It's been awhile! + Making molds/casts?

[Mermaid Saphira]

Hi everyone! Wow, it's been so long since I've been on here! I can honestly say that I've really missed the companionship of my fellow mers. I'm glad to be back, but I am still super busy with life and won't be spending all my time here like I use to. I want to start of by asking how everyone is doing? What has been happening in the mer-world? Spring has sprung here in MD (finally, after the never ending winter weather we've been getting) and I feel my crafty-creative juices flowing once again! I would like to reopen my etsy shop, but this time better than it ever has been! I've got lots of ideas that you will probably discover in the next few months to come and I'd love to hear any suggests you have for what you'd like to see. Now, for my question. I would like to be able to make silicone molds of starfish and seashells so they are more durable and comfortable for mers to wear, but I have no idea how to actually make the mold. I've read about silicone molds and resin molds, clay molds and everything in between and I have no idea what I'm doing!! This is where I'd like to enlist the help of you wonderful people. Does anymer know of a way or have articles/videos on how to make molds? Which method is the best based on experience? Thank you guys, any other information is greatly accepted!! Thank you again in advance :D

[ShyMer]

Hey there! I was just thinking about you <3

I think your mold making material will be determined by how durable you want it to be. A resin mold will last longer than a plaster mood, for example.
Some molds are more picky about how you mix them. If I were you, I'd go back to find different tailmaking threads and ask people who have tried the different mold making materials what they think.

[Mermaid Saphira]

Hi ShyMer! How are you? :) I was just about to scan through some of those threads to see if I could find anything on the mold techniques they used.

[ShyMer]

I'm doing okay I think. I'm working on another latex tail with what was left over from last year. Other than what I'll spend on paint, this tail hasn't cost anything extra, because I just used stuff I already had. It's coming along much slower than I expected (I ran out of neoprin and have had to improvise.) It's exciting though, and I'm looking forward to swimming again!

[Kishiko]

If you go to amazon, there's a soap/candy mold for a scallop shell that's 6 1/2" x 6"!!! Big enough for different top sizes and it's only about $4 with shipping! (:

[PearlieMae]

Hey Lady!

I've found that making molds of delicate starfish and some seashells are easiest if you first make a brush-on, peel-off silicone or latex mold, cast a resin version of the original item, then make a harder rubber mold to make your final items. It sounds redundant, but going straight to the harder rubber mold will destroy your original, and if the mold doesnt come out perfectly, you've destroyed your original.

Is that confusing?

[Mermaid Saphira]

If you go to amazon, there's a soap/candy mold for a scallop shell that's 6 1/2" x 6"!!! Big enough for different top sizes and it's only about $4 with shipping! (:
Thanks! I will have to look on amazon :)

[Mermaid Saphira]

Hey Lady!

I've found that making molds of delicate starfish and some seashells are easiest if you first make a brush-on, peel-off silicone or latex mold, cast a resin version of the original item, then make a harder rubber mold to make your final items. It sounds redundant, but going straight to the harder rubber mold will destroy your original, and if the mold doesnt come out perfectly, you've destroyed your original.

Is that confusing?
Not confusing at all! Thank you :)

[Mermaid Saphira]

Okay, so I found a couple molds on amazon. Do you mers think these molds would work with silicone? Their chocolate molds, but I want to be able to make silicone shells and silicone starfish. Here is the lion paw shell mold (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EJPL9C/ref=gno_cart_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2QVSFL5KGAVLC) , here is the small shell mold (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EJM4W4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER) and here is the starfish mold (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003QMMO8A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER) .

[Mermaid Saphira]

Two more questions! What kind of silicone, preferably clear, so you suggest for this project? How does one add color to silicone, assuming it is clear to start with? Is it possible to tint it with acrylic or lumiere paints? Okay, that was morel like three questions, but the last two were intwined. Anyway, thank you again in advance!

[Kishiko]

Oh yay you found those moulds! You'll have to let me know if they work because I was considering ordering one (:

[ShyMer]

Read Pearliemae's tailmaking thread- she mixed powdered pigments with silicone to make something like a silicone paint.
I read somewhere else that people will mix oil paints in to tint the silicone, but nobody does that here. Powdered pigments are probably easier.
You will have to mix with silicone though or it won't stick.
Be careful if the molds are rubber- they may not cure it it's a rubber silicone doesn't like. If it's a silicone mold, you can't use it to cast silicone.

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[Mermaid Saphira]

I saw a video on youtube of someone coloring silicone with acrylic. I can't find it now, but I was wondering it would work. As for the molds, they're hard plastic originally intended for chocolate molds.

[ShyMer]

I don't know about acrylic, but I bet if you google it you'll find sometime talking about it. maybe don't use the cheapo acrylics, it'll probably look terrible. You'll want to do small tests to see what you like.

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[Mermaid Saphira]

You can paint silicone, can't you?

[PearlieMae]

Use powdered pigment and mix it into the silicone. Pearl Ex, glitters, artists' pigments...don't use more than you need, add a little at a time until you get the opacity you like. Don't mix glitter and pearl ex in at the same time, you will waste a lot of glitter.

That guy in the video that mixed in acrylic, was mixing it into silicone caulking.

[ShyMer]

You can't use just straight paint, it won't stick. It has to be mixed with silicone.

[Mermaid Saphira]

So to clear things up...

- The chocolate molds will work for silicone, am I correct in this?
- And in order to tint silicone, you need powdered pigments.

Does anymer know what silicone is best to use? And are there any good videos to use so I know what I'm doing? I assume you just pipe the silicone into the mold, right?

[PearlieMae]

http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?2089-Full-Silicone-Tail-Tutorial-In-the-works

[Mermaid Saphira]

http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?2089-Full-Silicone-Tail-Tutorial-In-the-works

Thank you much :)

[Mermaid Saphira]

I ordered the starfish mold and the lion paw shell mold. I'm hoping to go to lowes with my dad sometime soon to get the right silicone and pigments. Fins crossed!

[mermaid_lover]

would a plaster mould work?