Making Clay Tools Using Amazing Mold Putty

You know that saying 'All good things must come to an end"??? It is true and a very good thing comes to an end for me today. This is my final post with the Amazing Mold Putty Design Team. My six month term is coming to an close and I will miss the team, but it is time for me to move ahead and allow some fresh, new talent to show what they've got <3

I have loved being on this DT and over the past six months I have made some pretty awesome projects, if I do say so myself :D

I was able to preserve, forever, a four leaf clover that Christopher found in our back yard.



I made my own frozen Charlotte from a vintage doll that I got at a yard sale.



And I learned that Amazing Mold Putty is pretty handy and can be used for more than just making traditional molds.

 

Which leads me to today's post. I have been working with clay a lot lately and I have been on the search for the perfect clay tools. I really wanted some soft, pliable tools to use in places where my fingers are just too big. I was unable to find what I had in mind, so I decided to make my own. I had a clay tool with a nice long handle, so I decided to make soft, interchangeable covers that would go on the end of the handle.




I mixed up equal amounts of part A and part B of my Amazing Mold Putty, and while it was in the 'molding' phase, I molded it into the desired tool shape and pulled some of the putty down around the handle. I let it set for 15 minutes and then made the next shape. Within an hour I had created the exact tools I had been searching for, for months! They are the perfect tool for clay because they are soft, flexible and smooth.





 I hope you found this project helpful and I hope you have enjoyed all of my work on this team. I will still be around the internet, on other Design Teams, on Live shows and on YouTube. I hope you will continue to follow me on those adventures <3

BoooooOOOoooook

Hey Everybody, It's Edie!

Normally I have a strict rule about waiting until October 1, to start watching Halloween movies or looking at Halloween decorations in stores. I don’t want all of the spook and excitement to be over before the season even begins. However, this year, I will be making a TON of Halloween themed projects, so I figured I better get a head start!

Hocus Pocus is one of my all time FAVORTIE movies! We watch it every Halloween without fail and someday I WILL make one of those witch costumes. Christopher and I decided to watch Hocus Pocus last week and I made the offhand comment that we should make Book. Before I had even finished the sentence, technique ideas flooded my brain and I exclaimed “We should make BOOK!!!!”

So… we did!

You can view the video with a full picture tutorial below.

Thank the Spirits for HDTV and a pause button! I have scrutinized this book for days and tried to get every detail as close as I possibly could. I found the perfect book to alter at my local thrift store. I thinned some of the pages and hollowed the middle of the book.

 

Next I started sculpting. I made the first knotted snake on a base using polymer clay. I started making the second snake but it was not tuning out as good as the first, so after some mental debating, I decided it would be much better to have a mold. I mixed up some Amazing Mold Putty® and created a mold for my knotted snakes. Since Amazing Mold Putty is oven safe, I was able to fire my polymer clay right in the mold which helped a lot! I made the two long snakes and the basic eyeball shape, also using polymer clay then fired them all in the oven for about an hour.

 

While the snakes were baking, I started working on the spine of the book. I sculpted the fingers with polymer clay, then I debated on how to fire them. If I pulled them off of the book, I risked ruining the shape and fit. If I left them on the book, I risked setting my house on fire. I decided a more precise replica was worth the risk, do after much dowsing with water, I put the book in the oven.



The original Book has an intricate clasp, with a circlet around the eyeball on the front, an animal claw on the back and a braided piece connecting them in the middle. I needed the clasp to be sturdy and hold up to regular wear and tear, so back to the polymer clay I went. I created the circlet and added a gem on the end. I had to make sure if fit exactly around the eye, yet still leave room for the stitches. Once that was finished, I sculpted the animal claw for the back, again leaving room for the stitches. I added tiny hinges to each piece, and then created the connecting braid to fit. All of the pieces were fired then painted with a coat of black, then layers of metallic silver to create the look of aged metal.

 

The next step was adding the stitches. I decided to use Creative Paperclay® instead of polymer for the stitches because I really didn’t want to have to bake the book two more times. I added Paperclay logs, and then sculpted the cuts and thread holes with a tool.

 

I painted the eyeball and attached it to the cover of the book, then using more Creative Paperclay® I sculpted the eye lids and creases of the eye.

 

 I needed to create the look of skin, so I covered the entire book with layers of tissue paper until I reached the desired look. Next came three coats of paint in flesh tones and titan buff, and that was just the under painting!

