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Beginner Doll Making Using a Press Mold, Part 1

Today I wanted to create a play by play of how to make a fairy using a commercially produced press mold I bought at my local craft store. 
This is a mold from a popular craft store.

Super Sculpy Living Doll Polymer Clay

I use a pasta machine to soften and condition the clay. I do not use the pasta machine for anything else.

I rolled the clay into sausage shapes.

I cut jewelry wire for the legs, arms and torso. I cut the wire longer than the actual size I needed. I believe it is 20 gage wire, but it may be 18 gage.

I made sure that my mold was very clean. I also dusted each space of the mold with corn starch using a paint brush.

I dumped the extra corn starch into the trash. I blew any extra corn starch out of the mold. This helps the polymer clay release easily from the mold.

Make egg shapes to fill the head. The smaller egg will be used to fill the face. The larger egg will fill the head.

Place the pointy part of the smaller egg into the face. Press until the entire face is covered. Make sure the clay gets into the deep crevices completely.

Smooth the clay into the face.

Place the pointy side of the egg down into the head shape and press firmly, covering the entire space.

Smooth the extra clay outside of the head space.

Turn the mold over and gently press the head out of the mold. Place it in a safe space until needed.

The extra clay will be cut off after the head is soft fired.

Press two balls into the breast shapes and smooth into the mold completely covering them.

Fill the torso with enough clay to cover the entire space. Smooth the extra clay outside of the mold.

Gently remove the torso.

This mold has a small tear, which created a small mark above the navel. The breast on the left in the picture will need a small piece of clay to fill the space where the breast is not attached to the torso.

Fill the hands with small balls to entirely cover each hand.


Add sausages of clay to fill in the arms
Gently remove the arms.

Fill the toes with balls of clay making sure the clay gets into the toes well.

Fill the legs with sausages large enough to cover the entire leg shape.

Gently remove the legs.

I laid the legs back into the mold, pressed wires into the entire leg and added clay to build the back of the leg.

Make knee impressions and remove any extra clay. You will need to sculpt the back of the legs and ankles.

I soft fired the torso and head so they would not change their shape. Each piece is very small. I placed both pieces onto a tile. I baked them in a cold oven for 15 minutes at 275 degrees.

The clay is baked but it is soft enough to cut away the extra clay.

I added clay to the back of the torso covering the wire armature.

I attached the right leg to the torso and smoothed the clay from the leg onto the torso.

I cut away extra clay making the legs smaller. I also bent the feet forward creating a heels.



I smoothed the left leg onto the torso and cut away extra clay to shape the legs and feet.
I had to remove the leg wires and placed one leg over the other. I placed the torso and legs into the oven at 275 degrees. They came out flat. In the next post, I will post more pictures of the legs as I add clay and resculpt them into a round leg shape.
Please return for the next segment of this tutorial. Please leave comments or questions. Any suggestions are also welcome.

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