button clay molds

Howdy folks. I have been holding on to this tutorial for a couple of months. Why, you ask? Because I wanted to make a card with one of my hand embellishments before showing the tutorial and I did this morning, check it out:

I used a vintage button to make a mold {or mould} for the silver button on the card:

I tend to be a button hoarder, especially the really cool ones or really old ones I have saved from my grandmother. So I took the lovely buttons I could not bear to part with and made molds of them with scrap polymer clay so I can make as many as I like. Here are some of my handmolded buttons:

Scrap clay is the leftover scraps of polymer clay you save after you finish a project. Just toss them in a sandwich bag until you have a need for custom molds 😉 I store my scrap clay in a fish ‘n tackle style box:

How to make Clay molds. If you don’t have scrap clay you can use new clay.

Step 1. Condition the clay. Knead all of the various colors of scrap clay for about 10 minutes in your hands, it will turn a uniform grey-brown color. You can use a clay dedicated pasta machine to speed things along.

Step 2. select a button, bead, key or whatever you want to mold. Dust it with cornstarch or baby powder so the clay won’t stick to it.

Step 3. Press the clay on the object making sure to pull the clay up over the sides so you get a good deep mold. Don’t encase the object though, you then need to remove the item you are molding. If it does not look good just knead the clay again and re press the object in the clay.

Step 4. Bake the clay. I bake it at 275 for 15 minutes per 1/4″ thickness but refer to your package of clay when in doubt. Most of my clay scrap is Sculpey 3 so it has a shorter baking time. Finer art clays like Sculpey Premo have a longer bake time.

Step 5. Take it out of the oven and let it cool. Then you can make as many of the embellishments as you like. For really detailed pieces you will want to dust the mold with cornstarch or Pearl-ex (if you want some sparkle!) so it doesn’t stick. Never bake the clay in the mold or it will stick for good!

I think making homemade molds and buttons is a great way to spend an evening!

Before I go I wanted to show you a variation of the new years card I made since I plan on mailing these cards and the buttons are thick. I found these great bottle cap stamps by inkadinkado months ago and could not find a use for them til now, I’ll hand deliver the clay button cards and mail the stamped bottle cap ones!

And in case you are wondering here is a list of the other stamps I used on my cards:

Mouse: Crafty Secrets

Banner: Pink Persimmon

Sentiment: My Sentiments Exactly

Numbers on banner: Personal Stamp Exchange (funny story here, I was getting ready to write this post and realized I forgot to stamp the year on the banners, Doh…ha ha, nobody’s perfect)

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!