I’ve been experimenting a bit lately with Prima Marketing’s Modeling Material and molds.

I am still a total newbie at using them and am learning as I go.  I don’t want to attempt a full on tutorial with you guys because I’m definitely not an expert.  Instead here is a link to a YouTube video by CeCe ReStyled which is very in depth.

I do have a few tips for you that I’ve learned so far though.

My first tip is to sprinkle a little corn starch into your mold before using it.  This will help ensure that the molded clay pops out easily.

My next tip is to be aware that the clay shrinks a bit as it dries.

Most of the time this isn’t going to be an issue, but it came into play for me when working with the Regal Filaments mould.

When I took my modeling material out of the mould the long pieces came apart in a few spots.

I didn’t think that would be a problem, I could just glue them in place and no one would ever know.  However, as they dried the gaps grew larger because the pieces also shrunk.

If I had let these dry before gluing them in place, I could have tightened up those gaps.  However, you should also know that the clay becomes hard and brittle once fully dry.  It may also warp a bit.  In other words, you won’t be able to shape it, and it may not lay flat.  So it might work better to glue your clay in place before it dries fully.

I believe the best solution is to let your material dry for about an hour before taking it out of the mold.  It will still be somewhat pliable at that point, but also it will have firmed up just a bit.  You can then glue it in place before letting it dry fully.

Despite that shrinkage, I still think this particular piece still turned out nicely.

It’s an old cupboard door that I painted in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth, then added the clay molds along the sides, some Hobby Lobby knobs at the bottom and one of Prima Marketing’s Floral Home transfers.

So far I’ve used a small bee mold on this raised cake plate …

I’ve used a decorative flower mold on this small jewelry box …

And I used the Seawashed Treasures mold on the cupboard doors I shared with you on Monday.

I’m having lots of fun playing around with these molds, but I don’t want to hog all the fun just for myself.  So today I’m giving away the 2 lb. bucket of Modeling Material, plus 5 molds, Baroque Swirls, In Bloom, Italian Villa Scrolls, Leafy Blossoms and Greco Crest.

Thank you to Prima Marketing for providing all of the goodies for today’s giveaway!

The rules:  to be eligible to win today’s prize leave a comment on this blog post letting me know what kind of project you would like to use these molds on.  Your comment must be left on the blog, not on Facebook or Instagram.  You are not required to follow my blog, although it would be awesome if you did!

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Friday, July 26, 2019 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

The fine print: no purchase necessary, you must be 18 years of age or older to win, void where prohibited by law, the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning, approximate retail value of prize is $75, if the prize is not claimed by Sunday, July 28, another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.

Good luck!