The invention of silicone was a great find for needlewomen. After all, excellent kitchen tools are made from this material: potholders, brushes and a lot of other important tools like carpets for special cabinets, which can perfectly replace parchment paper for baking. However, it is silicone molds that are truly appreciated by modern craftswomen, with the help of which they can easily make products for decorating cakes, unusually shaped soaps, and candles.
Silicone molds are some forms for obtaining the necessary impressions from different materials. Outwardly, they are similar to the forms from sets for children. Thanks to the properties of silicone, they can be used to create not only simple bas-reliefs, but also three-dimensional large figures. In cooking, such molds are mainly used for mastic, marzipan, jellies, sweets and chocolate products. In addition, they are used to create candles, special soaps, beautiful plaster figures, products made from special resin and polymer clay.
Due to the versatility of use and ease of operation, special molds of almost any shape are now available for purchase . However, they differ in only a few characteristics:
Procedure for working with molds
Despite the different forms for silicone impressions, the method of applying them remains the same. Before use, you need to make sure that the mold is clean and not wet, because if moisture gets into it, voids may appear in its area and then the created impression will be bad.
Before use, the inner surface of the mold must be lubricated to make it easier to remove the finished print. If the material is used to create food products, you can use edible fat as a lubricant. For inedible products, Vaseline is used, it's much more convenient.
If the weiner is taken when manipulating foamiran, there is no need to lubricate it. The time a substance remains in the form will depend on its type. If it is mastic, then the mold with it must be placed in the freezer for fifteen minutes to give the print time to harden. After 15 minutes, you need to slowly pull out the finished product and then work with it. If this is used to make chocolate figurines, candles, products made from special resin or plaster, the print needs a couple of hours to harden. The hardening time of any material is separately indicated on the special instructions for it.
I composed such a long name for weiners, which consist of two parts:
The first part is made of silicone - the texture of the bottom surface of the sheet.
The second part is made of epoxy resin - the texture of the upper surface of the sheet.
The combination of a soft silicone mold and a transparent epoxy resin mold makes it very easy to make double-sided textures of leaves and petals, control visually and you can tell by touch the uniform thickness of the casts.
To make the silicone part of the weiner we will need: leaves and petals of the plants we need, cling film, any starch, silicone sealant (KRASS is very good), preferably a disposable plate (if you need Vaseline oil for lubricating your hands).
I came up with a recipe for silicone mass romangt Knead 1 part starch and 1 part silicone sealant well in a disposable plate until it sticks to your hands; if it sticks a little, then you need to lubricate your hands with Vaseline oil.
There is no need to knead a large volume of the mass at once, it sets quickly and you will not have time to use it all, you will understand this after the first kneading.
Before starting to make the batch, lay out pieces of cling film much larger than leaves on the table, and place the leaves on the film with the bottom surface facing up.
Quickly spread the prepared silicone mass into portions onto leaves (the silicone mass should no longer stick to your hands), cover the top with another piece of film and carefully roll out with a rolling pin so that the pancake is larger than the size of the leaf, and the thickness of the pancake is not thicker than 5 mm. After turning the pancake over, you need to remove the film from above and quickly fold and pinch the edges so that the leaf ends up in the boat.
The mold dries quite quickly, but do not rush to remove the leaf, only when it dries well the leaves are easy to remove, and the prints will be clean and very accurate.
Check the finished molds for holes, pour no more than 5 mm of epoxy glue prepared according to the instructions into them and leave to dry for a day.
When the epoxy glue hardens, it is advisable to cut off the excessively protruding edges of the silicone boat with scissors.
The soft silicone mold is easily removed from the hard epoxy mold, and is also easy to fit exactly in place and provides a natural double-sided texture of the leaf.
If necessary, you can use scissors to make a small slot on the silicone mold for a wire leaf handle.
Such leaves are obtained using my weiners.
