Vid #182: “I have no
clue how to use molds
effectively. More tutorials
on molding techniques
and materials would
be great.” ~Jill-V
Every once in a while, a cool product comes along that changes how you do certain things. I found this to be the case with Simple Silicone, a 2 part putty for making molds. It’s from Terry Morris at epoxyjewelry.com — you know the Ultradome UV Resin Guy. When Terry first told me about this silicon product, he said that I was going to love it. Boy was he right!
I would like to know if the silicone is okay to use in the oven. I think I’ll do a search and see if anyone has commented and said that it works. >> Here’s What I Found Out About Baking In Molds >> you CAN do it if you use silicone / RTV molding compounds (the kind where you mix 2 different colored putties together.) I’ve used Mold-n-Pour, which they sell at Michael’s, and there are lots of other brands out there, too. The silicone stuff costs more, though… best to only use it for molds that need to be baked (like, when using with liquid clay… or maybe Bake & Bond… BTW, wonder how that would work with Faux Opals?) ~Phaedrakat
Terry’s Simple Silicone molding material has advantages over other molding materials… one of which is that you can bake your polymer clay while it is still in the mold. This means Faux Opals can be made super easily with little to no sanding required. As well, Terry’s Simple Silicon product made it possible for me to invent a very cool way to make Faux Druzies, which I think you’re going to love.
I just attempted to make a mold with silicone, but I think the combination of my hot hands, together with the hot weather made it a disaster. Any tricks and tips for working with silicon molds would be appreciated. Hugs. ~Carole-R
Cindy – a tutorial on using molds might be a good one for a technical segment. I also have purchased push molds and have made some of my own molds, but it would still be great to have a tutorial on how to best use them. ~Carolyn-F
At our local PC group monthly meeting, guess what we did… made molds of buttons and earrings… LOL. It is so funny how many of your blogs are just what I have been experimenting or thinking about. Maybe we knew each other in a different life or were twins separated at birth… no don’t think so because I am a couple years older. We used a silicone molding putty. It was very easy to use, set up quickly and results were great. The molds were soft and flexible but I don’t know if I would venture into putting them in the oven. Do you know if that is OK? ~Anna-S
I have an issue with certain molds… they sag in the middle so easily. Would love to hear some ideas on how to solve this problem. ~Squiddy
For some of my previously published references about mold making tips and techniques, you can refer to the Volume-029-1 video for info about using Sculpey MoldMaker to make texture plates. And in Video-023-2 I talked a bit about using push molds with Faux Jade.
Now, coming up tomorrow on Friday, December 3rd, 2010 at the Polymer Clay Library (Vol-031-1), I will answer more of your questions about mold making materials… this time with regards to using two part silicone putty for creating fantastic “replica” polymer clay beads and jewelry projects.
Please Note: A general prerequisite for all of my weekly tutorials is that you have a good understanding of the polymer clay basics, including: conditioning clay, using a pasta machine, clay blade and other simple tools, making Skinner Blends or Teardrop Blends, baking clay, as well as sanding and finishing. If you need help in these areas, my Polymer Clay Beginners Course will get you up to speed quickly. There is also plenty of free information on this blog. Use the search box at the top of the page to find articles on specific topics.
Supplies & Tools: Video-031-1 Silicone Molds:
- Simple Silicone, or most any other brand of 2 part silicone molding putty.
- Clear sheet of acrylic or glass. Optional, but handy.
- Double stick tape or glue dots. Optional, but can come in handy to keep items from sliding around. In the video, I had forgotten to clean my work surface, and my tape did not stick. Trust me though, if you are making several molds at once, and your surface is clean, the tape trick is will be very helpful.
- Item for molding. I used old buttons, cabochons, a small lock and a brooch for the samples in the video. However, you can use whatever you like or have on hand.
The full version of the Vid-031-1 Silicone Molds video will be posted in the Polymer Clay Members Library on Friday December 3rd, 2010. But if you would like to see a sneak peek intro clip right now, scroll down the page a bit to the video player below.
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Here’s That “Link Below” Referred To at End of the Video
>> Polymer Clay Tutorials <<
The full version of the “Silicone Mold” preview video shown above, is now available for purchase at the Polymer Clay Library in the Volume-031 Back Issue Package.
