining didn't take the time to really smooth it out and went through it too quick. TAKE YOUR TIME - it's really not hard to use or difficult at all, but like anything you likely will be giving as a gift or keeping for years and years, take that extra few minutes to smooth it out and don't get frustrated. In my pic, you can see a few lines or wrinkles. I didn't really care and a few of them were a result of me pressing my sons foot and hand in there. I didn't want to attempt to smooth them out after with fears it would mess up the perfect foot and hand print I got. But you can do it if you're careful.Once I got it smoothed out, it was very easy. I did do what a few people recommended and waited to do this until my son was sleepy/sleeping. It made a big difference. While the clay does NOT set quickly, if you do mess up any of the attempts for the hand or foot print due to your baby moving too much or being fussy, you will have to put them back down, smooth it out again, and start over. So my recommendation is to wait until your baby is sleeping. You do have to press down somewhat firmly but not really that hard. I didn't even disrupt my little guy when doing his foot or hand - and I never felt like it was hurting or would hurt him if he was awake - the consistency of the clay was perfect. And while it is safe for babies, I'd recommend (as the directions do) to have a damp cloth with some mild baby soap just to wash/rinse their hand and foot.After that, you've done the "hard part". Now you just have to print some pictures, attach (with the double sides tape, what a great idea for them to include this) them to the included mat, and wait 3-4 days for the clay to set to put it together. It said it can take up to 4 days, in some cases 5. Mine was dried within 3 days, but I did wait the full 4 just to make sure. But it seemed to harden up after just a day or so and got much harder as the days went on. I'd absolutely wait the full 4 though because while it may feel hard to the touch, if there is still moisture in there, it could potentially mold or fog up your glass if you frame it too quickly.A couple of final thoughts:-The kit is SO nice - literally this company is GREAT and so thoughtful - it came in a nice box/kit with everything you could need. It had multiple mats (two colors), plastic letters to press into the clay (I crossed out my sons name and date for privacy, but the letters are very easy to use, just press firmly in), the clay, a mini roller, double sided tape (for the pictures), a nice frame with glass, very sturdy inset for the clay, and a really nice thank you card (thanking you for buying it). I love this company, they are great!Please do yourself a favor and if you are even thinking about getting this, just get it. You will love it and it's something that's so special. I saw some people using it for pets too! I will be getting another one shortly for my dog.Little Hippo - thank you for making such a great kit that helped me produce and commemorate something so special and timeless!Honestly, they could probably charge 2-3 times the price they are charging for this and I'd still say it was 100% worth it. It brought my wife to tears and it's something we will have forever. I couldn't possibly recommend this more!

Overall, I like this product and thought it was a really cute project to do on Valentine's Day. However, the frame did come chipped in the corner (definitely could have been during shipping I suppose). Also, the clasps on the back that hold the frame together are not tight enough so it is slightly wiggly.We followed the instructions and let the clay sit for more than 4 days (a week in a sunny window actually) and still had condensation after hanging the frame a few days. I took it apart and put it in the sun again which has helped.Another thing, it is VERY difficult to get the clay smooth so there are many small cracks/ creases in it. However, you have to get really close to see them and, in the end, I don't feel like it needs to be perfect... the prints are the point.It looks really cute, honestly, and we love the memory.

This clay frame set is so cute! Took maybe 20 min to complete.

Bought this to do for myself to remember my baby’s prints on my first Mother’s Day! Beautifully packaged, great looking frame, easy to follow directions, and turned out great! SO happy I purchased!

I loved everything about this product it’s such a great gift !don’t think just buy it

I followed the directions to this and I found it incredibly difficult to get a smooth finish on the clay. I worked it and worked it and rolled it and still have bumps and creases. I was still able to get a good imprint of babies hand but it took much more time than I would have liked.

Not sure why so many people had issues with their kits. I bought four to make gifts for grandparents and didn’t have an issue. The most difficult part was getting my almost two year old son to not wiggle is feet or hands.TIPS:1. I found it easiest to do it in a high chair. He couldn’t go anywhere and it was easier to control his movements. The foot print was the result of my pushing his foot into it, so I guess if he was standing the imprint would be deeper... but he honestly would have wiggled ruined the print.2. Knead the dough in your hands for a couple minutes then use gravity to let it spread a bit almost like a pizza dough I guess. The clay gets softer than straight out of the bag if you take the time to knead it. I found it easier to make a square pancake first then placing it in the frame to roll out into the corners rather than making a ball.3. If you take too long to make the imprint, it creates a wrinkled surface. I learned this my first attempt because my son moved and I had to roll out his imprint to a flat surface again and redo his print. Because the surface of the clay had been exposed longer to the air, it slightly dries it and thus resulted in my only wrinkly surface. With the other kits I moved quicker and was getting the hang of positioning his hand and foot.4. If you want to write something in the clay use a toothpick and do a sort of pointalism technique versus dragging the toothpick in the clay to write.I laid all the finished frames on my kitchen counter and let dry for several days. No cracks. I should also say I live in HAWAII and wonder if the humidity in our air helps the clay dry slower... possibly preventing it from cracking from drying too quickly. I read on google that air dry clay that dries too quickly can be prone to cracking.

I had purchased a kit like this for my 2 year old when she was a newborn and I don't remember it being this difficult to get a smooth surface.Other than that little issue, I love it. It is very sturdy. It came with 3 borders (pink, blue and white) as well as little letters/numbers that you can use to imprint in the clay as well.

I love how high quality this looks and it was pretty easy to do. Our son was 9 months old and I think up to at least a year you could fit a hand and footprint on the clay part. I didn’t want to share the whole frame to protect my sons privacy as I’ve put his pictures in but it looks sooo nice. The only thing is the instructions haven’t been updated - it’s just one lump of clay not three now and I wish the first one I made (I bought two) I had kneaded the clay for the full three minutes as it’s made such an improvement when I did the second time.

Loved it

I was really looking forward to this product to keep memories of our growing baby. The kit overall is in good quality and easy to use. It worked perfectly BUT we noticed that turn buttons on the top side of frame were broken and cracking. I was really shocked as this kit was had been really great and I was going to give it five stars. The frame is still functional with the replacing the parts. This disappointment makes me rate it -2 stars.

Despite some of the negative reviews don’t have any doubts about this product. If it does arrive damaged then you can always send it back! But the clay is easy to use and the prints are easy to take. Really nicely packaged. Nice frame all in all good product

Great gift east to use