And for those who already have purchased molds, you can easily make the mirror side of the leaf. You need to stick a piece of silicone dough onto the mold and depict the shape of a boat so that the impression is accurately recorded. You can also stick molds to dry the petals.
I can’t help but brag about another rose made from unboiled HF, where my SILICONE EPOXY WEINERS were used. Annushka's advice http://stranamasterov.ru/user/53500 on tinting the bud was very useful, for which special thanks to her.
Add three tablespoons of potato or corn starch and the same amount of inexpensive silicone sealant to a yogurt cup.
Stir for 7-10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, the silicone sealant practically does not stain your fingers and we begin to knead the mass.
After 5-6 minutes of kneading, the mass becomes completely homogeneous and elastic.
We immediately begin making prints.
Roll out a small piece of silicone mass to the size of the sheet and press the sheet on top.
To get good relief detail, I roll out the silicone with a rolling pin.
The molds are almost ready. The silicone will dry completely in 8-12 hours.
After drying, the molds become flexible, elastic and can be used to make prints repeatedly!
It is better to carefully trim the molds along the edge of the relief after drying.
Panel "Autumn" in the process of production.
Author MK: Tanyusha
So, first, we find suitable leaves. I chose a hydrangea leaf, a foxglove leaf, a virgin grape leaf, a regular grape leaf (I don't know the variety), and a rose leaf. I warmed up the plasticine a little in the microwave, rolled out the pancakes with a rolling pin (through parchment), made impressions, raised the sides, coated them with Vaseline-based massage cream with a brush. Next, I prepared the glue according to the instructions (I bought 120 ml of glue). But before mixing with the hardener, I put the jar of resin in warm water to liquefy it for a couple of minutes. I poured glue into the molds. The layer thickness must be at least 3 mm.
I left the molds with epoxy for 5-6 days. And now the hardest part is to remove the molds from the plasticine molds. Despite the Vaseline, the plasticine comes off reluctantly. At first I simply cleaned off the plasticine, then dipped it in hot water and used a dry cloth to remove the hot plasticine from the mold, then scraped the back of the mold with a knife, and then wiped the mold with alcohol. In short, a lot of fuss. But I'm happy with the result. In future works I will show the use of molds in practice.
Here they are ready! From left to right are hydrangea, grapes, virgin grapes and foxgloves. The dye from the plasticine migrated to the epoxy.
And this is a mold of a leaf of a virgin grape that textures a leaf of a new rose :)) It turned out big, I really like it. At least I got leaf molds.
And this is a mold of a climbing rose leaf. I poured in the remaining epoxy, in some places the thickness of the mold turned out to be very small and when removed from the mold a piece broke off. But I tried texturing on this (glued it up), it’s really ok, just don’t press on the break point. And the texture is good!
And finally, I would like to offer you some amazing works by the above-mentioned authors :)
Hi all! Today I will touch on a delicious and beautiful topic - decorating cakes. For those who did not stick to plasticine as a child and simply love sweets, this topic should be interesting. Be careful, there are cakes under the cut))
I am writing this review not only for dear readers, but also for myself to some extent. So that everything is in one place and I don’t have to scour the Internet in search of information.
I’ll start, perhaps, with the definition of mastic and, of course, the recipe.
What is mastic, recipe
Confectionery mastic - thick putty, sweet confectionery cream.(Wikipedia)
An essential component of mastic is powdered sugar with starch or milk powder.
The connecting link can be gelatin, glucose (condensed milk, marshmallows (chewable marshmallows), chocolate, honey). Of all the recipes I tried, I liked marshmallow mastic. It is elastic, does not dry very quickly (like gelatin, for example), but at the same time holds its shape well (which I was unable to achieve with milk mastic) Here is a recipe for marshmallow mastic (video from the Internet)
Personally, I followed the recipe. I replaced glucose with honey. I liked this recipe better.
And even simpler: 200 g marshmallows + 2 tbsp. spoons of water + 400 grams of powdered sugar. It also turns out quite good.
To work with mastic we need tools.
