This week is kind of a tips and tricks post, but also a tutorial. Over the summer when I was working on my seasons dragons, I was dealing with some painful hand cramps from pushing myself. When it came to my final few dragons, and I realized I wanted to add details like flowers or leaves to the base, I knew my hands weren’t going to be able to handle shaping such small pieces of clay.

Instead, I took some scrap clay and made three different sizes of flowers and leaves, and then I made a mold for each one. This way I just had to shape the petals for each piece once, saving my hands.

A few of you were curious to learn more about how I made and used the molds, so that’s what I’d like to go over this week!

Supplies:

• Mold maker of your choice. I’m using EasyMold Silicone Putty
• Item you’d like to make a mold of
• Polymer clay

Step 2: Figure out how your mold maker works

Each mold maker is going to have a different amount of working time. This is the time you have to work with the mold before it starts setting up. It then should have some sort of recommended time for your mold to sit and set up before you can use it. In the case of EasyMold, we can see on the box that we should have a three minute working time and a twenty five minute curing time.

Step 3: “Measure” and mix your mold maker

Luckily the mold maker I use doesn’t have to be mixed up exactly, but some can be finicky with how they mix up. I usually pull out about half of what I think I’ll need from one color, and then that same amount from the other. I roll each color separately into a ball and see if they look and feel the same. Once I’m happy with their proportions, I smush them together and take 30 seconds or so to really make sure I have it well mixed. You’ll want to work fast but be thorough!

Your putty is fully mixed when you are left with a singular, solid color.

Step 4: Create your mold

Once your mold maker is thoroughly mixed, you’ll want to roll it into a ball, slightly flatten it, and then take your item and gently push it into the mold maker. Make sure you’ve pushed it in all the way so the details of your item are preserved in the mold. At this point you may also choose to clean up some of the edges on your mold, as this will make it look nicer.

Step 5: The waiting game

Once your item is embedded in the mold maker to your liking, you’ll want to wait for your mold to set up. Each will have varying set up times. The one I’m using needs 25 minutes before I can remove the item. If in doubt, you can leave it overnight to ensure it’s set up all the way. You can then pop out your item to reveal your mold!

Step 6: Using your mold

Depending on the mold maker you use, you can put a variety of substances in the mold to create an identical cast. In the case of my seasons dragons, I used the molds to create multiple flowers or leaves from polymer clay. There are also mold makers that can be used to create resin pieces. For clay, you can just pull off a piece of clay, push it into your mold, and pop it out, or if you’re worried about losing the detail, some mold makers are even able to bake up in the oven!

When I created the flowers and leaves, I popped them out of the mold before baking because they were shallow. This way I could clean up the edges before placing it on my sculpture. When I make my cupcake dragons, I build everything on the mold, bake it up, and then remove it so I don’t lose the detail of the cupcake base.

And that’s really it! They can have a fun application, and I’d like to experiment with them more in the future!

Have you used a mold maker before? What kind did you use, and how did you use it?