Customer Feedback About Membership Value:
Cindy and Doug… I actually feel like you two do not charge enough. You offer an excellent tutorial package that is not matched anywhere else on the Internet! Seriously… you guys are awesome! Please do whatever it takes to make your life easier so you do not get burned out. ~Laura-R
Cindy never ceases to amaze. How she keeps coming up with so many cool ideas is beyond me …she keeps it interesting …and gives us WAY more than we pay for. We are getting $10, $15, or even $20 tutes for about 80 cents. I don’t know how any clayer can pass that up! Even an advanced clayer hasn’t seen it all …and Cindy not only provides the ‘how to’ in these videos, she also provides inspiration. She shows you or at least hints at how to take the tutes even further, and that’s what many of her students have been doing. The gallery is proof of what the Polymer Clay Tutor can do for you! For less than the price of a fast-food burger…you can get a membership here. C’mon…join up! Thanks, Cindy, thanks, Doug! ~Phaedrakat
The following topics are included in this week’s Polymer Clay Tutor Library, Silicone Molds video tutorial:
- See examples of several different molds and the polymer clay jewelry made using the molds.
- Discussion of how the Silicone Putty works and how to use it to make interesting and unique molds.
- Learn about the advantages of using silicone molds, over other types of mold making products.
- Plus, find out just how easy it is to create your own one of a kind polymer clay art beads and focals using these unique molds.
The full version of the “Silicone Mold” preview video shown above, is now available for purchase at the Polymer Clay Library in the Volume-031 Back Issue Package.
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OH YEAH! I have to get me some of that putty.. Can’t hardly wait until tomorrow. I’ve been doing a lot of research on this stuff, but I have been kind of scared to leap into using it. Thanks for doing this tutorial!
That looks awesome. My girlfriend gave me a bunch of her mothers old vintage jewelry to make molds from but they don’t come out clean in clay. This might be the answer.
Thanks again. Can’t wait till tomorrow.
Oh yeah another winner……:)!
Ordered mine!
Fantastic! Brenda, I also have a stash of old costume jewelry and other odds and ends (from cleaning out daughter’s bedroom) that would look very cool. Wouldn’t baking faux opals in the mold be great without lots of sanding!!!
I think you guys are really going to enjoy the possibilities a product like this opens up for clayers. Glad you’re excited about the tutorial!
BTW if you do order this Silicone form Terry, you might also want to take him up on a special offer he is making available to everyone here at my blog, for just a limited amount of time (to Dec 10 is what he told me). Check the link by my name for more info about the discount on his oven for curing UV resin.
@Koolbraider: This is the perfect product for making no-sand faux opals!
@Jocelyn: Uncross your fingers, it is oven safe!
@Koolbraider: I know right! those blisters hurt! I’ve purchased the plastic mold last month. I have been looking into buying the silicone for awhile. Instead I bought this fantastic shelf for all my clays& tools. I hate not being organized. I liked it so much that I am going out to purchase another for all of my metal work. I told my husband that he might have to leave his man cave so that I can have it for a work shop. 12×30 wood building. *LOL* He said that he would when I start making good money *giggles* My sister has been hitting the flea markets in Ky for old timer buttons and items that I could use. It suppose to be in the mail. I haven’t got it yet.
I recently ordered resin from Terry and noticed he had some new products, the silicone was one of them I watched his video and thought wow this looks like a great product and easy to use. Great tutorial idea Cindy. And thanks Terry for another great product.
Fingers crossed here….is this the type of silicone that allows you the bake the mold with clay inside for an hour?
Can’t wait for the tut.
Have tried the Michael’s 2 part mold making and had success with that but this looks even better!
Can someone tell KERRI that she needs to get in touch with me to collect her book that she won? Thanks guys!
