My silicone shell top!

[MerEmma]

Looks great so far!

[Mermaid Tula]

Looks great! Love the tattoo btw. And is the one that looks kind of lumpy still in the mold?

[MermaidHyli]

Nope just pulled it out I still have to trim it down but I was too excited to remember haha

[Mermaid Tula]

hahah lol it happens. <3

[Mermaid Kassandra]

I definetly love it!!! <3
Do you think you'll start selling bra after making yours?Because if so I'll be your first costumer

[MermaidHyli]

I think I'd want to perfect it a bit more before I start selling them. I meanthey do have flaws like a real shell so they wont look absolutely perfect and right now the shell covers a size c cup boob. For more blessed customers I'd have to add a bra and I want to experiment with that. But yes I would def consider selling them eventually

[MermaidHyli]

Painting done! Not to shabby for my first attempt if I do say so myself =]

[MerEmma]

WOW! Gorgeous! Is the seastar real or fake? If it's real it can't be swum with. ):

But seriously, I LOVE THAT TOP!

[Kanti]

So cute!
You did a great job painting it!
How did you end up thinning the paint and all that? o:

[MermaidHyli]

....real.. uh.. V.V;
I got it from Michales the craft store..It looks pretty real but doesn't smell. What if I seal it with silicone?

And Kanti I used Xylol like we talked about, only this time I used a glass cup so no melting or burning of the hands =] worked really well when I got the ratios right.

I'm working on the netting and will finish up with the beads tonight!

[MerEmma]

I don't know about sealing it but you could always make a mold of it and replicate it. If it's fixed properly then it won't smell. Kanti probably knows about the sealing thing. If not, you can always experiment!

[Kanti]

Awesome to see it worked out so well! Did you put it through an airbrush btw?
But I hope it was a glass cup you didn't care for! xD

Oh yea those starfishes are lame in that sense. You could technically just make a mold of it like Emma said, but if you want you can also just coat it in resin, that sound seal it. HomeDepot sells fiberglass resin for like $12 but its an off yellow sort of color. In a thin enough coat you won't notice it. BUT michaels sells a clear resin that you can use and I think it comes in tiny bottles but it is a bit more expensive. Just a COMPLETE thin coat of resin will waterseal anything.

The resin WILL make it shiney, though. So if you want it matte you might need to repaint it

[MermaidHyli]

Haha yes I used a mason jar. Ironically enough my fiances roommate is a bmw club race car driver and he is at the moment making fiberglass molds to lighten his car so he has tons of fiber glass and resin so that works perfectly!!

[Kanti]

Oh awesome!
You don't need FIBERglass cloth just the resin is good!

[MermaidHyli]

Neat I should be finished by tonight!
One of my friends is pushing me to open an etsy store. Do you think with practice people would wabt to buy them?

[Kanti]

Sure why not
They came out great and I've never seen a shell top that has beading like that before.
If you like doing it and wouldn't mind doing it over and over then why not? Etsy is free after all~

[Mermaid Tula]

Technically Kanti, you have to pay a little bit to list stuff. Its free to join.

[MerEmma]

I think the top is gorgeous and you'd do really good custom work (shells to coordinate with a tail). I really like it!

[Mermaid Tula]

Also, if you do go the fiberglass route, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE use protective equipment. Safety glasses, respirator and gloves at the least.

[MermaidHyli]

Yeah I've never sold anything really. People want to buy my paintings but I never really thought about selling stuff. How much does it cost
Also yes safety measures have been taken this whole process I was telling Kanti that xylol is vicious and melted a plastic cup to my hand...so gloves are a must