Tyra Smith, Cloud 9, Tips & Techniques

Krafty Lady Art Moulds
(Krafty Lady http://kraftylady.com/)
(U.S. Distributor: After Midnight Art Stamps http://www.amstamps.com/)

Tyra Smith Cloud9@netnet.net
Well, I finally found some time to fire up my toaster oven and melting pot...and I drug out my KL moulds and the opals (and beeswax and polymer clay). I have one thing and one thing only to say...How did I EVER live without this stuff? I never imagined embossing enamels could be CREAMY looking.....they look good enough to eat. The Opals have such a different look than UTEE does...I could easily justify buying both products.

Initially, I needed to melt some of my beeswax to make smaller cakes to use with some quilting and beading projects. My father-in-law asked if I would send him some beeswax blocks, so I needed to make extra for him. I buy my beeswax in huge blocks directly from the bee farmer (it is INCREDIBLY cheap), so I have to "repackage it" to make it easy to use. Anyway, I fired up my melting pot....cut off a few hunks of beeswax and proceeded to "melt away". I have two small rectangle moulds (about the size of a dominio, only deeper), I made them out of the Mold 'n Pour moulding compound Suze Weinberg sells. I figured this would be a good comparison test...use a KL mould and one I made. So I did. I used the Lady with a Scarf....and the rectangle moulds I made...and poured melted beeswax in them. I found that the KL Moulds actually disperse the heat better and cool more quickly. I was, and still am, just totally blown away by how well the KL Moulds hold that detail. WOW. The beeswax cakes I made with the Lady w/Scarf mould are almost too pretty to use. My father-in-law will really like them!

Well....I decided to try another KL Mould with Translucent Liquid Sculpy (TLS). I brushed some antique silver pearl ex in a key mould and a keyhold mould. Then I poured the TLS in it, baked per package instructions. Once the mould was cool enough to handle, I popped the pieces out without any resistance whatsoever. It looks like a REAL aged key and keyhole. They are somewhat flexible, so I don't have to worry about them shattering. I think they will be totally awesome as an embellishment on a handmade journal. I took the mould and used an old toothbrush and some dish soap...and scrubbed away the excess pearl ex left on the mould. Clean up is a SNAP! I am VERY impressed with how the TLS works with the moulds and looks as an end product.

Then I took one of the larger fragment moulds....and filled it with some polymer clay I had mixed up several months ago when I was exploring the Mokume Gane technique. I mixed a little too much jade pearl ex into that clay when I made it, but it really looked quite nice in the mould. Baked the pc in the mould per package instructions.....let it cool and it popped right out of the mould and looks AWESOME. I don't know what I'm going to put on that fragment piece...but I'm pretty sure its going to be a necklace.

I took four other moulds (smaller naked torsos and large fragment and another one)....filled the moulds with various colors of Opals and stuck them in the toaster oven to melt. Periodically I had to add some more Opals as they melted. I did use some clear UTEE to fill on top of the Opals. The UTEE stays on top even when melted....and when I sprinkled just a little of the Opals on the melted clear UTEE....it sinks when it melts. The opals must be more dense than the clear UTEE. Anyway....its a nice look. When I popped the pieces out of the mould, I did find there were a LOT of tiny air bubbles that had made the surface look "cratered". It gives an interesting look to the torso moulds, but I wasn't happy with the bubbles on the smaller medallion mould. I'll have to remelt that and try it again. Maybe I should melt the Opals in the melting pot first, then pour into the moulds...should do away with the bubbles I think. The fragment piece didn't have ANY bubbles in it and it is STUNNING. The front and the back of the fragment piece look totally different, but both sides are very pretty. I like that!

I took three other KL moulds and used them as follows:

1. Brushed gold pearl ex on mould, filled it with gloss varnish medium. Worked beautifully!!!

2. Sprinkled some ultra fine glitter in the mould....filled it with Diamond Glaze. Worked eautifully !!

3. Filled the mould with Ranger's Glossy Accents, sprinkled ultra fine glitter on top. Worked beautifully!

I still have some other products I want to try....air dry clay and porcelain clay. I can't adequately describe just how pleased I am with both the KL Moulds and the Opals. The moulds are so incredibly versatile. I have no double Linda will be making more money off me when I go to expand my collection of KL Moulds.

KL Moulds.....wow. They are so incredibly versatile and can be used with a HUGE range of products and techniques. They will also cross over to other craft arenas, such as Polymer clays, various air dry clays, other clays that can be baked in a standard oven, paper casting, soaps, candies, candles, beeswax, Embossing Enamels and powders of any brand...and the list can virtually go on forever. The ability to put ANYTHING in those moulds and have the moulds release it with easy and the ability to be able to bake the moulds themselves is what makes them so darn versatile and more than worth the cost. The number of moulds available, as well as the variety in imagery, is awesome! Something for everyone there.

