Casting Silicone

 Beeswax is my preferred wax. When I was a kid, Dad used to keep bees, and I did so many little projects with the wax we'd harvest. It smells amazing and it just feels wholesome. Also I am not that good at making things out of beeswax because it is so hard and splintery. My models slated for casting in silver would take hours and be super prone to damage. Since they are intended for sale, I feel like I have to keep my labor hours down a little bit so I decided to cast some blanks and forms to work with.

 I mixed up too much of this Smooth On casting silicone, so I rushed to find little items to cast, and those ended up being great. This stuff is so easy to use. I just mixed the two bottles together and poured it over my sprued models. I wish that in school we used real modern casting supplies instead of learning the process/theory with plaster of paris cast in plaster of paris molds. You have to use specialty vaseline to keep the casting plaster from sticking to the mold, completely avoid undercuts, the plaster makes an enormous mess that can't be washed up, and the process takes days because each stage has to cure/dry. Also, you are an adult, a sculptor even, whose plaster cast has sealed permanently into your mold, and can only be removed in bits, before being presented for critique and grading.

 It is even a great color.

Ring blank, heart, house, bear, light bulb, person blank

I didn't carve the heart, so I wouldn't cast anything from it to sell. (The light bulb is fair game, I am sure.)  My boyfriend noticed me noticing it among the costume jewelry at a discount store and surprised me with it. The silver has worn off so I thought it would be sweet to cast it in silver, to show how much I like it.