I ordered them from different sellers at different times. Well, I’ll tell you about everything in order...
For 4.29 USD 
Material: ABS Plastic
Color: Purple
Size:
Length 27.5cm
Diameter 5.3 cm
Method of use:
1.Roll out the mastic
4 Get a beautiful pattern)
I liked this rolling pin. The patterns are clear and deep. The only thing is that for some reason I expected it to be silicone and heavier. But it is made of ordinary plastic. But the result did not become any worse.
For 2.95 USD 
material: plastic
weight: 35g
color: transparent
Method of use:
1.Roll out the mastic
2.Sprinkle the rolling pin with starch to prevent it from sticking
3. Walk the rolling pin over the mastic, pressing firmly
4 Get a beautiful pattern)
Also a good purchase. First of all, it pleases with its compactness. The patterns it leaves are not as deep as the first rolling pin. But it does the job. It came wrapped in a bubble wrap. Although it is made of plastic, it can crack if it hits the floor. Therefore, you need to handle it be careful.
Silicone molds
Silicone molds are special forms that have the necessary structure to create shapes and colors of the required shape for decoration confectionery. Designed to work with mastic, marzipan, caramel, chocolate, sugar mass, gelatin and other products at your discretion.
Silicone molds are made of food grade silicone, have no odor, and can easily withstand high temperatures.
IMPORTANT TIPS FOR USING MOLDOVS!!!
1. The mold must be dry. Before filling the mold with mastic, it should be thoroughly sprinkled with starch.
2. Fill the mold with mastic. If you are using a 3D mold, which consists of two parts, then after filling, you need to slightly lubricate the mastic with water (only the joining parts), fold the mold and crimp it.
3. Place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. Massive molds need to be kept in the freezer longer.
4. Carefully, slowly, remove the figurine from the frozen mold.
After you have taken out the figurine, it is important to let it dry for a couple of hours, and after that you can decorate it.
To fill the mold with chocolate, you do not need to sprinkle it with starch. The mold filled with liquid chocolate needs to be shaken very, very vigorously (much like a thermometer) to release any air bubbles. Shaking, unfortunately, is not always effective because the chocolate is quite thick. It is better to take a soaked hard brush and remove bubbles from the internal cavities. If the figurine is difficult to remove, you can freeze it to a lower temperature
They were packaged like this 
, for 3.87 USD 
Material: food grade silicone
Weight: 60 g
Size: 15.7cm*4.5cm*1cm
Pink colour
Permissible temperature of use: from -40 to +210 degrees Celsius
Method of use:
2.Put the mold in the freezer for 5-10 minutes
3 Cut off excess mastic
4 Carefully remove the “chain” 
Video MK with a slightly different mold (from the Internet)
For 2.24 USD 
Material: food grade silicone
Weight: 70 g
Size: diameter 8 cm, thickness 1 cm
Pink colour
Permissible temperature during use:
-40 to +210 degrees Celsius
Method of use:
1 Press the mastic into the holes
2.Put the mold in the freezer for 10-20 minutes
3 Cut off excess mastic
4 Carefully remove the figures
Points 3-4 can be swapped 
For 2.85 USD 
Material: food grade silicone
Weight: 80 g
Pink colour
Permissible temperature of use: from -40 to +210 degrees Celsius
Dimensions:
Length 8cm
Width 5 cm
Height 3 cm
Method of use:
1 Press the mastic into the hole
2.Put the mold in the freezer for 20-30 minutes
3 Cut off excess mastic
4 Carefully remove the figurine
Points 3-4 can be swapped 
Video-MK
In general, I liked all the molds. Soft, elastic, without jagged edges. The only thing, as always, is that the sizes are very small.
I have long wanted to try to make a mold myself. Sometimes you need some kind of figure, but there is none. So I tried to make homemade molds. I found several “beauties” at home. And this is what came of it.
