GSOLFOT MINI NEWS
| March 2010 |
| Welcome to our visitors and congratulations on finding your way here. Hello again to all our members. |
| Welcome to our 11th venture of sharing news and skills. |
 | |  |
| | |
| Don't forget to bookmark this page and visit often |
| We hope you have enjoyed this month’s edition of GSOLFOT MINI NEWS. If you have an article to submit for future editions please contact the editor: spwatson@ntlworld.com |
| We have just completed another of our legendary “Makes”. How do these work? The Oz announces that there will be one and we all sign up without knowing what it will be – oh yes – we are a very different kind of club. So – what was it? The challenge was to design a shield for your partner reflecting his/her mini habits and club name. Wonderful results! You can see them here http://www.gsolfot.com/Specials.html and http://www.gsolfot.com/Specials2.html The winner was Margie with her beautiful interpretation for Emma Rule. |
| Welcome to all our readers and our new members. Christy Blackburn of Texas and Cheryl Hite (AKA “Batty” – for increasingly obvious reasons!) of New York and Diane Corbin from New Zealand found their way over the draw bridge and are joining in with gusto |
| It is a rare event but we have a space for a new member, please apply to Noni The Oz GSOLFOT |
| This month we have for you – molds! And mache! And a sweet little purse. And some mushrooms……..we do variety here! More members around the globe have provided information about where they live and you can read about them below |
| HOW TO MAKE A FLEXIBLE MOLD BOX FOR USE WITH PLASTER OR RUBBER MOLD MATERIAL By Jacqui Marlin, Goddess of Chaos see more of Jacqui's work here X |
| WHERE SOCKEES LAY THEIR HEADS |
| We are sharing our local places with our readers. This is where some of us are when we are not in The Towers |
Margie Paruszkiewicz
Tantie Linda MacTier
| Next issue………to be announced as your editor, Sally, is packing her bags in April and setting off Down Under again! Take care all you who dwell in the southern hemisphere! I will be taking notes! |
| I base painted the bottom part with black paint making sure all the indentions were well covered. Next I painted the bottom part with Pot O'Gold Patio Paint (nicest gold I have found, I think; very shiny). I gave it a nice heavy coat but not too heavy as I didn't want to fill in the indentions. After that was dry and I did the back in the same manner, I put a satin sealer coat (water base craft varnish like artists use) on it. When the bottom was dry, I painted the top and handle with the Pot O'Gold paint. I think it ended up with two coats to cover everything. When this was all dry, I painted just the top part of the purse and while the paint was wet I poured very fine gold glitter over it, turned it over and poured the glitter on the back. Set aside to dry very well and there ya are! |
| Millie Henschel “blinged” a plain metal purse to make it fit for a princess |
Materials:
• 5 pieces of acrylic scrap or for very small molds you might find a
square plastic container or two. You will need to be able to cut the plastic.
• Modeling clay (sometimes called sculpture clay or oil clay)
• Sturdy clamps
• 5 pieces of acrylic scrap or for very small molds you might find a
square plastic container or two. You will need to be able to cut the plastic.
• Modeling clay (sometimes called sculpture clay or oil clay)
• Sturdy clamps
| If you will be making many molds of various sizes you should use plastic 5-6 inches wide and about 1 1/2” or so taller than you will need for your finished mold. You can always adjust these smaller but you can’t really make them larger |
| Bend the plastic into an L shape with approximately 1 1/2” on one side of the L. The measurements on these are not critical as long as there is enough to accommodate your clamps. It is fairly easy to make a gadget to bend the plastic but if you only plan to do this once have your plastics shop do it for you. Or if you use a square container (as in the photograph below) you won’t have to do anything. |
| A bending gadget is an electric wire between some thin strips of wood forming a channel that is protected from heat. The wire must be electrified and the plastic laid over the channel and heated until it is soft enough to bend. |
_____ _____ This is the profile with a hot wire in the channel and all of it on a base. As I said, way
|__| more trouble than it is worth for just one set of pieces.
