Tips  On Mold Making!

Making My Own Molds Project

Welcome! It's been a while hasn't it! I got food poisoning and have been at home for a couple of days recovering. I finally feel well enough to actually do something in the studio that isn't to rigorous!

I've had on hand for a while now, an awesome product by Sculpey called Mold Maker and Polymer Clay Conditioner! It comes in an 8 oz brick and I've used to to capture
impressions of some of our Waterford Crystal and today I'm using it to capture a Star Fish. That's one project. The second is that I have a fondness for creating miniature foods from way back and have been wanting to create a pastry shell/cupcake mold for use with that hobby as well. So today I knocked out both projects and made the most of my starfish mold by using the extra space on top to create some pastry shell molds on the same piece of clay! This clay doesn't have to be mixed like some of the two part products do. It simply comes in a brick. You pull off what you want. Wrap the rest in saran wrap and put it back in the box. I used this about one year ago and haven't touched it until today. It's still like new. No break down, no changes...nada.
I broke off my piece and rolled it into a ball, pressed it flat on my flexible nylon pad and checked the depth to make sure I could get a good impression with the starfish. It needs to be deep enough to take a good impression without getting to thin on the backside. If it's to thin on the back after the impression is made the piece will come apart when you try to remove it from the flexible work surface. **BTW if you live in a warm place and can't cool your work space, put this in the refrigerator and cool it before you take your impression. It  will release better from your object and take a clean/crisp impression.**
 It cures at 275 degrees Farenheit for 20m minutes per 6mm of depth of your mold!
I used a corrugated teardrop shaped brass bead on a head pin to leave my pastry shell impressions. Just sprinkle a bit of baby powder on a paper napkin, roll the bead in the powder to evenly dust it
then give it a gentle push. Keep the small impressions about 1/8 inch apart so that they don't distort one another!

Can't wait to use  these! Just mist the mold with water, press in your Polymer Clay of Choice, release the impression and cure it in the oven! Simple as that!
Somebody over at Youtube was asking me about how to make a piece of Starfish Jewelry. This was an attempt to help them out!
May the Muse be with You!
Much Love,
Mona