decorated boxes

[ailie]

I'm planning a children's project, is it sensible to use plaster of paris to cover little cardboard boxes to embed shells, buttons & other bits?
I got the Plaster of Paris but when I mixed up a trial, it set so quickly....did I not add enough water?
Any other ideas? I wanted to use washing tablet boxes, they're quite thick & strong.

[Naomicorlett]

http://news.bbc.co.uk...education/6485481.stm

I would be very wary about the use of plaster of paris . We used a powder polyfilla type stuff for our twig Christmas tree bases. Having said that I used to use plaster of plaster for hand prints in the past.

[ailie]

Thanx N. Funny you should send that link cos I wanted to do handprints......until that case hit the news!
Out of intrest, did you do these on an individual tray? Did you coat the hands with vaseline or anything?

[Naomicorlett]

We did them on paper plates so there was no depth to it. Just placed hands on gently for a short time.

[heathfield]

Plaster of Paris would be rather brittle for your project, and the shells and buttons, etc, might break off quite easily. Any flexing of the boxes might damage the plaster, too. This plaster is known for its quick-setting property, so that's quite normal. Like Naiomicorlett, I'd suggest Polyfilla instead. It has resins that stiffen the plaster and make it harder but much less brittle. It sets more slowly, too, allowing you about 30 - 40 minutes to work with it. Being slower than Plaster of Paris, it might take 24 hours or more before it dries out fully.