How to Make Ornamental Plaster Furniture Appliques

I often find furniture or craft projects that need just a little something extra to dress them up and plaster ornaments are the perfect solution.

I have never seen plaster molded in polymer clay but, it is the way I have always done it, it's inexpensive, and it works.


I use any polymer clay that needs to be baked
 in order to harden

Find anything you would like to make a mold of.  I used a drawer knob here.

Always use dusting powder and coat your object first so it will not stick to the clay

I kneaded my clay until it was soft and pressed the flower into the clay

You now have a mold

I mixed up a small amount of plaster. 
 I found this plaster on clearance a long time ago, but you can use any plaster from the craft store.

Pour the plaster in to the mold, tap it to get out any air bubbles, and let it dry.  This particular plaster hardens in 1-2 hours.  

After it hardens pull the clay away from the plaster and take your molded flower out. 

The green on the plaster is the color picked up from the clay.  I used green clay for this tutorial to make it easier for you to see.  It would be best to use white clay.

You will see that you have to clean the edges around the molded flower.

I used a Dremel

 But, chipping it away with your fingernails and then using a finger nail file will also work.

  

I used E-6000 glue and attached 3 roses to this letter holder

Taking it from this

To this

Here is a few tips to make this project successful

Be sure not to bake the clay, the reason this clay works is because it is flexible, if you bake the clay you will not be able to remove the molded plaster.

This mold can be reused many times, the clay will not harden unless baked.  I keep it in a ziplock bag.  You could also reuse it for another project.

You can mold any object

This drawer plate when molded will be fragile because it is thin and has more of a chance of cracking, but it can be done.  You may want to push it farther into the clay to make the plaster a little thicker when you mold it.

I dry brushed this shelf

And added the plaster mold to the top

I wish I had filled in the hole in the center with clay, oh well.

There is nothing wrong with using ornamental wood, but they get a little pricy and have limited designs

Making your own molds gives you limitless designs.....

There is a product called "Amazing Mold Putty" that you can purchase at any craft store for $19.99 that makes permanent flexible molds. 

But, If you're like me and just occasionally need a plaster ornament for a project, the polymer clay works great.

I have used plaster ornaments for:

Suitcases (By the handle)

Tin, wooden, and cardboard boxes

Picture frames

Any kind of furniture

I can see your creative minds are spinning with ideas!


Update: I added a post HERE on making plaster appliques with gum paste molds generally used for cake decorating....Easy

Happy Creating!

Carol


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