 

I still needed to darken and age the book, so I created several different washes of brown paint and just layered it on until I was happy with the color and look of the book.

 

While the cover was drying, I painted all of the large pieces, first with a coat of black, then layers of metallic silver to match the clasp. I made the base plates for the long snakes by embossing chipboard, then painting them to match the other pieces.

 

The stitching was the trickiest part for me because no matter what thread I used, nothing looked right and everything kept raveling. It wasn’t until I tried using help cord that I got the look I wanted. I spent four and a half hours cutting and gluing each individual thread on the book.

 

Once everything was set and dry, I glued all of the large pieces to the book using E-6000. I let it set for a full 24 hours before moving on to the final step.

 

 For the finishing touch, I added actual spells from the movie to the front of the book. I printed my pages, soaked them in a tea bath for aging, and then glued them in using gel medium. I had left a few original book pages in the front of the book, so I glued one spell page to the front and back of each of those pages.




And so, after five days of pretty steady work, that is how BoooOOOooook came to life :D

I love, love, LOVE the way Book turned out and I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. You can see more photos in the video slideshow below. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section.
 

I was actually considering making and selling these replicas, as well as the eyeballs, so if you are interested in purchasing one, feel free to message me, or VISIT MY BLOG and leave a note in the comments.

Charlotte

Hi everybody, it's Edie,


A few weeks ago I found an little, armless, vintage doll at a yard sale. I brought her home and stuck her in my box of ephemera to await her chance to be molded. I had never made a two part mold before and to be honest, I was kind of intimidated by the whole idea. I was worried about it leaking, not lining up properly and just not turning out right in general. Thank goodness Amazing Mold Putty has fantastic tutorials on their website, because my first two part mold turned out FANTASTIC! I followed the instructions I had seen on the site and it was sooooo simple! You can view the full (time lapse) video tutorial below or you can view the full (real time) Ustream episode full of tips and viewer questions and answers.



 I made the first half of my mold, covered the front side of my doll, making sure to stop at the seam line. While it was still moldable, I used the end of a paint brush to create markers on the outside edge. This will help to ensure my mold lines up properly every time. I let the first half set completely before moving on. I gave the seam line and all of the nooks and crannies a coat of Vaseline, but you can use what ever mold release you like. It is extremely important to cover ALL of the areas the Amazing Mold Putty might connect because it will adhere to it's self. I mixed up the second half of my mold and covered the back side of my doll, making sure to push the Putty into all of the earlier mentioned nooks and crannies ;) Once my mold was completely set, I removed my original doll and started preparing my mold for casting. I knew I would be using this mold with Amazing Casting Resin and the Amazing Clear cast, so I cut some little vents in the bottom to allow air bubbles escape. I wrapped a rubber band around the mold, put it upside down in a cup and added paper around the bottom to hold the mold upright. Next, I mixed up some Amazing Casting Resin, poured it into my little air holes and let it set. Even though it is not technically a 'Frozen Charlotte" doll, that is what my cast doll reminded me of and I ♪♫LOVE♪♫ it! I trimmed away the excess resin (do this BEFORE the item is completely set) and sanded her in a few spots. Amazing casting Resin is basically a hard, shiny plastic, so I gessoed my cast doll before I painted her. I mixed some gum arabic into my PearlEx powder for a binder and added water to create my base paint, then I used Iridescent Pearl craft paint on her face, belly and legs for highlight.




I created the wings with a piece of transparency paper. I painted on a basic wing shape for a guide, then I cut two pieces of wire and super glued them into place. For the outline of the wings I added a line of glue and sprinkled on some blue microbeads. I painted the inside of her wings with copper acrylic craft pain and tapped the paint for texture. Once the paint was dry I stamped them with Distress Ink. I made little holes in the wings by pushing a lit incense stick thought the transparency sheet. I love how these wings turned out and I plan on using them on another project that allows them to stick out :D I got the basic idea for these wings from Terri Sproul and you can see what she did here.

 

While that was drying I worked on the background canvas. I painted an 8 X 10 canvas board with black craft paint. I then stamped it with archival ink and embossed the stamped images with black embossing powder. Lastly, I attached the wings and the doll to the canvas with E-6000 glue.

 Even though she isn't a "Frozen Charlotte", she's still Charlotte to me :)
You can view more of my work on my blog.