Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

Several years ago I went to an estate sale wanting to find something to buy to remind me of family friends who lived in that house.   They were such interesting people who were creative, talented and so much fun.   I looked through everything upstairs and eventually found my way to the basement.   There it was! An old ornate brass doorknob.   It went in my box of treasures.   Recently I rearranged my art studio and found it.     My 2 part mold mix came from Cool Tools and just for fun I made a mold of the top of the doorknob.   Then I made a silver medallion using the mold and drilled a tiny hole in it because I wanted to incorporate polymer clay some way.   I know I’m supposed to figure out the entire piece of jewelry before I start anything so it comes out the way I want.   But this time the piece just grew!   I also made a bail that I thought might look good with it…or not.   I fired the pieces and tumbled them and patina’d them.   They sat on my desk for two weeks – until

A recap!   I carved a tortoise from red polymer clay in my previous post.    The turtle needed a little more detailing with a carving tool to make the design on the underside more visible.   Now it’s time for the next step – Making the Mold from the red tortoise model.        The two part mold compound in this case is Part A white and Part B purple.   When part A and B are mixed I have about 10-15 minutes of working time before the mixture sets.   A small amount of this mold making compound went with me to Tanzania where I made a mold of a beetle.   It amazed the guide and I gave him some to take home to his kids.   I always wondered what they did with it. Part A and B were mixed by pressing and folding them into each other.   Then I wrapped it around the red tortoise pressing so that the designs on the model would show in the mold.   To give a separation for the top and bottom of the turtle, I took an x-acto knife and cut the mold in half without removing the turtle.   The mold