The Difference in Handmade and Premade Molds

[Mermaid Lorelei]

So, I thought I would try out some premade shell molds to see if they were worth using. I was hoping that they would allow anyone to make silicone shells or whatevers, but I ran into an interesting situation. I'll just leave you with the picture evidence.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/247780_362569650492626_797586171_n.jpg

First shell. I took a real shell, molded it myself, and later poured the silicone.

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Okay, for some reason, I can't seem to post more than one photo in a post at a time. And when I do, it shows it as an attachment as well. Graww. And now when I try to post the other shell for the sake of this thread, it won't show up. ... So, you can find the two shells here... https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=362569653825959&set=a.258241947592064.61302.165922290157364&type=3&theater

[Merman_Shawn]

Your molds are way better.

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Thanks Shawn. :>

[AniaR]

yours is way better

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Thanks Raina. :P

[Morticia Mermaid]

Definitely like yours better Lorelei :) The other looks kinda like a pink faceless blob fish (or whatever its called xD)

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Hahaha, yeah, in person it looks a bit like a pink, glittery jellyfish.

I don't really want this post to be about my molding skills. I was trying to show that it's usually best to make your own molds. Yeah. That is all.

[Winged Mermaid]

Have you ever thought about selling molds that you make? They're way better than the other pre made ones for sure!

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Huh, you know, I honestly hadn't thought about it. I suppose I wouldn't mind selling them if people wanted them.

[Mermaid Saphira]

^ CustoMER over here! I would love to have a mold form you :D

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Really? What sort of things were you hoping for Saphira?

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Here are the actual molds. You can really see a difference in them.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=362969687119289&set=pb.165922290157364.-2207520000.1349320963&type=1&theater

[Winged Mermaid]

Wow, that is a huge difference. The pre made one doesn't even look as good as the crappier mold when it's done. Wondering, is that a two part mold or just one? Always wondered how that worked..

[Mermaid Lorelei]

The pre made one doesn't even look as good as the crappier mold when it's done.

Sorry, part of that didn't make sense to me. What are you saying? And in this case it is a one part mold since the back of the shell isn't seen by anyone.

[Winged Mermaid]

I totally wrote that wrong XD Wow, Engrish much? Haha. What I MEANT to say was that the pre made mold makes a worse looking product than what the mold actually looks like. The mold looks like a generic (although not so realistic) shape of a sea shell. When it's cast it just looks like.. a blob. Like a cloud someone thinks looks kind of like a seashell. ..Not so much a seashell. So it looks worse than the pre made mold itself does, after it's done being cast. Hope that makes more sense!

[Morticia Mermaid]

Lol. That makes more sense Iona.

Oh and ~flails hand~ Consider me a customer too. I'd love to have one of the seashell molds made by you

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Haha, that makes so much more sense Iona. :>

Lexia, I would be happy to make you some molds! What exactly would you like?

[Morticia Mermaid]

Well, I'd love to be able to get some Starfish molds. I really want to have some starfish jewelry, but I don't want to use any real starfish on my jewelry as they disintegrate when they get wet again :(

[Odette]

great mold work, Lorelei :thumbs-up:

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Thank you Odette!

I would be happy to make you starfish molds, Lexia. Feel free to PM me and we can work something out. :>

[Winged Mermaid]

You know I believe they sell mold making kids for smaller objects like that (starfish) at craft stores. I may have even seen some kits at Michaels. If you cast starfish, I'd do it out of resin or something cheap. Silicone is too expensive to do for just stuff to put on accessories IMO.

[Morticia Mermaid]

:) I was planning on using resin or polymer clay. And the starfish I am wanting to have molds of are probably bigger than the kits would allow >.<

[Winged Mermaid]

Oh okay! I just wanted to throw that out there just in case you hadn't thought of it or didn't know. Hope it all works out!

[Mermaid Lorelei]

I can make molds out of many materials by the way, in case you have a particular kind of mold you would like. Also, as Iona was saying, there are some helpful kits out there. Especially if you only need a one time mold. Align ate is especially good for one or two time casts.

[Morticia Mermaid]

^^ I like the flexible molds. I did check those out at the store, but kinda wanting something I can use more than once :)

[Ashe]

Really awesome stuff, Lorelei! Youre really good at doing things like this! Pat yourself on the back for me, will ya? :) :thumbs-up:

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Haha, thanks Kalani. :>

Lexia - Well, the best kind of flexible mold would be a silicone mold. What were you planning on casting with? Resin, plaster, latex, etc?

[Morticia Mermaid]

I'm probably going to be using Resin, polymer clay and possibly silicone (depending on the size, for tops ^^)

[Mermaid Lorelei]

The clay and resin would be fine, but you would need to use a release agent when pouring the silicone. A silicone mold would be the best for those casting materials though, that's for sure.

[Morticia Mermaid]

:) Ok

[Atlantis]

Lorelei, I made a similar shell mold, but they come out to be 8 oz, kinda heavy. Did you make a squish mold for yours of do you have a different technique for getting them thinner?

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Mermaid-Atlantis/345372802194689

[Mermaid Lorelei]

By squish mold do you mean a two part mold?

[Kanti]

Hmm I wonder why the pre-made mold is so lacking of detail? Do you think they sculpted the
shells themselves or was it a bad mold on their part? It seems so easy to just take a real shell
and mold it, why would there be a problem o_o

[Mermaid Lorelei]

I think in this case the mold was vacu-formed over the shell so the detail is rather lacking. From what I've seen, the majority of molds that are cheap enough to be bought by the average consumer are going to be vacu-formed. That, or they will be exceedingly small. I have had a hard time finding nautical molds that are large and detailed.

[Kanti]

Ohh you're probably right!
And I'm surprised about that too! I guess the plastic wasn't very good quality or something because
normally vacuum forming seems like it captures a lot of details. I wouldn't know for sure, though, maybe
shells are just too much for the plastic to capture?
Either way, silicone is certainly the way to go with this one~ Your shell looks a hell of a lot better xD

[Mermaid Arianna]

I love the molds lorelei! Handmade ones are so much better than store bought ones for sure.
Lexia> be careful with the clay,polymer will break down in water so if your are making water accessories be careful to coat them with glaze, but don't use nail polish! :P

[Elle]

I'm looking at making my own (Having to search for big enough shells) and i'm just wondering what's the best way to attach them to the bra/swim top? I know there is a tutorial on here that goes into drilling holes for cord and what not, but i'm looking for a bit more coverage :)

[Winged Mermaid]

I'm looking at making my own (Having to search for big enough shells) and i'm just wondering what's the best way to attach them to the bra/swim top? I know there is a tutorial on here that goes into drilling holes for cord and what not, but i'm looking for a bit more coverage :)

This thread is for shells molded from silicone, so you would wear them directly on your skin. If you'd like to know more about actual shell tops, there are TONS of threads on them. You just have to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the previous pages, since the forum only shows 20 threads per page. There are nearly a hundred threads in this forum category alone!

Here's a few links to get you started:
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?1111-bonding-shells-to-bra
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?1857-Good-Shell-tops
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?1351-My-Shell-Top-Turtorial
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?2322-How-to-Mermaid-top!
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?101-Archive-quot-Bra-Based-Tops-quot

[Elle]

Thanks so much. I had no idea where to look or what to really search for :)

[Winged Mermaid]

No worries! I try and make reference threads to make it easier for people, but a lot of the time you just have to do some digging around and you'll find good information :)