Studio Experiments: DIY Polymer Clay Molds

Join me as I explore making some diy polymer clay molds using Sculpey’s Mold Maker to whip up some funky flower fridge magnets!

A while back, I received a box of Sculpey goodies, and tucked inside was a pack of Mold Maker—a soft, squishy clay you can use to create molds from pretty much anything. Found objects, your own polymer clay creations, you name it!

For this experiment, I decided to sculpt some simple little flowers from scrap polymer clay. Once they were baked and ready, I pressed them into a flattened ball of Mold Maker to create my diy polymer clay molds. Pro tip: be generous with the cornstarch—both when you’re making the mold and when you’re using it later. It makes for less stress when trying to carefully remove your object from the mold.

Now, the instructions said to bake the molds for 20 minutes per 1/4″ of thickness, but me being me, I gave them a good 45 minutes. (If you’ve worked with polymer clay for any length of time you know you’ve got to bake longer than what the package says for optimum flexibility.) Honestly, I’m not sure the extra time was necessary, but hey, no harm done!

One thing I *don’t* recommend? Baking the scrap clay flower inside the Mold Maker. Yeah… let’s just say that flower is never coming out. Lesson learned!

For the final flowers, I used Sculpey Soufflé, and let me tell you, the details transferred beautifully from the molds! Just remember to dust everything with cornstarch so you can pop those babies out without any fuss.

Now, while Mold Maker isn’t as flexible as silicone, it’s still pretty impressive. It’s super easy to condition, picks up all the tiny details, and holds them like a champ. Overall, making diy polymer clay molds with Mold Maker is quick, easy, and mess-free!

Tools & Materials

• Non-porous work surface — I work on either glazed tile or glass
• Pasta machine dedicated to polymer clay use — I use an Atlas 180 and will refer to the settings I use on my machine. If you don’t have a pasta machine an acrylic roller and some playing cards will do in a pinch, it’ll just take a little more work.
• Sculpey Mold Maker
• Polymer clay — plus some extra scrap clay
• Cornstarch
• Liquid clay — translucent (and black—optional)
• Baking tile
• Texture sheet (optional)
• Texture sponge (optional)
• Small round shape cutters
• Craft knife
• Magnets — I used these ones, they’re really strong!
• Super glue

Directions for DIY Polymer Clay Molds

Step One | Making the Master Flowers

Condition some scrap polymer clay until it is soft and workable. Sheet it on a thicker setting and cut out a variety of small circles.

Roll five or six circles of the same size into balls.

Roll each ball into a teardrop shape by applying pressure to one side and rolling the clay back and forth on your work surface.

Arrange the teardrops into a flower shape with the points meeting in the center.

Flatten the petals slightly and use a needle tool to make a vein in each petal.

Roll a smaller circle of clay into a ball and press it into the center of the flower.

Repeat the above steps to make flowers in several different sizes by using larger or smaller circles.

Bake the flowers for 45 minutes at the recommended temperature for your brand of clay.

Step Two | Making the DIY Polymer Clay Molds

Break a piece of the Sculpey Mold Maker clay off of the block and condition it. This clay is already quite soft and is easily conditioned by hand.

Roll pieces of the conditioned Mold Maker into balls a bit larger than the scrap clay flowers and flatten them slightly.

Dust the cured scrap clay flowers with cornstarch and press them into the flattened balls of Mold Maker. 

Use an acrylic block to aid in pressing the flower evenly into the Mold Maker, if desired.

Gently remove the cured flower component from the Mold Maker. Once all your flower molds have been made bake them at 285 degrees F. (The package directions say to bake for 20 minutes per 1/4” but I went 45 minutes.)

Step Three | Using the DIY Polymer Clay Molds

Condition the clay you will be using to make the flowers. 

Generously dust the mold with cornstarch and press a ball of conditioned clay into the mold. If necessary, use a sharp blade to carefully remove excess clay that doesn’t fit into the mold cavity.

Gently remove the flower from the mold and place it backside down on your work surface. Use a craft knife to trim away any extra clay along the outside edges.

Once all the flowers have been made place them on a piece of paper on a tile or baking sheet and bake at the recommended temperature for your brand of clay for 30 minutes.

Step Four | Making the Face of the Magnets

Condition a piece of clay for the flower background and sheet it on a medium setting (no.4 on my Atlas.) If desired, use a texture sheet to add texture to the sheet of clay. Place the textured sheet of clay on a baking tile.

Arrange the cured and cooled flowers on the sheet of textured clay. Once you’re pleased with the arrangement spread a thin coat of translucent liquid clay on the back of each flower and press firmly to the textured sheet.

Use a craft knife to trim the clay around the flowers leaving a border to frame them.

Return to the oven for another 30 minutes.

Step Five | Adding Backing Clay and Magnets

Condition a piece of clay and sheet it on a setting slightly thinner than the height of your magnets—for me this was no.3 on my Atlas.

If desired, use a texture sponge to texture the clay.

Place the sheet of clay, texture side down, on a piece of parchment paper and lay the cured and cooled flowers on top.

Use a needle tool to lightly trace around the shape of the flowers. Remove the flowers and set them aside while you cut out a circle that is large enough to accommodate the magnets.

Spread a thin layer of translucent liquid clay over the backs of the flower pieces and replace them on the backing clay. Use a craft knife to trim away the excess backing clay, using the cured edge of the flower piece as a guide.

Check that the circle cutout for the magnet hasn’t been distorted. If so, reshape the circle and use a craft knife to trim away the extra clay.

Optional: use some black (or another color) liquid clay and a dotting stylus to color the centers of the flowers.

Place the pieces, flower side up, on a piece of paper and bake one last time at the recommended temperature for your brand of clay for 45 minutes.

Once the pieces have cooled sand the edges, if needed, and glue the magnets in place with super glue. 

Check out my other studio experiment with Sculpey’s liquid clay!

If you’ve enjoyed learning how to make DIY polymer clay molds and give this tutorial a try please tag @bysandracallander on Instagram!

As always, if you have any questions or comments, I’m happy to hear from you.