One of these is not like the others......

by Staci Louise Smith

Last week I did a post on Doing it All (or NOT doing it all, actually ).

In last weeks post I touched on some ways I have been trying to make my time more efficient in the studio.

One of the ways I do this when making beads, is to make molds of them.  

  It is a great way to save yourself some time in the studio- and a way to preserve a design you were really happy with.  Here is a post I did awhile back on how to use a two part silicone compound to make a mold of your polymer clay beads.

http://lovemyartjewelry.blogspot.com/2013/04/i-wanna-do-that-again.html

The only problem is, I never want to have too many beads that are too similar out there in the world.  I want everyone to be able to make unique art with my beads, so the beads themselves need to be different.

I paint them each a million different ways, the colors are never the same twice.  However, there are other ways to change it up too.

I have recently been making these awesome Gold Rush beads, with the gold crackle, and then carving them as well.  The carving of each bead is immensely time consuming, and then you have the painting on top that too.  I just could not make them fast enough. 

So I decided to make a mold of them.  I made blank white beads, and then after curing them, I carved the parts I wanted designed.  Then I made molds.  That gave me the carved design quickly.  Then I was free to add my crackle and other embellishments to each one.

For example- here are some of the molds I made.  You can see the shapes and carved pattern are the same, however, I have added elements such as crystals, and holes and other textures to make each one unique.  They are painted different and the gold crackle on each is a little different.  

At first I felt a bit like a sell out not hand carving each one.  However, I was quite happy with the results, and found it allowed more time for other details to be added!

Also, here is ONE fossil Ammonite (shown at the bottom of the picture) I use as a mold, and all the many different designs I make from it.  The key here is to play, and try things a different way so you don't get stuck in a rut!!!  I mean, you KNOW I love ammonites!  So I am always trying to do them in a new and fun way.

So what is the take away here?  Make a mold, re-create your favorite beads, but you don't have to stop there.  Use your texture tools to add dots, or stripes or embed beads and crystals, layer them on top of patterned bases.  Make each one unique anyhow!!!  There is no limit to what you can do!

(Please note that you may not re-create MY beads.....the carved crackle beads are my design and not to be replicated, as well as the spins on the ammonites.  These beads are not shown to be copied but merely as samples of what you can do to your own handmade beads to make them original while using a mold- THANK YOU for respecting that!)

Speaking of the Gold Rush technique and carving polymer, I can finally announce my two pieces got accepted into the Polymer category of the Bead Dreams Competition, which is held at the Bead and Button Show.  Right now voting is open for the Peoples Choice award.  If you are so inclined, you can vote up to 5x per day.  You just need to create a login or login with Facebook.  Here are links to my two pieces that are entered.  If viewing all the pieces- the polymer ones are one page 6.

Sunset Gold Rush

to vote for this one go here

http://jewelrycontests.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?p=V&c=236447&s=83027944&i=1

and Zen Cairn

To vote for this one go here

http://jewelrycontests.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?p=V&c=236447&s=83027960&i=1

Thank you for the support!

I Wanna Do that AGAIN!

by Staci Smith

Ever make something in polymer or metal clay, that you wished you could make again?  Well, I have, and I have found that two part molding compound is my friend.

 

I use it ALL the time.  I make most of my own textures, stamps and molds and it is something that I do not live without.

 

Yesterday I tried my hand at it using a more three dimensional, and detailed item that I made.  I thought I'd share how easy it is to make a mold of your beads so you can easily reproduce them.

 

Here is what I made free form, in polymer clay.  (It's a lotus flower, not sure if you can tell or not).  I baked it, and wanted a way to make more without so much time invested into it.

So I got out my two part molding compound- it is a silicone product.

 

Use a designated plastic spoon to scoop some out of each.

 

Make sure you have an even amount of each color.

 

Mix them together.............

 

until they look like this (some brands are yellow and will turn light yellow)

 

Next flatten it a little (not too much) and press it over your item.  Try to make sure it covers all the parts, and in this case, because it was very 3-D, in all the crevices. 

 

Then leave it sit.  The package says it takes 5 minutes to set, but I think its still too soft at that point and find 20 minutes to work best.

 

Voila!  You have a mold.  This one got a bit messy, I had to clean it up a little byt trimming some extra silicone off.

 

To test my mold, I pressed some new polymer clay into it, and got this.........

 

I am pretty happy with it.  I needed to use my needle tool and such to clean it up a bit, since the edges have excess clay, but it is still much quicker then starting from scratch!

 

I am going to try to use it in metal clay too.

 

So, remember- molding putty is your friend!

 

And saving time with the production, allows me more time to paint and create and make pieces like this with it.

 

 

 

 I leave you with Peace Lotus, my newest design.