#claytastic

So – a few months back I introduced you to one of my new favourite products  – Claytastic in this post. Since then I have been trawling eBay for fondant moulds like the feather one I featured in that post. Thank goodness for the all of the cooking and baking shows on tv that have made working with fondant so popular, and fondant moulds so cheap 🍰 🍮 🎂

The theory behind all of this madness is to provide myself with supplies for my mixed media play – which ideally would feature all sorts of “found objects” and other ephemera – if I could ever find the little bits and pieces at the rate at which I’d like to devour it.  I could buy those little packets of metal cogs and other bits and bobs of steampunkery – but I simply can’t afford to!

One of the many advantages of mass producing your own “found objects” using Claytastic and moulds is that the end product is super light, flexible, paintable, and using them on canvases doesn’t add the huge weight that the metal equivalents do (much less likely to pull a hook out of a wall).

So – back to the moulds, I have been amassing a few of them, and each new arrival has spurred a Claytastic flurry. The flowers are so detailed that the photos I’ve included just can’t do them justice! Layers and layers of petals, and because the silicon is so flexible you can manipulate the clay into every tiny nook and cranny of the mould. I have heard it told that you can use these silicon moulds in the oven with polymer clay – I’ve been a bit reluctant to try this myself, because I don’t really want to start snorting silicon fumes and some parts of these moulds seem really thin. If you’ve tried it I’d love to hear how you went?

The only trouble I’ve had making these gorgeous bits and bobs is having the patience to leave the larger ones in the moulds for long enough for them to cure properly so that I don’t mess them up trying to extricate them – they really do need a little longer than just overnight 😳!

Enjoy the gallery . . .