3 Tips for Designing with Paper Clay Molds

There are a ton of images and pages about how to MAKE paper clay molds. I can find no posts about DESIGNING with them. I depend on inspiration photo’s to get off the dime. Staring for an hour at this very plain buffet hoping for ideas to form was a long process. Where to start and where should the molds go?

Plain Buffet Before

Follow my journey for a few tips, do’s and don’ts that I learned the hard way. I am no design expert or artist but I can tell you about my process and lessons learned.

Start with one section and build from it

I could not start with the end in mind. It is overwhelming to visualize the whole thing, so I started with what I could. I knew I wanted 2 opposing details on the top drawer center and the bottom skirt.

I was able to build more design from there on to the two center drawers using 4 corner details. This leaves an open space in the middle for a possible transfer or decoupage. Yeah! I like that idea.

Great! I have a start. I decided to make and glue them in place and review to see where the design could go next. Which leads me to my next very important tip.

So, the corner details I planned didn’t end up in the corners! Why? Because I took the drawers out, set them on my work bench to glue them on. The top and bottom drawers got switched. It wasn’t discovered until the glue had set up and the drawers were back in the buffet. Argh! The plan for a transfer or decoupage image in the center is out the window now.

Design With the Doors and Drawers in Place

This blooper can be totally avoided by keeping the drawers in place and temporarily taping the details first before moving to the work bench.

Tape Molds Before Gluing

Not only is taping great good blooper prevention, but it is very helpful to develop your final design. It’s kind of like putting on clothes in a dressing room to find the best outfit. Trying different details in different positions is a lot easier process using tape. Move them around until your design makes you happy.

Fancy Buffet After