|__| more trouble than it is worth for just one set of pieces.
| Now that you have 4 L shaped plastic pieces and 1 flat base you are finished. |
| Using the mold box: Clamp one piece of plastic to the base. Clamp the next plastic to the base at right angles to the first one. Decide how big your master is and how much mold material will be needed around it and clamp a third side to the base. If it is square just clamp the last piece but if it will have different dimensions decide the size of the last side. |
| Completely seal the inside side and bottom seams with modeling clay to prevent leakage. The clay should be re-usable |
| Coat the inside of the container with mold release or PAM. Be sure it is well coated because the rubber will stick to it otherwise |
| Place the bottom of your master on the floor of the box and anchor it well. Pour your mold material in and let it set. Be sure it is completely cured before taking it out. If you have used enough release the box should be easy to take apart by releasing the clamps |
| The simplest way to make this a 2 part mold for small, simple objects is to slice the rubber almost all the way thru leaving just enough for a hinge. If the mold will be very complex and needing 2 or 3 parts I would suggest finding some instruction on line as it is beyond the scope of this article. |
| Coat the inside of your rubber mold with release and pour in your casting material – most likely resin. |
Corinne Curtis answered a question from another member but, being a true Sockee………………… the end says it all!
One of the easiest ways I know of making moulds is by using leftover scraps of fimo. You basically just soften up any
scrappy bits of fimo, dust your original item with talcum powder, then press it into the fimo scrap carefully to create
an impression. Bake the mould, and then you use it by dusting it with talc and pressing fimo into it. Of course this
method does have some limitations - you can only do something that can actually be pulled out of a rigid mould, and
that has a flat or very plain back. I have done doll heads this way, modelling a round back of head shape before I pull
the face part out of the mould.
You can make rigid moulds out of plaster of paris (or better still, one of the finer casting powders like ceramofix).
This requires more detailed instructions that you might well find on something like a ceramic doll making website or
book. Generally you have to do two part moulds for this, and you need to make very sure that there are no sticky out
bits on your original that will get caught in a rigid mould and you can't get out without breaking the mould!
If you need to have a more flexible mould, then you can use things like remeltable rubber moulds. This stuff is
available from craft supply places. The mould won't last forever, but you can remelt it and start again. The more
flexible the mould though, the less easy it is to use solid material like fimo in it.
Mould material like RTV rubber (room temperature vulcanisation) is really nice stuff for making highly detailed
flexible moulds that you can use for casting stuff like some of the very fine modelling plasters (ceramofix, etc) in. It is
much more expensive (you might have to buy a kilogram of the stuff as well) and a bit trickier to use (you have to
measure and mix two different ingredients) as well as going up the scale in toxicity.
Latex rubber can also be used to make flexible moulds. This is stuff that you paint onto your original (make sure you
use an appropriate mould release first). It is rather a fuss to do properly - you have to do quite a number of layers to
build up a good mould, and the first layer needs to be quite thin and put on very carefully to avoid air bubbles.
Having got this far, I realise that I have totally forgotten what it was that you were intending to mould. Does any of
this answer your questions? If not feel free to ask another question, and I'll try and find the right section of the Mine
of Information to drag out the answer.
scrappy bits of fimo, dust your original item with talcum powder, then press it into the fimo scrap carefully to create
an impression. Bake the mould, and then you use it by dusting it with talc and pressing fimo into it. Of course this
method does have some limitations - you can only do something that can actually be pulled out of a rigid mould, and
that has a flat or very plain back. I have done doll heads this way, modelling a round back of head shape before I pull
the face part out of the mould.
You can make rigid moulds out of plaster of paris (or better still, one of the finer casting powders like ceramofix).
This requires more detailed instructions that you might well find on something like a ceramic doll making website or
book. Generally you have to do two part moulds for this, and you need to make very sure that there are no sticky out
bits on your original that will get caught in a rigid mould and you can't get out without breaking the mould!