DIY mold)))
I’ll say right away that the ingredients that are used are not exactly food grade. Rather, these molds are suitable for working with liquid plastic, polymer clay, etc. Therefore, I do not encourage anyone to use them for mastic. I will use them rarely, in exceptional cases.
So, we need:
1. Silicone sealant (I had white)
2. Potato starch
3. Any cream (to lubricate parts so that they don’t stick)
4 Items that we will “copy” 
We squeeze out the silicone and begin to mix starch into it until it stops sticking. As a result, you should get a plastic mass. Something like this. 
Then we form our mold and press objects into it, having previously lubricated them with cream. 
Then we leave them to dry for 24 hours. We remove the items, wash them and get the result. I did this) 
It's a bit crooked, but it serves its purpose well. 
For 1.82 USD 
Material: plastic
Weight: 30 g
Color: Came white
Length:13cm
Used when cutting out small parts of complex shapes using a template or by hand.
It has three knives. One is for cutting mastic, the other two are for creating patterns. 
To be honest, it’s a bit of a useless purchase, since the knife doesn’t cut very well. It’s better to take a replacement regular knife for pizza. You can also make these patterns yourself.
For 3.80 USD 
As you can see, there are also figures in the picture. In real life they are not. But I noticed this when I sat down to write the review. In principle, I don’t need them. 
Material: ASB plastic, can withstand temperatures up to 70 degrees.
Color: yellow-violet
Contents: figures + holder
Size:12*7cm, figure holder 13cm
Letter size is approximately 0.5*0.5 cm
Method of use:
1. Place the letters we need in the holder
2. We imprint a word or phrase on mastic, dough, etc.
3.We get a beautiful inscription) 
The same problem - everything is very small in size. It was also not convenient to cut the letters. To insert them into the holder, the letters must be perfectly smooth. To do this, I had to spend half an hour cutting everything off... If only there was a Russian alphabet... And so, I don’t even know if I’ll use it)
For 11.64 USD 
What is Punch and Plunger
Punching is a tool that allows you to cut a specific shape from mastic
Example of cutting 
Method of using cutting:
1 Press on the mastic with a punch
2 We get the necessary figurine (we take it out manually from the cutting)
The plunger is a punch with an ejector (for easy removal of mastic)
Plunger example 
Plunger device 
Plunger usage method:
1.Press the mastic with a plunger
2 Click on the button on top
3. We get the necessary figure (it jumps out of the plunger itself)
Material: ABS plastic
Contents: 33 pcs
I tested them a little in my own way to show you. I’m still a long way from the original colors)
The set includes
3 cuttings “Flower Cup” (30mm, 40mm, 50mm)
3 cuttings “Carnation” (32mm, 42mm, 47mm) 
4 cuttings “Rose Petals” (37mm, 43mm, 50mm, 57mm) 
3 “Star” plungers (diameter 6mm, 9mm and 12mm) 
3 plungers “Heart” (diameter 6mm, 8mm and 11mm) 
3 plungers “Butterfly” (40mm, 48mm, 58mm) 
4 plungers “Daisies” (20mm, 25mm, 34mm, 40mm) 
4 plungers “Plum flowers” or “Forget-me-nots” (18mm, 20mm, 22mm, 30mm) 
3 plungers “Rose Leaves” (35 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm) 
3 plungers “Chamomile” or “Sunflower” (46mm, 55mm, 68mm) 
They can also be used to create texture on mastic instead of shaped rolling pins and mats.
For example like this 
In general, I am very pleased with this lot, since it would have cost us 50 bucks, or even more.
The tools themselves are of good quality. Although, sometimes they don’t cut through the mastic, and springs periodically pop out of the plungers. I’ve already lost one.
For 3.93 USD 
Material: plastic
Weight: 80 g
Yellow color
Quantity:8 pcs
Tools length:15-17cm
To make it clearer for everyone, I made a sign about the function of each tool. So to speak, a cheat sheet for beginners (including me). 
And this is for clarity 
Video MK (from the Internet)
And of course, to complete the review, it is necessary to show the result of working with the tools.
