I decided that going the "Completely One-Of-A-Kind" route, and doing all my pendants with resin pours, was doing me in with the labor-intensive steps.
I've decided to add a line of simpler, rustic pendants using molds of my own design. I purchased a product called Knead-a-Mold, from Townsend Atelier. It creates a silicone rubber mold that sets in less than 10 minutes. The final mold can be used in the oven (for polymer) and is food safe as well. I've done my first batch using polymer clay in the molds. I also tried resin, but my first experiment with resin confirms I need a mold release agent....oops!
I've had some interesting new process mistakes, and wasted a bit more material than I would have liked -both resin and the mold material, but I'm excited about the possibilities!
A breakthrough!
ReplyDeleteI am of course very interest in the idea of molds because I know I need to work on ease and pace of production. I have a very hard time getting over the wasted material phase of coming up with a new process so I really sympathize with you there.
However the end result here is great! The shape and finish are so pleasing. I have always loved the smoothness of the resin but this more organic matte look works equally well.
Thanks for the post! I've been needing to figure out silicone molds for awhile now and quick and concise here it is. I will try this. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried the Perfect Crafting Pouch as a release agent? It's neat and easy for polymer clay and might work well for this too! I was wondering how the "images" in your mold was raised instead of recessed.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to hear more about your experience with the molds and release agent(s) as time goes on.
ReplyDelete