Making the Mold - Week 4

This week I am working on making molds out of polymer clay.  I saw the package of mold clay when I was buying some other supplies and thought it could be a cool thing to have.  I have quite a few charms and buttons that I am hesitant to use because I really like them.   Some are vintage pieces or just expensive.  With the mold making clay I should be able to preserve their shape and make them over and over again out of other materials like clay or resin.  So, here goes.

The supplies:  baby powder, mold clay and various charms and buttons.

I broke off a piece of the clay and warmed it up in my hands until it was soften enough to roll into a ball.  I then pressed it flat to about a 1/4 inch thick.  I covered the leaf button in the baby powder and tapped off the excess, then pressed it into the clay.

I carefully pried it out with the pointy end of a seam ripper and it actually looked like the leaf!  I picked off the two spots made from the button holes so it would just be a leaf mold.

I followed the same steps with more of my trinkets. I had a little trouble getting the metal gears to pop out cleanly with out wrecking the look of the mold and a few of the charms with finer details weren't looking so good either, so I decided to leave them in during the baking process.  I placed everything on a small cookie sheet covered in foil and baked at 275 degrees for 20 minutes.

They came out looking the same as they went in...just hotter.  After I let them cool I pried out the metal charms and was so happy to see that it worked!  I had a tough time getting the sun-shaped gear out as the clay puffed up slightly in the middle, but ultimately everything looked great!  The molds will retain their shape but the clay stays slightly pliable so you can pop out what ever you put in it.

I had a pretty busy week this week so I didn't get to use the molds, but I think they look pretty awesome and I am excited to see how different materials work in them.

  I helped out at Wyatt's school a few days and even dressed up like a pioneer woman to help them understand "then and now".  I used my extensive knowledge (ha ha) of "Little House on the Prairie" to tell them about life in the late 1800's.   They couldn't believe that they didn't have computers and iPads for entertainment back then!  It is amazing to me how many things kids Wyatt's age will never know about...corded phones, typewriters, records, walkmans and even tough chores like milking cows and working in the fields!  This week may have inspired me to do one of those vacations where you live like a pioneer for a week....maybe.