I’m still far from a professional in this matter. So far, baking such cakes is very rare, since it is very time-consuming and money-consuming. But for the sake of your beloved children, what can you do. We recently celebrated their birthdays with such cakes) 
Lower tiers
Vanilla sponge cake:
5 eggs
1 tbsp sugar (less possible)
vanilla sugar packet
1 tbsp flour
Beat the whites separately until fluffy, gradually adding sugar. At the end, stir in the yolks. Then add the sifted flour (you can add 1 teaspoon of baking powder) and carefully mix everything with a wooden spatula (you can use your hand). Bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees 40-60 min.
Cream soufflé with bananas:
Sour cream-200 g
condensed milk-100 ml
vanillin
gelatin-20g
Pour 4 tbsp gelatin. water - let it swell. Add condensed milk + vanillin to the sour cream. Heat the gelatin until dissolved - do not BOIL. Cool a little and add condensed cream to the sour cream. Mix vigorously.
Assembly: Cut the sponge cake into 2 cake layers. Place 1 cake layer in a springform pan covered with cling film. Place whole bananas on it in a circle. Pour cream over it. Place another cake layer on top. Place in the refrigerator. Decorate the cake as desired.
Upper tier According to this video, I just added a few spoons of cocoa to the dough.
Airy Snickers Cake
Recipe
Only I added less sugar and made a double portion of cream. I also baked all the cakes at the same time so that the whipped whites did not fall and I did not have to overbeat them several times.
If you cover it with mastic, then you don’t need to spread the top cake with the main cream.
Mastic cream on top of the cake(to level the cake and isolate it from the main cream so that the mastic does not “float”)
100 g butter
100 g chocolate
Melt in a saucepan, let it harden a little in the refrigerator. Apply on top and sides of the cake with a spatula or knife until the surface of the cake is perfectly smooth. Let it harden in the refrigerator along with the cake. And then just cover with mastic.
Conclusion: The tools are good. Worth taking, especially for the money.
In the near future, I plan to take this matter more seriously, so I ordered another batch of instruments. So, I will try to continue writing reviews on this topic.
Good luck to all! I'm planning to buy +72 Add to favorites I liked the review +167 +290
Often, to create one or another craft, you need original molds. This is the name given to small silicone molds into which various types of materials can be placed for further hardening and use for various purposes.
Of course, you can buy them in the store, but, unfortunately, it’s not always possible to find what you need. In this case, you can try to do DIY molds. Homemade molds are suitable for making figures from polymer clay, plaster, mastic, soap and much more. They can also even be suitable for baking in the oven. In this case, when choosing a material, preference is given to the most heat-resistant one.
1. DIY sealant molds
Fig.2 Making molds from silicone with your own hands
3. DIY silicone paste molds
This silicone paste specifically designed for creating shapes. It consists of two components, which are mixed 1:1 immediately before use. The drying time for this paste is at least 3 hours (depending on the figure). It is very convenient to work with it, as the pattern is very clear. Silicone paste well suited for creating molds from small parts, but its cost is quite high, approximately 1150 rubles per 150 grams.
Fig.3 Making molds from silicone paste with your own hands
In recent decades it has become a real hit. Since products made from such raw materials have a very long service life, many adults at the amateur and professional level have decided to use their own creativity as a way to please themselves and loved ones and even make money.
Not surprisingly, quite quickly new fashion also affected children, since many of them love to sculpt on their own, and most also have to do this due to the peculiarities of the school curriculum.
What it is?
Anyone who has at least once tried to sculpt something worthwhile with their own hands will confirm that creating a masterpiece requires remarkable talent, and if the design also involves an abundance of complex small details, then the process will most likely drag on for a long time. This greatly limits the number of people who can successfully engage in such a hobby - some do not have the time, and others simply do not know how.
In modern consumer society manufacturers of modeling materials could not afford to lose great amount interested potential consumers, so they found an ingenious solution - to produce special silicone molds.
