The Button Molds - Part One

Earlier this spring I bought these beautiful buttons at an antique market in Paris.  They were pretty expensive, so the likelihood of me using them in a mixed media project was rare. 

 The main button on each vintage card is a beautiful jewel.

 It was hard for me to pick just these two button cards.  I justified the purchase with a thought.  "I can make a mold of these buttons!"

Environmental Technologies makes more than the world's greatest resin: Envirotex Lite.  They make excellent mold making products too!  EasyMold Silicone Putty is one of two mold making products I want to showcase this week.

Here is why I love the silicone putty.  EasyMold is a easy to use, Odor Free, Non-Toxic, FDA compliant – Food Grade, two component silicone putty.  More magic in a box!

• 3 Minute working time, 25 minute cure.
• Ideal for small molds, excellent detail from original.
• Strong, flexible, reusable molds.
• High Heat range, up to 400º F.
• No Shrinkage.
• Self releasing, no mold release agent required for most applications.

You mix equal parts until the putty is one solid colour.  Then you only have a few minutes to embed what you want to make a mold of.

I made a little circular ball for each button. I flattened it onto my work surface and then embedded my buttons.  Twenty five minutes later I had a mold ready to pour Envirotex Lite into.

I always do a "test pour" whenever I make a new mold.  This way I can pull out any dirt or dust that may have transferred from the original object I molded. I also get to see my mold in action!

Once I confirmed the molds were great I mixed up resin.  In one button mold I poured in a pink batch of resin, in the other a poured in black resin.  Coloring resin is something I showcased in an earlier blog post.

 This mold held the resin nicely so I stepped out of my studio.

But when I came back I saw that I had some spillage.  This is something I wanted to show you so I let my resin cure as is.

 It is very easy to repair this later.  See how the spillage cured?

 Just trim it and your duplicate is saved.

Here are my two duplicates.  All I need to do now is a little sanding.  Tomorrow I'll show you what to do next!
If you are wondering where to buy EasyMold Silicone Putty just go to the ETI website linked here.