Would you like to craft your own breastmilk keepsakes?
We go into motherhood journey thinking of breastfeeding as a way to feed our baby. Breastfeeding leaves a mark on us that most of us don’t expect.
Breastfeeding difficulties can feel all-consuming. The thought of being unable to breastfeed can leave us feeling like failures. And breastfeeding success can make us feel completely empowered and accomplished – like there’s nothing we can’t do.
Whether you breastfeed once, or for one week, or for one month, or for one year and beyond, you have given your baby a gift for life. You have provided your baby with immunological benefits that they can’t get from anywhere else. Benefits that will last your baby a lifetime.
You deserve to be proud.
It has been my honour to craft a great many breastmilk keepsakes and jewellery items for my customers. I am still offering this service, and if you would like me to make you something, you can choose from these items. It is work that I treasure and love to do. But understanding the feelings of pride in the women who are able to produce breastmilk for crafting, I felt like some might like the choice to craft for themselves. This is one of the reasons why I have launched my Easy To Make DIY Kits.
You can craft with your very own breastmilk.
Why Preserve Breastmilk?
Breastmilk must be preserved to a powder before it can be crafted with. Breastmilk is preserved using the methods I learned from my mentor Amy McGlade, The Breastmilk Queen. It’s important your breastmilk is preserved before it can be crafted with for several reasons:
- Breastmilk stored at room temperature provides an environment that allows mould to grow
- Inclusions that contain moisture can prevent the resin from hardening properly, which can cause items to crack or break easily, and even fall apart
- Inclusions that contain moisture may cause resin to change in appearance over time, particularly yellowing
Preserving breastmilk to a powder eliminates these risks.
Crafting With Your Own Breastmilk
The Easy To Make DIY Kit allows you to craft your own breastmilk keepsakes. When it comes to preserving your breastmilk, we offer two options:
- Send us your breastmilk, and we will preserve it for you. We will return it to you in powdered form, so it is ready for you to craft with.
- Order our DIY preservation powder (Milky Mama Magic Dust) and preserve your breastmilk at home
Whichever option you choose, you can make arrangements on our website.
Preserving Your Own Breastmilk
You will need:
- 5 ml of breastmilk
- syringe to measure milk exactly
- DIY preservation powder sachet
- a double boiler or similar set up for gentle, gradual heating (I use a pan with water, and a glass bowl over the top)
- baking paper
- a wooden spoon or mortar and pestle (white ceramic is the best choice. Using a metal or coloured mortar can colour your preserved breastmilk)
Method
- Heat exactly 5ml of breastmilk in your double boiler on a low to medium heat. Heat the breastmilk til it’s not but not boiling.
- Add the entire contents of your DIY preservation powder to the hot milk. Stir until all powder is fully dissolved and the mixture begins to thicken.
- Remove the mixture from the heat once the powder has fully dissolved. Continue stirring until the mixture resembles a thick paste.
- Spread the paste across a sheet of baking paper to dry. Spreading the paste thinly will allow it to dry more quickly and evenly.
- Allow the paste to dry completely. This will take 24-48 hours depending on your local climate, and how thinly the paste is spread on the baking paper.
- When the paste is completely dry, take a small portion and grind it to a dust, either in your mortar or with the back of a wooden spoon.
Once you have finished this process, you will be ready to craft your own breastmilk keepsakes. The instructions for the Easy To Make DIY Kit will guide you in how much preserved breastmilk to use when crafting. But it’s important to know that this method will give you enough preserved breastmilk to make several items. Depending on how many items you are crafting, you may not need to grind all of the paste at once. If you grind a portion that leaves you with around 1/4 of a teaspoon of powder, this will be more than enough to craft one item.
And if this doesn’t sound like something you would enjoy, you can still get me to craft for you! All of the items in my Bound By Love Collection can be made with breastmilk. You can order here.