Use of Molds Tutorial

Fleur de Lis Studio molds can be used in million gazillions ways! They can be used not only dollmaking with polymer clay, but for card making, paper casting, gift tags, jewelry boxes, scrapbook pages, jewelry, beads and even cake decorating! Use them with Polymer Clay, Paper Clay, Air Dry Clay, Paper Pulp, Rolled Fondant, Paper Mache, PMC or Silver Clay. Please note these molds can't be used with porcelain as they are made from a different material, however usually you can request a mold that can be used with porcelain (only one part molds can be made for use with porcelain; if interested, please inquire before placing an order). Do not use these molds with soap or chocolate. If in doubt if you can use the molds with a non listed medium, please email your question and we would be happy to help you!

If you are using paper pulp, just pick up a small amount of wet pulp and push it into the mold. Press hard, allowing excess water out. Add more pulp if needed and push again. If you're working with a face mold, make sure that pulp fills the nose. You can even use a wooden tool (don't use metal tools as they can scratch the mold) Take a very small amount of pulp, just enough to fill the nose and push it in with a tool. Then fill the rest of the mold as usual. Then let it dry. Drying time will depend on the size of the mold, but generally it takes anywhere from 12 to 24 hours. You can use your fingers to check if it's ready. Removing wet casting from a mold can ruin the impression! Once completely dry you can gently remove your ready to finish pice.

If using polymer clay with one part molds, just warm your clay up using your hands (it may take time as some clays tend to bee quite hard, see my Polymer Clay Review) and carefully push it into mold. Make sure clay fills the entire mold. You can trim off the excess clay later. Carefully pull the clay out of the mold. If your clay is too soft, you can let it cool a little bit ' this would make it easier. You can also use a wooden tool to help you get the clay out of the mold. If the impression turned out imperfect you can either redo it or fix the imperfections with a tool. Remember that small imperfections can sometimes add charm to your finished piece!

Some people like to use release agents for easier polymer clay removal. Not necessary, but it's rather personal choice.

Here is some examples of what you can use as a release agent

Water

Just spray some on the inside of the mold. Don't worry, the molds are fully cured and won't soak on you!

Corn Starch

Some people like to sprinkle some on and then shake the excess off. I suggest you use a large make up brush and dust the inside of the mold. This way you can make sure you're covering all areas of your mold and not leaving too much powder behind. You can also use baby powder, which is essentially corn starch that smells nice.

Mica Powder, Pearl EX or other Metallic Pigment

You can only use these if you're OK with having them on your finished product. Perfect solution if you're making ornaments or jewelry. The implication is if you're not completely satisfied with your piece it would be really hard to wash it all off (of yeah, you can wash polymer clay in water of soapy water, just make sure it's not too warm or the top layer will cure)

After you clay is out of the mold and you're happy with the impression you can carry on with your project.

Polymer clay can be painted with acrylics or genesis heat set oils. Then you can seal it with clear gloss or satin glaze. They both give shiny effect. You don't have to do it if you like natural shine-free look. The glaze, however, looks wonderful on doll's eyes.