Video #717: It’s one thing to push your clay into a mold… but how to get it out without smushing the pattern? Cool tips in this video.
Today I’m going to show you some really cool tips for removing polymer clay from your silicon molds.
Some brands of molds I use, include: Martha Stewart Clay Molds; Kraft Lady Art Molds from After Midnight Art Stamps; Wilton Fondant and Gumpaste Molds; Polyform Polymer Clay Molds; Amaco Clay Molds; Epoxy Jewelry Silicon Molds.
You can use silicon molds to make some really neat polymer clay embellishments like buttons, paperclips, charms, scrapbook embellishments and home decor items.
There are some tricks to using polymer clay in silicone molds… especially for getting the clay out of the molds.
Start with soft polymer clay. Soften it with Sculpey Clay Softener or baby oil if needed. Clean mold with baby wipe or softened piece of translucent polymer clay to remove any clay or lint in the mold.
Press softened clay into mold and trim off excess with a clay blade.
Stick the back of the molded clay to a shiny surface such as a glass mat, glass tile, mirror or piece of acrylic block and pull mold away from the clay. Of course this is much easier to understand if you watch the video than if you just read about it.
- Related Video: Silicone Molding Techniques
- Related Video: Krafty Lady Art Moulds
- Related Video: Molded Polymer Clay French Barrettes
- Related Video: Silicone Molds From Bargain Rollback Company
- Related Video: Tinted Liquid Sculpey Polymer Clay
- Related Resource: Martha Stewart Clay Molds On Amazon
- Related Resource: Wilton Fondant and Gumpaste Molds On Amazon
- Related Resource: Polyform Polymer Clay Molds on Amazon
- Related Resource: Amaco Clay Molds on Amazon
Do you have any suggestions for videos on tips, techniques or products you would like to learn more about? Let me know in the comments section below!
My goal is to help you to learn quicker and easier ways to bring up the professionalism in your polymer clay art.
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Looking forward to hearing from you!
Thank you for the trick. I tend to hate using molds. This might change my mind!
I hope so Hermine! It is nice to be able to make several pieces that are the exact same for certain projects, like paperclips or charms and stuff like that. Try these tips and let us know how it goes…
I’m with you all the way, Hermine! Great video, Cindy! As always, you rock!
Silicon – Isn’t this just amazing. I was asked to make a dozen buttons using a Celtic design,(very complex).I made the mold from Silicon, using an old broken lid from a tiny trinket box found in a junk shop. Wish I had seen Cindy,s tips and tricks as the mold wasn’t quite level, so had to sand the back of all 12 before applying the shank. But after correcting my error they turned out really well. Every detail on the front so clear. They will look great on the hand-knitted jacket my friend took three months to finish.Thanks for this one Cindy, what would we do without you…cheers xx….
Do you have any pictures? I’d love to see those buttons!
No, Katy,
I’m not too hot at taking pictures. Old camera and no smart phone. One day soon I must get one. But making buttons is great if you have some spare PC left over from a project. I sew them on cards to sell at the craft fairs I attend and other crafters who make hand-knitted items always buy them. Depending how much PC I have to use I make sets of 3,4 or six. It saves storing all that unused clay. Watch Cindy’s button tutorial…its great.
I’ll definitely check it out, thanks :) I’ve made some buttons in little metal blanks, but I always wonder how long before the shiny silver coating wears off, especially if they end up in the washer dryer :/ I should probably just make solid PC ones to be safe.
Hope you get a camera soon! I am SO spoiled with my smart phone. I was chatting with the lady about it a while back in Michael’s because I could get my coupons on my phone and she was saying she had forgotten hers. I couldn’t really share my coupon from my phone but the cashier was really great and scanned one at the register for her anyway. :)
Wow Cindy! neat trick, I did not think about doing it that way at all. Thanks so much for this.
Thanks for the tip. It works well. I just happened to be in the middle of some mold experimentation when I saw this.
My experiment did not work out well… They do not make many that can be double sided. So I am making the items by hand … Front and back should both be lovely lol.
