For the LOVE of Wine... AMAZING Custom Wine Stoppers by Brenda Burfeind

Good day all! Brenda here and I am so excited to be here on Mold Rubber Monday to show you an AMAZING (picture heavy) tutorial.

If you know me, you know I am a wine connoisseur. I love going to wineries and taking tours especially the taste testing, LOL. I have collected a lot of wine corks to some day make something magnificent with – but until I figure out exactly what I want to do with them, I decided to use one to make multiple bottle stoppers. I kinda ran with this before really thinking it out so let's experiment together.

If you have ever tried to put a cork in an opened bottle you know it's somewhat difficult. That's why they make these super cute "winestoppers" that can also be pretty expensive. Therefore, why not make your own? I started with a cork and cut it to make sort of a chisel point.

Then using my Creative Paperclay® I wrapped it around the chiseled part and made it into a nice rounded point and let it dry. Paperclay takes about 24 hours to dry.

Once it was dry I sanded it smooth.

I added some Amazing Clear Cast Resin to it to make it smooth and non porous so that I could use my Amazing Mold Rubber to create a mold that I could use over and over and over again. You definitely need to have a non porous item...

Once the Amazing Clear Cast Resin set up (about 24 hours), I hot glued it to the bottom of a yogurt container. It was just the right size for my "winestopper" with a little bit of room at the top so that the Amazing Mold Rubber covered it completely.

I mixed and poured the Amazing Mold Rubber and let it set up overnight.

Please CLICK HERE to watch how to mix/prepare Amazing Mold Rubber.

I wanted to be positive it set up completely –

being a thick mold and also it's the middle of winter.

Now here is where the tricky part came. I could not get my "winestopper" out.

I wound up cutting my mold in half. 

This picture shows a well used mold, I've used it

about 20 times so far... looks like it, doesn't it?

Once I put the pieces together I wrap a bit of painters tape around the mold to keep any leakage from happening, but honestly the mold really stays well together.

Here is an example of the two pieces separated with a molded piece. 

I just used my Exacto knife to cut away the little bit of overflow. The top of the "winestopper" looks like a well used cork where the bottom is nice and smooth.

I wanted to somehow incorporate a way to add items to my "winestoppers" and remembered I had these cute little forks and thought they might do the trick. 

After you pour your Amazing Casting Resin let it set up a minute or until you see it start to turn white and insert your fork piece and hold it steady until it sets up all the way. Another couple of minutes and you can let go. Let that set up a little longer to make sure it is completely set up. (See the strip of tape around the mold?) That's just to make sure the mold doesn't leak through.

Here is another "fork" going into the mold using the Alumilite Dye

in Brown to give it more of that "cork" color.

And that is how I attach all my "molded" pieces to my "winestoppers".

You can use E6000®, which is my favorite glue for all of my resin pieces.

Topped with a Chalkboard Heart.

A Butterfly (which got sold at the Winter Bazaar I was at last week).

I even used wire and curled it and inserted it into the mold 

while it was setting up to make a table marker that holds a card.

I even made a"winestopper" with an elephant using Amazing Clear Cast Resin.

 

Ready for some football?

And of course, my all time favorite, my elephant.

All the pieces for my "winestoppers" are also made with Amazing Mold Putty, Amazing Casting Resin, Amazing Clear Cast Resin and various Alumilte Dyes, Alumilite Metallic Powders or painted. ALL the items are sealed with Amazing Clear Cast Resin. The possibilities are endless and I think I've made about 20 different "winestoppers" so far. 

So, when you want a variety of the same item, make it yourself!

What would you LOVE to mold over and over again?

Thank you for stopping by and don't forget to check out projects from all the other designer's here and sign up to get email alerts... that's how you will always know what we're up to. To see more of my creations – I would love it if you came over to my blog Creativity is a State of Mind. ~ Brenda

• • • • • • • • • •

CLICK HERE for Details how you can enter to WIN!