@aims: ah man” I wanted that book *laughs* I had to yank your chain a bit. :)
Thank you for teaching me a new word – never heard the term “druzy” before – had to look it up … excited to learn how to make these gems …
Just bought a couple of containers of his silicone. Carolyn raved about it when she was visiting Terry and before she got sick again. Looking forward to using these silicone for molds. By the way, talking about Carolyn, she is out of the woods. It was touch and go for a bit. She has been moved over to the Restorative Care room 143-A. She is sorry she hasn’t replied to many emails but she can only do a little till she gets her strength back. She may be released this Saturday if some of her relatives (close to Santa Cruz) will take her in for a bit. She will be staying in California through December since the change of elevation would aggrevate her situation (she is on oxygen). Her son will be down in Southern California and she is hoping that she will be able to drive herself in several weeks to catch up with them and spend Christmas with his in-laws. Her cell phone has been misplaced so you probably won’t be able to get of hold of her til they locate it. She is also thankful for your prayers. Sorry to take up room here with information on her but I know many people have been worried about her.
Looks like a great tutorial — can’t wait to see your ideas on silicone molds! I have used similar stuff before, but I know your video will both educate AND inspire me! I’m glad that Terry’s selling this product, too — we know he’s a trusted source. I haven’t checked yet, but his prices are probably a lot better than buying the tiny little jars at Michael’s. Also…I think I’m going to enjoy only having to wait one day for the Friday tutes!
@Lupe Meter: Thanks, Lupe, for the update on Carolyn. I didn’t know she was ill…I haven’t been around much or on FB. I hope she knows our thoughts are with her, and that we wish her a speedy recovery…
@Lupe Meter: Thank you Lupe for the update on Carolyn. I know you two became very good friends this summer and I appreciate you keeping us informed. I am very pleased she is on the upward of her recovery. I was very worried about her.
If you are reading this Carolyn, please take care of yourself. No more long road trips in the RV for awhile. Settle down and enjoy your family for the Holiday. We will all be here when you are strong and ready!
@Lupe Meter: Thanks for the update on Carolyn. I hope she makes a full recovery this time!! She is a special lady and we have to remind her to take it easy, especially when she gets home.
@Lupe Meter: Thanks so much for keeping us updated on Carolyn’s condition. I and a lot of other people, have been worried about her…
@Carolyn – I’ve been praying that you are feeling better and get to go be with your family for Christmas..!! We sure have missed you around here!! Once you are recovered will they let you get a pneumonia vaccine? It sounds like you may need one…?! Get well soon sweet lady! (((((HUGS)))))
Peace, Love, & Clay,
~Lisa :)
Great! I can’t wait to get mine ordered!! But, I can’t select it and add it to my cart. Has any one else had issues trying to buy it? I wonder if it is because he might have sold out? I have to find his email address to ask him about it. The link to his email won’t work for me.
@Catalina: Sorry your having trouble placing the order. I am not sold out and it should be a simple click to add to your cart. The email link is a Java Script so it could be you don’t have Java enabled. If you would like to email me directly I would be happy to help. If you give me a list of everything you want to order I can send you a Paypal invoice to pay from.
Thanks!
Just got an email from Terry that mine is on the way!!!
@Elizabeth S.: Mine too. I also went ahead and ordered some micro mesh pads. Cindy’s beads are beautiful.
Oops, forgot to mention how pretty Cindy’s ‘Faux Druzies’ are! A long time ago she suggested creating a tutorial for them, but everyone seemed to want different “faux’s”. Now that I see how pretty hers are, I’m sorry I didn’t cast my vote — they’re very nice! I look forward to seeing a tutorial for these, as well.
@Phaedrakat: Not Me! I would love a tut on Druzies.. *Chants* DRUZIES! DRUZIES! DRUZIES! PLEASE…………………………
@Brenda: More Druzies Please!!!!!!!!!!. They look so different than anything else I’ve seen.
I am so glad to hear Carolyn is doing better. I hope she gets well soon.
Awesome! I’ve done a lot of molds with 2 part putty, want to see your spin on it :)
Carolyn, wishing you the best, you are in my prayers.
This is cool! I have ordered my silcone too and the micro-mesh pads. Terry seems to be the cheapest i can find, even converted to NZ dollars.
Look forward to using this technique. I have used pinkysil before in making molds, but it is in liquid form.
Just watched the tutorial, great work Cindy. One thing I will mention is that you can add more silicone to that already cured mold, like in the case of the round one that was too thin. Silicone is one of the few things the silicone will stick to. So if you get a thin spot you can fix it with more silicone.
