Making Your Own Gold Mouldings

Madison McGahan
by Madison McGahan
2 Materials
I love ornate mouldings on frames, furniture etc. I have often ordered pieces from Etsy and added to pieces I am making over. But I wanted to try my hand at making my own, and here is my experience.




First I found the molds for the appliqués in Amazon





Next I found a clay commonly used in these type of molds. Although now that I've had this experience I would most likely try to use a clay that sets up a tad bit harder than this one.





next I cut off a small piece of the clay and sprayed it lightly with water to make it super playable.





Then I pressed it firmly into to molds and leveled it off with a metal ruler so the 'back' of the appliqué would lay nicely,





Then the hard part...... letting them dry for 24 hrs. the clay gave no indication of how long it would take to dry. But it said that it could be sanded when it was. I'm not sure if 24 hrs was long enough because although it's 'dry' and hardened, I'm not sure it would hold its shape if I sanded it.





Once they are dry they are super easy to just lift out of the mold.
then I painted a brown base, and once that was dry I dry brushed them with black to get a richer tone





Then I used my guilders paste wax.









And there you have it. These will work well on my gold mirror frame.
The great thing about this process is that you can use the molds over and over again.





In the end, while I live the idea of making my own, I'm definitely going to research a better clay option!


UPDATE: below I used the method suggested by a fellow hometalker
And tried baking the clay, the first one melted, and this is the 2nd one. I just used the warming method instead of the suggested heat temp.
I honestly feel there is no difference. When I find a clay that is sturdier, I will update this once again.



Suggested materials:
  • Premier clay   (Amazon)
  • Vintage moulds   (Amazon)
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 4 comments
  • Scott Scott on Mar 09, 2017

    Try paper clay from walmart, dust the mold with corn starch press paper clay into mold and let dry overnight remove from mold and you can cure it in an oven at 150 degrees for 20-30 minutes. It sets up pretty good and is paintable

    • See 1 previous
    • Lora Taylor Hyatt Lora Taylor Hyatt on Apr 18, 2021

      Very durable for furniture! I use sculpty air dry clay in the moulds when they are half way dry give them a coat of polyurethane and let them dry the rest of the way then painted. I used the backing plates with the knobs that also have air dry clay decor on my cabinets in my laundry room which is also my German Shepherds room so it has to be durable lol

      they are very sturdy!

  • Nicolette Spargo Nicolette Spargo on Mar 10, 2017

    So neat!! Definitely keep us posted if you find a more durable way :)

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