Our courageous volunteer, Francine, found inspiration on Pinterest for these concrete hands. We followed the link at InfoYouShouldKnow for instructions. Having already completed votive candle holders with students, we thought this application would be easy. Several students ended up with broken fingers when we cut off the rubber gloves.
Tips for future success:
+ I couldn't find concrete bags with the word "casting" on them, so I used Quikcrete mortar mix.
+ Visit the Dollar Tree for reasonably priced diswashing gloves.
+ We didn't, but we will turn the gloves inside out and spray with cooking oil before we try again.
+ To prevent fingers from breaking off, we are going to use broken or old pencil nubs for support.
(Make sure students knead the concrete into the fingers to get out air bubbles.)
+ Save binder clips, toilet paper rolls, and small plastic containers to realistically position hands during drying.