Making Moulds (1)

Hi Everyone
Wednesday's are reserved for my technique/tools spot and today, Im making small silicon moulds for polymer clay charms.
I have a commission job to make some small charms for a kids sale in a few weeks and am playing around with some new ideas.
I've seen a great little cupcake charm which would be good for the job. I've settled on that as my starting idea.



My final item needs to be very small (smaller than the version Im using as inspiration) and will attach to a short silver chain. I did consider buying a mould for the job but couldn't find one small enough. My solution is to make an original and create a mould for the base of the tiny cupcake. It's more difficult than you imagine ! However, I always find the hard way !

I wanted to create a little cupcake case shape and make a few to choose the best. I'm still not totally happy with my shape so may change the original. The silicon mould is a 2 part mix job - very simply mix the 2 separate coloured substances and mould around the shape. The whole thing is very quick and works great. However, I made the mistake of trying to pack as many trial cupcake bases into the silicon as I could and have managed to squish the shapes inside the mould. The replica bases have come out slightly damaged and I need to make another mould. I will make just one mould this time and resist lots of fiddling. Most of the issues in this project are to do with the size. However, I will get there !

Here are a few photos of the mould development and original shapes.


After the silicon had set, I needed to trim the edges of the mould spaces; it's a fiddly job but necessary to get the new shape out of the mould without distorting the shape.
The pink shape is the new base and as you can see - it's OK but there are some imperfections and the whole point is to make a precise shape (quickly) I did wonder if the indent lines on the base would show ? - they do show but I'm wondering if they should be more fluted and swirl around the base ? I will try another shape and compare.


The development of the cupcake is limited (so far) - with only half the cake (almost) developed. I will work on the project later today and share the results in the next instalment. I will be using another tool for the next bit, so great to share again.

Thanks for reading.