[Katherine Swift]

This question comes on a blog post by Amanda:

I had a ball making my own molds with this two part putty that kneed together. This weekend I am going to attempt the pour kind silicone, so I can get a good idea what it is like. The next project will be a paper weight trophies. I would like to use the top of rosette ribbon (minus streamers) for this. I figure I put the top in a book to get flat, but what do I use on the material to keep from sticking to silicone? Or is this idea challenge with so many corners and dips around the topper? Thanks

[Katherine Swift]

Amanda,

First thing Im going to say is that you need to use a ribbon that you don’t ever care to use again for display purposes.  That being said, it may take a couple of times to get this right, so more than one might be helpful.

Use some spray adhesive or glue to glue together your ribbon loops.  You don’t want the space inside of them.  (Those spaces will make it difficult to demold from the silicone.)

I would then try to spray the ribbon with a firm sealant of sorts.  Our resin gloss sealer spray would work, or you could try a firm drying and/or thick coat spray. 

https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/tools-and-supplies/products/castin-craft-gloss-resin-sealer-spray

The color is unimportant since this will be your mold template.  (In fact, a colored one may be helpful so you can know where you sprayed.)

As for the next step, Im not sure where I would go with this.  Part of me thinks you should embed it in resin first.  You may not get as much detail, but I think this would make an easier template to mold from.  Cast this final piece in the silicone.  Or, you could just go ahead and cast the ribbon in silicone without the resin layer.  You will get more detail, but it might be a booger to demold.

Perhaps before getting to far into this, you could try using some ribbon to practice with and see what results you can get before spending a lot of money on silicone.

Share some pictures!

[Amanda]

Thank you for the advise.  I will send photos.

[Rhonda J. Hunter]

Go to Marvelousmolds.com, they have gorgeous silicon ribbon molds and other types of molds. They are for cake decorating, but the people on the website recommend them for epoxy and other resins as well.

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