If you need to have a more flexible mould, then you can use things like remeltable rubber moulds. This stuff is
available from craft supply places. The mould won't last forever, but you can remelt it and start again. The more
flexible the mould though, the less easy it is to use solid material like fimo in it.
Mould material like RTV rubber (room temperature vulcanisation) is really nice stuff for making highly detailed
flexible moulds that you can use for casting stuff like some of the very fine modelling plasters (ceramofix, etc) in. It is
much more expensive (you might have to buy a kilogram of the stuff as well) and a bit trickier to use (you have to
measure and mix two different ingredients) as well as going up the scale in toxicity.
Latex rubber can also be used to make flexible moulds. This is stuff that you paint onto your original (make sure you
use an appropriate mould release first). It is rather a fuss to do properly - you have to do quite a number of layers to
build up a good mould, and the first layer needs to be quite thin and put on very carefully to avoid air bubbles.
Having got this far, I realise that I have totally forgotten what it was that you were intending to mould. Does any of
this answer your questions? If not feel free to ask another question, and I'll try and find the right section of the Mine
of Information to drag out the answer.
Noni The Oz has been experimenting and shares her results with Heather in a letter which was stolen and printed here:
Take something that you have that is the right shape (called the master) and make a mould of it. Then cast it. Once you
have the copy start adding or taking away from it, carve it or add a handle, or twisted neck etc. Then when you are happy
with that make a mould of the altered item.
Cast it and see what you think. If it’s all bent and twisted then it’s perfect for witches and wizards; if it’s a really good
straight copy then use that mould for more. If it needs work then add, sand, take away, carve, and then make another
mould of it to see how it comes out.
Now you ask! What do I use for the mould? Well this is where all my experimenting came in. I tried painting on layers of
silicone and got very bored waiting for the layers to dry so that I could paint on even more! I also found it to be tiresome
and messy. I tried a two part mould where you made one side and added mould markers then added the other side and
made a pouring tube........... hated that! The tube would bung up and not let the resin through, or with some resins it
would stay sticky in the mould and not release, no matter what releasing agent you had used. I finally stuck with Gelflex.
A hot rubber that you cut up and remelt if it goes wrong, so very little waste and almost instant results.
Then you try out all the different resins on the market, and to be honest that's where the costs are incurred. Hobby resins
are expensive and I do not like them! Seriously they are not for me at all. If you are only doing one or two pieces then by
all means try the safe, over processed, too expensive hobby resins, they don't smell and some even wash off in water!
Sadly for me, they didn't have any soul either. I tried so hard with them, I followed instructions, I read websites, I
phoned for advice, and I failed, badly. (Although later I was told Winter is really not the time to practise).
One of the more popular hobby resins dries in 24 hours; demouldable in 12. Ok - three days later and mine is still liquid
and starting to eat the mould!
One of them dries from liquid to solid in 10 minutes, great apart from its so thick it wont pour down our tiny necks in the
mould so you have a half cast item.
Some resins wont set without extra heat as we are making miniatures. You see the thicker the resin the more heat it
creates by itself and then sets quicker. If you are making something small, there is no heat so it won’t set. ........ and so
on......... I really did learn a lot!
I am not recommending this ........... but I will tell you what I used, and it was good old fashioned polyester resin.
IT STINKS so work outside or in a shed/garage with plenty of ventilation. It sticks to EVERYTHING so be prepared to
throw everything away after you have used it lol . Its not a "glass clear" product so has a tint to it which I find perfect for
mini bottles that are meant to be in an aged environment, like a lab or store.
have the copy start adding or taking away from it, carve it or add a handle, or twisted neck etc. Then when you are happy
with that make a mould of the altered item.
Cast it and see what you think. If it’s all bent and twisted then it’s perfect for witches and wizards; if it’s a really good
straight copy then use that mould for more. If it needs work then add, sand, take away, carve, and then make another
mould of it to see how it comes out.
