by Margaret Radisich Sleasman

Created on: September 12, 2009

We have been in the concrete ornament business for over thirty years; and because molds are very expensive, we chose to make a few of our own. Copyright laws are not just for the printed page, almost anything anyone mass produces; especially yard ornaments have a copyright. If you find the cutest plastic or fiberglass gnome at Fred Meyer, do not take it home and make a mold of it unless you are going to add it to another item or change the entire figure into something completely different. For example; take two gnomes of the same size (in different positions) and place them together under a mushroom. That would be a very complicated mold because of the seams and undercuts required to get it all out in one piece, so I will give you a simpler task.

If you have an item that has no undercuts and is wider at the top than at the bottom, you can make a sleeve mold with no seam, but larger items will have a seam. The place that sells the liquid rubber will also sell clear sheeting for making seams; these are either completely flat or with various sizes of bubbles in them. These bubbles help keep the seam straight when you are actually ready to put together and pour the mold. First find an inconspicuous place on the figure to place the seam and then cut the plastic the length and shape of the figure. If your cutting is not exact, you can use a bit of clay to fill in the "holes". The seam piece needs to be at least two inches wide and remember also that if your figure has ears (like on a deer) or say arms on the hips with "holes" in the center, you will also have to put your seam material there too.

Once your seams are on and your item is on a flat surface, begin painting a thin coat of the liquid rubber on the figure, both sides of the seam, and at least a two-inch wide circle at the bottom of the figure, thus attaching the figure to the board. Do not worry about it being attached to the board; it will come off after you are done with your project. Once the rubber is thick enough (anywhere from 1/8 inch to a quarter inch thick), let the item sit for several days to be sure it is completely dry and cured.

Next you will need another piece of seaming material or maybe even two (this is where the bubbled seaming material is really handy). Place this on your completed project the same way as you did when you needed the seam for the rubber. Whether this figurine has undercuts or not, it is likely three dimensional and the plaster on the outside has to be taken off without

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