Great tutorial Cindy! I am fascinated by this technique and will have to get some silicone putty soon. Perhaps I missed you saying as much, but I am presuming the pieces come out of the molds shiny so no sanding is needed — yippee! p.s. Your gold-coloured druzy is BEAUTIFUL!
Thanks everyone for your kind comments on this tutorial. I have to run and pick up my son but I just wanted to quickly respond to a couple of things…
I see that many of you are requesting a Faux Druzy Tutorial. I’ll have to see what I can do. It is an extremely cool thing to learn and I think you would all benefit from adding it to your claying ‘bag of tricks’!
Thank you everyone who has popped in to answer each others questions. That is good to know (Terry) about being able to add more silicone to molds that didn’t have enough, as well as, learning that Amazing Mold Putty can be baked. This is all helpful information, so thanks!
@Susan B: Jocelyn is right, although the pieces will come out almost perfect, a light sanding with a high grit sandpaper or micro-mesh than a good buffing will dramatically increase the depth of the faux opals done in the molds. Though compared with the old way, it is practically no-sand!
@Bonnie Kreger: Yes I baked the slices first. I tried using them raw on top a layer of cured UV resin, then baking, but the resin went yellow in the oven. Haven’t had a chance to try it with 2 part epoxy resin yet, so don’t know if that would work.
Cindy, when you did the UV resin in the mold with the Gerbera flower cane, did you bake the cane piece first?
Lupe, thanks for the update on Carolyn, hope she gets her strength back soon and can enjoy the holidays with her family.
Great Tut. Thanks again Cindy.
Another fun video (silicone molds). I was wondering how this differs from Amazing Mold Putty. I have some of that and can’t afford to buy every new product. I have liked working with the A.M.P. Do you know if the Amazing Mold Putty can be baked with clay in it?
@Dorothy H: I, too, have used and still have some Amazing Mold Putty on hand. In the leaflet #4 under Cured Mold Putty, states that the mold will withstand an operating temperature of 395 degrees F. This provides you the opportunity to bake food in your molds below this temperature. So with this I would say the answer to your question is yes BUT I would be very careful the first time I tried it. This product sounds very similar to Terry’s. The Open Time here is 3 minutes, however. I found I had to have things ready to work with and allow no distraction, i.e., DH, or phone calls. I’d like to try Terry’s product though.
Lupe, thank you so much for the update on Carolyn. She has been on my mind so much lately. With every passing day and no message from her lead me to believe she may be in need of prayerful thoughts. So glad to hear she is better and hopefully strong enough to celebrate a wonderful holiday season with family and friends.
Cindy, loved the tut and your take on doing it. Using the plexiglass makes for a neater mold = neater piece. Looking forward to trying it “your way”.
I, too, vote for a tut on “Druzy” when you can work it in without too much excess work.
This is still the BEST, CARING site and educational. Way to go, EVERYONE!
@Dorothy H: Most silicone putty will work in the oven but you should check with the maker first to be sure.
This putty is AMAZING! I am thinking of all sorts of things I can do with it – now to find the time to play! Happy Holidays, Cindy and thank you for all the great tips, ideas, products and for sharing your wonderful talent with us! Here’s to a GREAT 2011!
Excellent tut loaded with good news. Especially love that the silicone sticks to itself after baking…so if you have trouble with it coming out too thin you can fix it.
Cannot wait to get out my old jewelry collection, finally a mold that works!!!
Thank you Cindy and Doug for a wonderful video, and thanks to you Terry, for making this substance available to us. Order will be in today, lol!
Even though you get a near perfect finish on the reverse fopal technique, I’d still sand it and buff it to bring up every sparkling dimension possible. Just great that it requires a lot less sanding.
Also please add me to the list requesting a tut on druzy. Unbelievably beautiful products, can’t wait to see how you do it.
Awesome tutorial. I ‘m going to be placing my order today. The possibilities ….!!!
I vote for a tute on Druzies too!
@ Carolyn- So glad to hear you are recovering. Please take it easy for awhile and have a wonderful Christmas with your family. Will continue to pray for a full recovery and for you to be really strong and well again. Love & hugs.
You guys are lucky to have seen the video already! I’m at lunch at work and wish I could view the video on my iPad. Can’t wait to get home now!