Now you ask! What do I use for the mould? Well this is where all my experimenting came in. I tried painting on layers of
silicone and got very bored waiting for the layers to dry so that I could paint on even more! I also found it to be tiresome
and messy. I tried a two part mould where you made one side and added mould markers then added the other side and
made a pouring tube........... hated that! The tube would bung up and not let the resin through, or with some resins it
would stay sticky in the mould and not release, no matter what releasing agent you had used. I finally stuck with Gelflex.
A hot rubber that you cut up and remelt if it goes wrong, so very little waste and almost instant results.
Then you try out all the different resins on the market, and to be honest that's where the costs are incurred. Hobby resins
are expensive and I do not like them! Seriously they are not for me at all. If you are only doing one or two pieces then by
all means try the safe, over processed, too expensive hobby resins, they don't smell and some even wash off in water!
Sadly for me, they didn't have any soul either. I tried so hard with them, I followed instructions, I read websites, I
phoned for advice, and I failed, badly. (Although later I was told Winter is really not the time to practise).
One of the more popular hobby resins dries in 24 hours; demouldable in 12. Ok - three days later and mine is still liquid
and starting to eat the mould!
One of them dries from liquid to solid in 10 minutes, great apart from its so thick it wont pour down our tiny necks in the
mould so you have a half cast item.
Some resins wont set without extra heat as we are making miniatures. You see the thicker the resin the more heat it
creates by itself and then sets quicker. If you are making something small, there is no heat so it won’t set. ........ and so
on......... I really did learn a lot!
I am not recommending this ........... but I will tell you what I used, and it was good old fashioned polyester resin.
IT STINKS so work outside or in a shed/garage with plenty of ventilation. It sticks to EVERYTHING so be prepared to
throw everything away after you have used it lol . Its not a "glass clear" product so has a tint to it which I find perfect for
mini bottles that are meant to be in an aged environment, like a lab or store.
| Its HORRID stuff to work with, I used syringes as the ratio was 1 drop to 100, and you really cant use things again, so disposable cups, wooden stirring sticks etc are needed. Lastly you need to sand/wet and dry the pieces at the end to make them perfect for the scene you have, labels, decals, paint, varnish, loads of different ways to finish, all trial and error. I hope this helps someone as I worked for weeks learning by trial and error and maybe it may save someone else the time :) |
Scaloot (Judy Neilsen) shares her secret mache methods
Paper Mache - Yes you need a blender dedicated to this. I even have a second 'jar' for mine - got it all at thrift store and was
able to purchase new rubber rings at hardware store. The pulp method gives more detail but is not always faster than
laying up layers. I prefer to layer for the bulk and then 'top coat' with the pulp. Newspaper even in the blender is a bit
coarse. I have a selection of paper toweling, bath tissues etc that I use depending on how fine I want my pulp. I have not
added wallpaper paste but I do add good old tacky glue to the mix. You might also get a strainer/sieve to dedicate to this,
after blending in lots of water I strain the pulp, toss it back in the blender with just a little bit of the water from the first
run, add loads of glue and re blend, rather thick? Add a bit more water.
Strain again and package in plastic bag. Let it sit for a day or so to level out the moisture content - you can knead the bag a
bit every few hours if you want. When you want to use it, put on cheap disposable gloves and have a bowl of water nearby.
Wet your fingers and grab a bit of the pulp, if too dry, use the wet fingers to moisten. This adds just a bit of moisture each
time so it isn't too wet. The glue in the mix helps it stick to the built up layers. You can build up more layers of pulp but
the thicker they are the longer it takes to dry. It is usually faster to use say two 1/8 inch layers than a 1/4 inch one.
You can also cut, sand, and 'carve' this mix when it is dried. If it shrinks a bit, just fill in with a bit more pulp smoothing
with your fingers.