Thanks for this tip! I haven’t used any of my molds yet but your wonderful demonstration will certainly help me when I do! Just to show you how you’ve helped me already, I thought you baked the clay in the mold lol! I would most likely have had a crazy looking piece:)
Hi Chris, you actually can bake the clay right in the mold as long as your silcone mold is rated for it. I do it all the time and they just pop out when they are cool. It doesn’t hurt the mold and you can do it over and over. Search for Cindys video on baking with molds.
Cindy, that tip using a tile or glass surface is great. It makes removing delicate pieces from a mold so much more convenient. Have you ever tried silicon molds from Best Flexible Molds by Penni Jo, a genuine Mom and Pop company based in Maysville, Oklahoma. Penni Jo’s molds and texture mats are quite nice and very easy to work with. I think you would like them and might even do a product demo with them. Thanks again for your tips and demos.
Hi Tom, Cindy has done videos on Penni Jo’s molds. If you search the database you can watch one of them. I purchase some when she did the Faux Jasper tutorial and made lots of leafs from one. Have fun.
Tom, Ihave several of their molds … Love them. Still have some on my wish list for the future as well.
Just thought I’d throw this out. I stick mine in the freezer for about 5 minutes and they come out beautifully.
I only just learned the freezer trick a couple of weeks before this video. It works great too, but it does involve a little patience, which I’m often short on ;) I’m excited to try out some of the lacey filigree type molds I got that don’t even work well with liquid clay. Maybe they’ll be useable with this technique.
I’m with you there Katy… waiting in a fridge requires patience… something that I have in limited quantities! :) If I can do it faster… I will!
To some people this my sound like such a simple thing. But when your learning a video like this is so very helpful and time saving. Thank you!!!
Cindy, I am having trouble with my molds. I am using cameos molds, I use liquid clay in the highly detailed area, then I bake is for five minutes at 175 degree f. The liquid clay hardens, but I having trouble with the details. I use bake and bond, to join the pieces together. What am I doing wrong?
Hi James, what kind of problems are you having with the details? Also, maybe it wasatypo, but I recommend you bake for pieces at 275F not 175F. Perhaps that is where the problem is?
Cindy, I am afraid to use 275f, because I was not told if my molds would survive that temp. My molds are bright pink, do you think that they will survive? The resulting items break, while I am applying the background piece.
Hmmm, yeah I can see your point. I wonder if you baked it at the lower temp just enough to set it, and then popped it out of the mold and baked it properly? Then you could put it back in the mold and add the background part and do the whole thing again. It sounds like a bit of a pain, but it might work. I have had a couple people ask about that, so maybe I should get one of those cameo molds and try testing it out for myself? If you do figure out a method that works, do be sure to report back. I am sure others would love to know as well. Good luck!
hi i have alot of trouble getting sculpey out of deep intricate moulds. is there a trick to this? have you a video on this topic
thankyou
Hi Kim, make sure to use water as a release so the clay doesn’t stick so much. Also you can stick the clay and the mold, into the fridge to firm up so it pops out easier. Hope that helps!
Not sure how to describe the mold I need help with, but here goes. I have a 3d santa mold, not a flat backed one but a round one, when the santa is done it will be free standing. I would like to know what clay you would recommend as it will be difficult to fill all the nooks and crannies if it is too firm a clay but if its a very thin clay I’m worried it wont dry out without distorting. Also if you dont mind any suggestions on getting it out of the mold in one piece plz
Thank you
I think I know the type of mold you’re talking about. If it is a mold that can go in the oven, you may want to consider using liquid clay to fill it. Then bake it inside. You should be able to push it out of the mold once the liquid clay is hard. If it can’t be baked and you need to use solid clay, you may need to cut the mold down the sides to get the piece out. Also if the mold is large (thicker than 1/2″ across, then you are going to have problems with cracking. It is possible that the mold might not be suit for polymer clay though. It might be more for resin or ceramics. It would help if I could see what it looks like.