@Terry, I just had a customer ask me today about making a mold from a hand print made in concrete. Will this work on concrete? Would you need to put a release agent on it first? If so, what would you recommend? And I sent you my order via email. I can’t wait to try this!
@Cindy, I have to agree with everyone here we would love to make your Druzies, please!!!!!!
@Catalina: While I have not tried concrete I can’t see any reason why it would not work. No release is needed with silicone unless you are using it on something that is very similar in chemical makeup Like if you try to make a mold of some already made silicone part, it will stick permanently unless you completely cover it with a mold release.
Just be sure the concrete is clean as the silicone may pick up any loose pebbles and dirt in the handprint.
This is SOOOOOO Cool! I will have to wait until after the hoildays (I don’t get anything for myself until everyone else is taken care of) but that will give me time to look for things to mold. :)
Here is another little tip about silicone (any silicone mold) when used with epoxy. If the item you made the mold from is glossy then the mold will be glossy and the epoxy will turn out glossy. If the original item has a mat finish then the silicone mold will have a mat finish and the epoxy will then have a mat finish.
Loved this tut! Going to have to get me some of that silicone! I would love to see a Druzy tut too!
I had to look up Drusie/Druzies, never heard of them but recognized it by the pictures. Definetly would like a Tut. Differences in word names and uses is an interesting thing in North America and different parts of the world. Same thing with concrete and cement being used interchangeably in this string of posts. Catalina had a customer ask about making a mold from a hand print made in concrete. One post replied about concrete. One person may say my driveway is concrete and another say it is cement. The difference is one product is safe to skin and lungs and and the other heats up to cure and will eat the skin off your hands while you cough up a lung. So,the best bet is to use products from a craft store first and read the all the directions before using.
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance which sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. …
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cement
Cement (Russian: ??????) is a Russian novel by Fyodor Gladkov (1883-1958). Published in 1925, th
Sorry, I meant to say one post replied about cement.
@Anna Sabina: Don’t you just “love” the English language? I’m just glad it is my first language because I would not like to have to learn it as a second language! I keep forgetting we have so many people from all over the world here in our “little” corner! It keeps us on our toes!
I just got my Simple Silicone in the mail today! (Thanks, Terry for the fast service!!) And I quickly tried it out. I have a question about using the mold in the oven. Cindy says we can bake polymer clay in the mold. We use the same temperature and time for baking? I wondered if we should lower the temp and extend the time or does that not matter?
If you haven’t got this amazing stuff you need to get it now! It is so easy and fast to work with! I’m going to have a blast using this!
@Catalina: You don’t need to lower the temp at all Catalina. Terry can correct me if I’m wrong but I think the silicone handles temps over 400F so it is well within the temperature range for polymer clay. I found baking it for an hour was long enough, so extending the time any further than that doesn’t seem necessary.
@Cindy Lietz from Baking Polymer Clay: Thanks, Cindy! (You’re pretty fast, too!) I’m going to try baking it now. The mold I made was not perfect but will be a good test. I realize the the piece I choose didn’t have very deep texture. Something to think about before molding.
This is gonna be a fun one, can’t wait to give this a try! I will be late due to not having the silicone, need to get that ordered right away! :)
WOOOHOO! Just returned from spending a few days with my daughter and found my silicone putty waiting. Thanks, Terry!! This tut is awesome. I don’t know where to start molding but I have some good possibilities having inherited some of my mother-in-law’s vintage jewelry pieces. Hafta hop over to the FB page and see if anyone has posted pics yet.
BTW, it seems that I clicked on some spam thing I received on FB which automatically sends itself to all my friends. I think it was about some girl getting busted for something so if you got it please don’t open it. I am so sorry and will be more vigilant in the future. I wouldn’t have even known what I had done if my son had not told me.
All I can say is that this putty is my favorite friend now. I have been making some beautiful faux opal cabochons. No more blisters yay!!
So, can anyone tell me if I want to try a cabachon about 2×1″, how many I can make with a 4 oz vs 8 oz vial of Terry’s Simple Silicone? I have a feeling it might take a few trys, lol.
