Fingerprint Impression Pendant Keepsake Leaves an Imprint on your Heart
Quite possibly the greatest gift I have received since starting doseofplay.com is a pendant necklace with Olivia and Robby's fingerprint impression. It's a one-of-a-kind, small treasure that symbolizes the larger than life power their love has on my heart. It seems quite fitting that this meaningful piece of art comes in the form of an impression from the tip of their finger. Our love, after all, is wrapped around their little finger, right?
No matter the time or situation, this pendant necklace is literally something I can easily reach for in good times and bad to keep me grounded. I can hold onto a sense of their being, comforted knowing that I hold a mirror of them close to my heart. I am grateful for the opportunity to have reconnected with Jill Braun to receive this gift and share her work in our local community with you. Jill is an impression artist and owner of LillyDip. She is also a mother of four children, a critical care nurse and adventure seeker in any spare time she can find.
I was first introduced to Jill while working at a local children's hospital as a certified child life specialist. When a family loses their child due to terminal illness or unexpected trauma, the child life team assists the family by providing emotional support and developmentally appropriate education to help siblings and loved ones understand and cope during this difficult time. We also offer support by creating keepsakes. One of those is an impression of their child's fingerprint as a remembrance of their child's touch and love. These treasured keepsakes are grant funded and fill a unique role in remembrance of a lost child. While photos can help us re-experience memories with those we love, sometimes what we miss the most is their touch and the feeling of them being close to us.
LillyDip impression pendants hold so much meaning and love that they make a special gift for any occasion and for anyone. My friend and former colleague was actually surprised on Mother's Day by her husband and kids with this special keepsake.
"Not only was this an amazing Mother's Day gift for myself, it also gave us the chance to honor our children's birth mothers. We decided to have necklaces made for them so they too could hold onto something every day that connected them with their child. A reminder that we share the love and stores of these precious children." - Megan Massey
LillyDip impressions are carefully made using fast setting, pure silver clay. What is special is that no additional material touches the finger to create a mold before the final piece is made. The fingerprint silver clay impression goes right into Jill’s personal kiln to be fired. What families receive is a tangible object of their child's touch that literally can be carried with them wherever they go.
Creating the LillyDip impression is a quick process - a perfect activity for my young children. I love how in just a short amount of time, the visit was packed with tender moments of love. I will treasure the memory of the visit because it captures a moment in time while they are little that is so special to me.
Olivia was in awe and loved that she was creating a “surprise” for Mommy. As Jill created an impression with Robby, I got out some Crayola Model Magic for Olivia to start manipulating and mimic Jill's handiwork. To help with the transition of our special visitor leaving and continue making more memories, I helped Olivia make model magic clay impressions of her finger and mine for her to put on her own necklace.
Children will be forever small in our minds, but mighty in the imprint they have on our hearts.