Hope this isn't confusing. I do have 'recipes' for mixes I have made but they are buried somewhere, probably with the
vacuum...
oh and I have kept the bagged stuff for months as long as it is sealed. Somebody told me it would keep longer in the freezer
but I have not tried that.
able to purchase new rubber rings at hardware store. The pulp method gives more detail but is not always faster than
laying up layers. I prefer to layer for the bulk and then 'top coat' with the pulp. Newspaper even in the blender is a bit
coarse. I have a selection of paper toweling, bath tissues etc that I use depending on how fine I want my pulp. I have not
added wallpaper paste but I do add good old tacky glue to the mix. You might also get a strainer/sieve to dedicate to this,
after blending in lots of water I strain the pulp, toss it back in the blender with just a little bit of the water from the first
run, add loads of glue and re blend, rather thick? Add a bit more water.
Strain again and package in plastic bag. Let it sit for a day or so to level out the moisture content - you can knead the bag a
bit every few hours if you want. When you want to use it, put on cheap disposable gloves and have a bowl of water nearby.
Wet your fingers and grab a bit of the pulp, if too dry, use the wet fingers to moisten. This adds just a bit of moisture each
time so it isn't too wet. The glue in the mix helps it stick to the built up layers. You can build up more layers of pulp but
the thicker they are the longer it takes to dry. It is usually faster to use say two 1/8 inch layers than a 1/4 inch one.
You can also cut, sand, and 'carve' this mix when it is dried. If it shrinks a bit, just fill in with a bit more pulp smoothing
with your fingers.
Hope this isn't confusing. I do have 'recipes' for mixes I have made but they are buried somewhere, probably with the
vacuum...
oh and I have kept the bagged stuff for months as long as it is sealed. Somebody told me it would keep longer in the freezer
but I have not tried that.
| I live in a rural upcoming urban area called St. John, Indiana. Although our area has been built up in the last 13 years we've lived here, we still have deer, raccoon and coyote sightings. We have all the conveniences of a metropolitan area. The biggest interest would be that we are about 35 miles from the downtown area of the city of Chicago, lovingly called the 2nd city. |
| It is a bustling city with many tall buildings, the most famous being the Sears towers, now called the Willis building, but it will always be Sears to me! |
| I was born and raised on the southeast side of Chicago; we were about 12 blocks from the beach, Lake Michigan. This area was heavily filled with industry. Several steel mills (at least 2 on each side of the Cape Cod house I grew up in), and one Oil Refinery, where my Dad worked for 34 years as a Rigger. (Those steel mills are all gone now). Getting back to the city highlights, we have several wonderful museums, the Museum of Science & Industry (my favorite, so many unusual finds and interesting things to see including the Colleen Moore Dollhouse Castle)! We have the planetarium, the aquarium, the Natural History Museum, (where the mummies live, love them)! And now the new Millennium Park, Michigan Avenue, houses the Art Institute, where the Thorne Rooms reside! This is not to be missed when visiting Chicago for any miniaturist. They are to die for! Further up from South Michigan Avenue, over the bridge to North Michigan Avenue, you will find the Wrigley Building and the Tribune Towers, and the Old Water Tower saved from the 1871 Chicago Fire! |
| Your now on the Gold Coast (where shopping is not to be missed)!!! Water Tower place is a shopping experience with so many interesting shops to get anything from soup to nuts! So many restaurants, too many to list, but Uno's and Gino's East is the best for original Chicago pan pizza! And the finishing touch would be the beautiful breathtaking view of Lake Michigan, especially (in the summer with all the boats)! In the Hancock building, not to be missed, is the 95th Floor restaurant, (yes, that's a lot of floors up there in the clouds), you can get a beautiful panoramic view of Lake Michigan and the City! Mayor Daley would be so proud of me! |
See Margie's work here X
I live in Montreal, the second largest city in Canada and the largest in the province of Quebec.