I found out an interesting thing yesterday while using the moulds and the melting pot. You know...when you put a clear embossing enamel in a melting pot, it will turn sort of amberish in color (not a bad thing). I have been racking my brain for months trying to figure out how to get away from that amber color because there are times when I don't want it. I FINALLY figured out how to do it.

Take a KL Mould of your choice and a Clear Embossing Enamel (UTEE or the Clear Opals which I think the color is called Franklin). Using a small spoon, put in a litte bit of the clear embossing enamel in the bottom of the mould. Just a thin layer to start with. Now put the mould into an oven (I used my toaster oven) set on about 300 degrees and let the embossing enamel melt in the mould. As soon as its melted, take it out of the oven and let it sit just long enough to cool slightly. Use a heat gun to "hot it up" again (just heat the mould with the melted powder in it), this brings any small air bubbles caught in the melted enamel to come to the surface and they will pop. Now repeat this process, using a light layer of embossing enamels each....until the mould is as full as you want. Let it cool...pop it out of the mould....and then you have a nice, fairly clear moulded resin image without any air bubbles caught in the middle or on the top.

As a side note...the clear Opals (the color is called Franklin)....they do not turn an amber-ish color when heated. VERY nice!

I did alter that technique a little bit by using a VERY small amount of differnet colors of Opals at various stages as I melted in the oven - this did slightly tint the clear, so go lightly if you add in other colors of Embossing Enamels. Frozen Opals are GREAT and cause it to have a beautiful floating inclusion. Just be sure you use VERY LITTLE of the colored Opals and only use it once or twice during the melting process at most. I even put a small brass charm within the middle of a mould and it looks phenominal.

Tips for using the KL Moulds with Translucent Liquid Sculpey (TLS)
I didn't get ANY holes or bubbles in mine. First, my TLS had been setting for ohhh....probably a year. It was a bit thick, so I thinned it down, using Sculpy Diluent, enough to "pour easily". I just squirted the Diluent in the bottle of liquid scluply....mixed it well with a stick....put the cap back on the bottle....then turned it upside down and let it stand that way for about 30 minutes or so. This way, all the bubbles rise to the top (which is now the bottom of the bottle)....and won't be in the TLS your put in the mould. Pour the TLS in the mould...let it sit for a while so any little bubbles will rise to the top and you can pop them with a pin. THEN...bake.

If your TLS is very thick, then the air bubbles have a hard time traveling to the "top" thru the thick liquid sculpy. This may trap the bubbles in the liquid sculpy. So...thin the liquid sculpy down so that it is the consistancy of ..hmmm....honey. Yeah, like honey (maybe slightly thinner, but not much more). And ALWAYS use the Sculpy Diluent to thin it down, nothing else.

Another idea....if your mould is a large one...fill it only a little bit with the liquid sculpy...let sit so air bubbles can travel to the top...pop the bubbles...then add a little more liquid sculpy. Or...you add a little liquid sculpy...let sit...pop bubbles...bake. Then...add more sculpy...let sit...pop bubbles...bake. Sometimes you have to take a little time and "work" the product you are using to your advantage. Don't shake or mix the TLS too vigorously, that creates air bubbles and will make your job more difficult as you try to get a good, bubble-free mould. Mix the liquid sculpy only IF NEEDED (like if you are diluting it and thinning it down)....turn bottle upside down and let sit a while so air bubbles travel to the TOP and won't be trapped within the full body of the TLS.

Now...for an interesting twist! You can actually TINT liquid sculpey. You can do that TWO ways:

1. Mix a small amount of OIL PAINTS into the liquid sculpy. It MUST be oil paints, not acrylics or watercolors. This gives you a somewhat opaque color.

2. Mix powdered mica products (pearl ex, etc...) into the liquid sculpy. This gives you a shimmery, lightly tinted more translucent color.

I've worked many polymer clay stained glass pieces and tinted my liquid scuply for interesting visual effects. It works GREAT ! I just mix up any color I need in a small disposable cup...use it all....and throw away the cup. If you mix up more than what you need and wish to store it for use later...be very sure you store it in a GLASS container. Baby food jars work great!

Of course, you can brush the powdered mica product right on the mould before you pour the liquid sculpy in it....this does tint the liquid sculpy, but does so only from the top of it, not all the way thru it. If you tint the liquid sculpy itself, you have a different look and feel.

I have to admit that I'm VERY intrigued with the TLS and the moulds. I love it tha that the finished product (after baking) is not stiff and brittle. Its fairly flexible. I know it will make some totally awesome embellishments for handmade journals and mixed media pieces. TLS truly is an incredible medium to work with and those KL Moulds make it even more versatile because you can BAKE the entire mould!!!

YEAH...I'm TOTALLY in love with those KL Moulds. Now I just gotta figure out how to save up some dollars so I can buy more of them. I really think I'm needing one of them ALL !!!!

To see samples of projects using Krafty Lady Art Moulds, click HERE.