The principle of using this mold is simple. The mold has a depression of the desired shape, which is tightly filled to the top with polymer clay, resulting in the formation of a figurine. Silicone is excellent for solving such problems, since it can be successfully baked with clay, but even after such tests remains elastic and allows you to easily remove the product from the mold.
It is more convenient to work with molds if the master regularly uses some repeating motifs.
In general, people who are passionate about it usually do not repeat entire items, but only individual components - for example, flowers or berries, which are present in many compositions, regardless of the purpose of the item.
With proper care, such a mold can last up to five years, however, do not use a mold for other materials for this purpose(for example, for epoxy resin). In addition, to obtain the most aesthetic results, the mold should always be perfectly clean and dry.
How to use molds correctly?
Working with molds will seem extremely simple only to the ignorant, but professionals know many secrets on how to extend the service life of a mold or achieve maximum plausibility in conveying the form.
It is worth using deep silicone molds, in which the opening is equal to the maximum width of the product, or even exceeds it. Although filling seems extremely simple, craftsmen do not recommend doing this with one solid piece of material - It is better to use small parts and compact the mass thoroughly, since this is the only way to achieve sufficient strength.
The mold should be filled with clay to the very edges or a little less, but in no case more. Although molds are intended for baking in an oven along with their contents, experts still do not advise doing this: if it is possible to remove fresh plastic from the mold without damaging appearance products, then it’s better to do so. This will significantly extend the service life of the tool and save money on buying a new one.
If the product was baked in the oven along with the mold, you should under no circumstances try to remove the product before it has cooled completely, but you can speed up the process a little with running cold water.
You need to remove the finished product from a shallow mold with a wide neck even more carefully., because there is always a risk of breaking the figurine through careless actions. Similar operations can be applied in particular in the manufacture of clay chocolate bars.
In such a situation, extraction is carried out by simply squeezing the shape with your fingers, as if folding it in half - the “chocolate” itself will fall out of the nest.
The task is most difficult when the mold slot is much smaller than its internal space. In this way, for example, a plate can be made. Here, special requirements are put forward for the quality of filling the mold, because the remote corners of the space will remain unfilled if the master does not directly start with this at the very early stage of production.
Even the high elasticity of silicone will not allow the workpiece to be removed from the mold if it has not yet hardened, so there is no point in saving such molds - in any case, they will go into the oven along with their filler. After complete cooling, the author of the craft carefully bends the edges of the mold and removes the finished product.
How to make a form yourself?
Despite the fact that you can buy molds for polymer clay in almost any specialized store, many craftsmen prefer to make molds for themselves. This allows you to go beyond the rather standard and overly hackneyed shapes produced for beginners and move directly to self-expression, but this task is not an easy one, since you will have to manually sculpt the desired contours. However, for the needs of making figurines for sale, this approach is the only correct one.
The easiest way to explain the scheme for creating a mold is to use the example of a conventional berry. To do this, you will definitely need a real sample of the object whose copying is planned.
Experts recommend taking a photograph of the berry to accurately remember its color. You can outline it on paper to clarify its shape and size, but if you follow the instructions correctly, this step will be unnecessary.
Take a container of any shape (alternatively, previously sculpted by hand from clay), provided that it ideally accommodates the object so that it does not touch the walls or bottom anywhere - there should be a gap of at least 5-7 mm.
The material can be used as an ordinary acid sealant due to its low cost, preferably transparent - this way it will be possible to notice air bubbles during the manufacturing process and remove them in time.
After pouring the sealant into the mold (make sure there are no bubbles), the berry is moistened with a small amount of soap solution and immersed in the mixture, pressing the sealant with rubber-gloved fingers to avoid the formation of voids.
When the sealant dries (this period is indicated on the packaging), you can remove the berries - the mold is ready. To avoid sticking, the finished forms are stored in separate polyethylene bags.
For information on how to make a silicone mold yourself, see below.
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