The Joy of Metal Clay: The Silver Lime

I made a silver lime pendant yesterday in between making a birthday cake and party planning for my now 9 year-old.

To make a lime impression. I used a two part silicone compound.
 This compound comes with two different coloured compounds:

To use it you mix equal portions together.. 

I just eyeball two equal sized balls.  (Only mix what you will use as the compound cannot be saved for later)

You have to make sure it is all one colour (the picture above is not mixed enough)

 

 

The above has been well blended.

 

 

Once the compound is mixed use immediately.  It will cure quickly. 

To make the lime impression I rolled a smooth layer of molding compound (thick enough to take the impression, I rolled it about a half centimetre thick); then I "planted" the lime directly into the compound.  It is best to leave the item in the compound while it cures.  I have found in the past that trying to remove the item before it cures the mold can distort. I left the lime in  the mold for about 10 minutes.

*** One thing to remember when using these molding compounds it that you want the product to be completely smooth.  For instance you don't want any creases or folds in the silicone.

Once the molding compound is set you can use the mold.   I pre- rolled my silver clay into a thick layer (about 5 mm) then rolled the clay onto/into  the mold.   I left the clay in the mold to begin to set.  If you remove the clay from the mold to soon it may distort.   I think I left it in for about 5 minutes until the clay began holding its shape.  Once the piece is removed from the mold clean up the edges and let it dry.  Once dry, finish and add a bail then fire.

 I added a bit of liver of sulfur to highlight the texture.