@Barb: I was hoping someone else would pop in here with an answer for you. I am not totally sure how many of that sized molds you could make with the 4 oz vs the 8oz jar. I guess it would depend on how much you piled the material around the cabochon. I do know you could make several small molds from the 4oz jar. I think I have made 6 small molds and still have about half a jar left. The 8oz jar is a better deal though and I can see tons of uses for it so you can’t go too wrong, getting the bigger one.
I just bought my Simple Silicone and went for the 8oz size, figured better safe than sorry. Can’t wait to get it and try out those druzies!
Can anyone tell me how Terry Morris’ Simple Silicone compares in firmness to Cool Tools’ Mega Mold?
I bought Mega Mold after seeing Ronna Sarvas Weltman using it on one of her DVDs, and while it picks up a fantastic amount of detail I’d prefer something that is firmer when set/cured. (Ronna was using Premo which is much softer than my favoured “the-firmer-the-better” Kato.)
@Sue F: I was hoping someone would be able to help you with this one Sue, since the Mega Mold is a product I haven’t tried before. With Terry’s Simple Silicone, I find it fairly firm, if you make your mold thick enough. Also, you can add more putty to the back after it has cured, if you find it it still too flexible. Hope that helps.
Hi Cindy,
Thanks for that. Your suggestions would certainly help, but I’m also thinking about fine but deeper detail and how that moves around (more for texture sheets than for moulds in my case, although it would still be a problem for them). I guess I’ll just have to order some of Terry’s Simple Silicone to find out for myself!
Cheers,
Sue
@Sue F: While I can’t directly compare the product to Mega Mold, I can tell you that my product is fairly soft before curing and this is good for picking up fine detail. Then once cured it’s pretty firm for a silicone putty.
I used a rubber texture sheet that had a negative impression of leaves and vines (the detail was inset not raised) and I used my silicone to make a raised version. When done it was plenty stiff enough to press into PC and made a perfect impression even with the very thin vines.
I don’t know how it would hold up if you made it thin enough to run through the pasta machine. It can tear if too much force is used but that is true of most any DIY silicone. There is a product out there that is extremely hard to tear but it’s also too flexible to be used as a push mold or texture sheet.
Hope this helps.
@Terry Morris: Thanks for the extra info, Terry! It definitely sounds like it’s worth trying myself… I’ll order some shortly and will let you all know how it compares once I’ve tried it out.
@Sue F: Hi Sue, did you end up ordering the Simple Silicone? If so, how did it fare for molding your beloved “stiff” Kato? LOL ;-)
I’m simply curious…another thread brought me here, and I realized I missed a lot of these comments. So no worries…no need to answer if you’re busy! :D
@Phaedrakat: Hi Phaedrakat! Not yet. I got distracted! LOL
(I’m working on hollow beads at the moment. Very addictive!)
Got mine today, i was way behind you all but am caught up now! I love it! I have already made about 8 molds and can’t wait to try fopals in them!!
Can i use cornstarch as well for releasing resin pieces from a silicon or clay mold?
@Marion K: With Silicone it’s not needed as nothing sticks to it.
Thanks Terri, i thought it might, cause my clay does o it sometimes!Maybe i have to leave it alone for a bit before i try releading it, i think i read that somewhere, but as i read lots and lots of stuff over the last few weeks i sometimes dont remember what i read where about what….
Wow! I didn’t know this was possible. Cool!
But, what if you want an item in several different colors, how do you achieve this? For example, if I make a mold of a butterfly and I want the four wings all to be in different colors, how do I do this?
@Reyna Castano: Hi Reyna, I haven’t done this, but I can think of a few ways that should work. Of course, it depends on the look you want. But, a simple way would be: press one clay color into the entire mold. Remove the raw, molded butterfly, and “cut away” all the clay, from parts that you want to a different color (for example, all but the top right wing.) Then do the same thing again with other colors, keeping different parts of the mold. Finally, take all of your “chosen” parts, and put them back together in the mold…or assemble them on your baking surface and bake. The “cut away” clay can be saved, each color returned to its original pkg or storage container for your next project.
Another way: use scrap clay to make a complete butterfly and bake it. Then cut away the wing shapes while it’s warm from the oven & easier to cut. Sand or shape the wings to your liking, then use these to create new “wing” molds, as needed…