| Montreal is located in the southwest of the province of Quebec. The official language of the province is French with 56% of the population speaking French at home, followed by 19% speaking English at home. The port of Montreal is at one end of the Saint Lawrence Seaway which stretches from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean |
| The city has a very rich and exciting history with many historical buildings above and below ground. The Iroquois established the village of Hochelaga at the foot of Mount Royal. Jacques Cartier visited Hochelaga in 1535, claiming the the Saint Lawrence Valley for France. In 1611 Samuel de Champlain established a fur trading post on the Island of Montreal. In 1639, Seigniorial title to the Island of Montreal was obtained to establish a Roman Catholic mission for evangelizing natives. Ville-Marie became a centre for the fur trade and a base for further French exploration of north America. It remained a French colony until 1760, when it was surrendered to Great Britain. Montreal's climate is classified as humid continental; the summers are warm, very often hot and humid and smoggy with a high of 26C. The heat index frequently makes it warmer than the actual temperature. Our winters are very cold, windy and snowy. The wind chill makes it feel much colder than it actually is -6C to -15C. Spring and fall are usually mild. Our precipitation (rain and snow) is around 38" a year. |
| Because Montreal is so multicultural there are many things to see and do depending on what interests you. There is an International Jazz Festival every summer as well as Juste pour Rire (comedic festival). There is both French and English theatre, movies, schooling etc. Most Montrealiers speak both English and French or at least understand both. I have visited many places but Montreal feels like home in spite of some of the aggravations and problems. But what city doesn't have them? |
| Bienvenue a Quebec. Welcome to Montreal. See Tantie's work here X |
Granny Rat/ Jane Ratcliffe
| The Island I live on is called Johns Island. It's not out in the ocean much but separated from the mainland by a river which is part of the ICU (Intercostal Waterway) that runs North and South. Johns Island is part of a group of Islands called The Sea Islands located just South of Charleston, South Carolina. The Island itself is about 75 square miles, a rather good size place. |
| The Stono River separates it from its neighbor to the North, James Island, and the Bohicket River separates it from its neighbor to the South, Wadmalaw Island. We have two resort area Islands (Kiawah and Seabrook) separated from Johns Island by the Kiawah River and many small creeks. I live just off the Stono River on Abbapoola Creek. They're usually called Tidal Creeks because when the tide's out the creek bed can be nothing but mud (pluffmud). The part I live on, however, is deep water all the way out. (A note of interest here: when we went on one of our famous GSOLFOT trips, the QEII picked up as many as she could en route. She got stuck on one of the curves of the Abbapoola and had to be airlifted out which was a great embarrassment to me. Not that it wasn't fun.) |
| There're many famous sites to see in Charleston, lovely old homes, carriage rides, guided tours, lovely old preserved plantations in the outlying areas and in the middle of the harbor, Fort Sumter, where the Civil War began. Charleston thrives on the tourists that visit. Johns Island has only one main attraction: The Angel Oak, said to be 1400 years old. Apparently this is debatable so who knows her age. We have a most wonderful mini shop in the area. ”Memories” is 5000 sq feet of lots of fun stuff. It's located at 1670 Folly Road on James Island. I work there part-time (Fridays and Saturdays), and it's a real pick-me-up just to go in and "smell the miniatures" and certainly keeps my mini enthusiasm revved up. Y'all come visit now, ya heah? The winter weather here is quite cold at times but tolerable. But be prepared to bake (really bake) in the summertime even as you quickly move between air conditioned spaces. We always have threats of hurricanes but the South Carolina coast dips inward a bit here, and those storms sweeping up from Florida tend to sweep right on by us without a direct hit. The ones we have to be aware of are those coming straight in from the coast of Africa. Actually this is a rather nice area with large moss draped oak trees, lots of flowers (Azaleas, Magnolias, and many more too numerous for a non-plant person such as myself to name). This is a huge tomato growing area that gets quite busy during tomato season. The wildlife is plentiful, but unfortunately is being pushed out of their natural habitats because of the massive development. We have an abundance of alligators that have been known to push back and bite. We have lots of deer, many different kinds of birds and a black panther has even been sighted in the area where I live (not by me, though). And naturally the wildlife I'm most fond of, Raccoons and Possums, are plentiful. I've been lucky to have a few of these as friends over the years since we raised and released abandoned ones at one time. Most loving little creatures. |
| And that's my home, folks. See Granny's work here X |