The Clay Impression to be Copied

If for any reason you want or need a duplicate of a clay imprint, this is the procedure to follow.

Remove Ribbons

Remove ribbons, strings, etc.

Find a Container

Find a container that is just a little bigger than the clay impression. It should also be plastic and flexible for best results.

Clear Dust

For the most accurate copy, remove any dust or other loose particles. A wet cloth will work fine as well as pressurized air, etc.

Prepare Molding Material

Prepare molding material as directed on the package or kit. For this project, we used a 130g bag of alginate as it yields over 2 cups of material - more than enough to cover the impression and fill the container up and above the impression.

Add Molding Material

With the impression face up begin adding the molding material. (Work relatively quickly as the total set time of the material is 3-4 minutes once the water has been added). Spread some directly onto the impression . . .

Fill Tray with Molding Material

... then pour the remaining molding material into the bowl to cover the impression by at least a 1/2 inch layer. Allow about 3 minutes for it to set.

Remove Mold

Once set, remove the mold from the tray and separate the original impression from the mold.

The Mold

What is left behind is a negative mold of the original.

Add Hole Punches (Optional)

If you would like holes to add ribbon later on, add straws to those areas now.

Prepare Casting Stone

Prepare casting stone as directed and fill the mold. In this case, we used a 180g bag of casting stone. Allow at least 30 minutes to set.

Remove Copy

Once set, remove the stone copy from the mold. [Becauase this mold is open on one side, several castings may be poured from a single mold. Eventually, the mold will degrade so make the additional copies within a few days of the mold creation.]

Finish

Sand and touch-up as needed and finish as desired. Here we used an acrylic paint to fill in the print and name and then used a glaze over the entire impression.

Items Used

For this project we used an Infant Plaster Casting Keepsake refill (130g Alginate; 180g Stone), water, mixing spoons, mixing tray, 5x5 inch tray, paint, glaze and straws.