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Tuesday 17 June 2014

Moldable Plastic - who knew.....

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I was sent this really intriguing product to review. As regular visitors will know, I have been having fun with air dried clay and moulds lately, so I was interested to see how this would compare

Firstly, it's easy and rather a lot of fun to use, you just drop some of the little white pellets into a bowl of very hot water, leave it for a couple of minutes....



The plastic granules turn clear and merge together....


Lift the pliable lump of molten plastic out of the water with a spoon or tongs, and start tearing bits off to put into the rubber moulds (which I forgot to photograph). The plastic sets very quickly and turns an opaque milky white, it takes seconds to dry. If the ball of plastic starts to set, just plunge it back into the hot water to make it pliable again...


I wanted to see what colouring mediums would work, for these butterfly key rings I used ProMarkers, and coated them with Stickles glitter glue...


 Then I moulded some of my favourite little garden pots using moulds by KatySue Designs, and coloured these with some acrylic paints, glimmer sprays, gilding wax. You will see the edges of a couple of the pots on the top look a bit bashed around - that was my fault for not pressing the material fully into the moulds, but I didn't recast them because I quite the way they look like chipped stone.....


I had to turn one of them into a card, using Martha Stewart punches for the leaves and flowers...



So after playing around with it, I can give a very positive review for the following reasons:

The material is easy to mould, and is incredibly lightweight, always a plus in these days of expensive postal charges. Each of the little pots doesn't weigh any more than an acrylic button - much lighter than the same pots done in air dry clay

It's very durable, the clay can break quite easily, if you drop them on the floor for instance, they don't survive, but this material doesn't break or chip which must be a good thing if you are sending projects by Royal Mail!

The whole process took a lot less time than with the clay, which of course has to dry slowly. You can have your embellishments in seconds with this material

I liked the way the pots looked when painted with acrylic paints, shimmer mists and gilding wax. All these paints adhered well to the surface, and I was able to add shading and highlights. I wasn't so keen on the look I got with the ProMarkers. 

 I reckon one pot would last a long long time, a little goes a very long way,  Another plus is that any unused material Is just popped back into the container to be re-melted the next time.

Great product for crafting your own embellishments when  moulds and texture plates etc are all the rage at the moment - check out Katy Sue Designs, they mail worldwide, and in the USA, Michaels has a great range of rubber moulds by Martha Stewart

I have a few more ideas - I plan to colour the actual water that the plastic is melted in to see if it absorbs the colour as the granules melt - I feel like a mad scientist trying out all these ideas. I also fancy rolling out a square with a rolling pin onto a craft mat and trying to emboss it, or pressing a stamp into it to take the impression....I'll let you know when I get on with these ideas. It would make great pendants, I wonder if I could use alcohol inks when the plastic was still warm...........playtime!

Read all about it HERE

and buy it HERE Amazon

Hope you've enjoyed reading this review, there's always something new for us crafters to play with! See you tomorrow x


26 comments:

  1. Interesting stuff! What kind of adhesive did you use to adhere your creations to cardstock?

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  2. I just used glossy accents Cheryl, any strong glue would do

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  3. En...this looks like so much fun and creative also. I need you to email me so I can write back. Hope all is well. XXX Carol

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  4. This looks like a lot of fun - I love the little pots you made. I'll have to get my hands on some of this and try it - I have a lot of molds from years ago (I think they were for chocolate). Thanks!

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  5. Hi Enfys, I got to play with this material a while back - it is fun isn't it.

    It is very adaptable as you can add colouring agents into the mix - rather like food colouring into icing.

    Have fun.

    Toni xx

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  6. Beautiful card Enfys.
    and interesting stuff.
    Gr Elly

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  7. This looks likea fabulous material to work with. Loving the pots and you card is gorgeous.
    Hugs
    Linda xxx

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  8. Oh My ... this product does look like fun. I agree with you about the chipped look of the pots, they seem so realistic ... like a worn and weathered pot you might find in the garden. And the card you've made is stunning.

    I'm anxious to see how things work out with the embossing, coloring, etc., after you've had the chance to experiment with it a bit more. Looks like it might have several creative uses.

    Thanx for sharing the info.

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  9. Very interesting stuff Enfys and your finished card is gorgeous sweetie !!

    hugs Diane xx

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  10. What a fantastic product and I love the card - those flowers are so pretty. I can picture you as a mad scientist Enfys, white coat, protective goggles and gloves but I dread to think what disaster may befall you in the lab! Pat x

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  11. I think I like this. I wouldn't mind getting it but would need to collect a few moulds first. Your card and butterflies are fab.
    Love the review,
    Crafty love, Jo xx

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  12. Thanks for the review. Will have to give this a go it looks much better than the clays I've been using.

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  13. Thank you so much for sharing this. You are so right it takes a long time for Clay to dry. This is definitely something I am going to have to try. Your card is beautiful as well, I just love how the molded pot looks. Mind if I ask what Martha Stewart punches you used.

    Have a wonderful day!

    Take care.

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  14. Hi, Enfys,
    I am rather intrigued with this stuff :)
    As always, you have done a very interesting post and a beautiful card.
    Thank you.
    Hugs,
    Guida

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  15. Hi En, seems like some pretty cool stuff. I haven't gone into molds,since I've had. A no buy policy for the last year. Things are looking up,and I just recently signed up as a Stampin' Up demo! I don't know if I'll make a business of it, or just be a hobbyist. We'll see. I love your card. Nice display piece to. Hugs, Jess

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  16. The punches used were Martha Stewart hydrangea blossoms, they are the smaller pouches, there is one flower on one punch and the second punch has three tiny flowers on it. I use them a lit!

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  17. Beautiful card. What fun stuff. I'm glad you're going to color the water it melts in, that was my first thought when read your description. Can't wait to read about your experiments!
    Smiles,

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  18. I felt so excited for you as I read your post about this experimental product. I enjoy trying out stuff but just wish I could get the supplies here, yup feeling jealous too.

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  19. I've used some it too, and to make the flower pots! I absolutely love the stuff. My 3 boys do too, the make weird and wonderful models.
    For colour, I add powder to the melted plastic as I'm kneading it. I've used cosmic shimmer, edible food dye powder and embossing powder. I have tried stamping into it with mixed result. Rubber stamps worked better than acrylic and pressing it or rolling it onto an embossing board also works well, as does running it through a big shot in an embossing folder :-)
    Hope you have lots of fun and just don't leave a mad up embellishment in a hot car. It melts! (Experience led me to find this out lol) xxx

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  20. luv luv the pots with chipped parts really makes them look vintage...I see a new rage happening...thanks for all the fabulous insight on all new products...and of course all the enabling too lol

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  21. Really neat and I love your card! I want to give this a try. BethAnn M.

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  22. This looks beautiful and so simple in use. This not heavy in a product? hugs, Helena

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  23. This looks like such fun. Your card is beautiful !

    Anna N.

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  24. Haven't you the best job in the world?! Getting to play with all these things, experiment like mad and, best of all, tell us all about it :)

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  25. Now this looks like some pretty interesting stuff. Will have to check it out. Like I need another crafty thing to play with!!! Right? thanks!

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  26. A lovely card Enfys and this looks like fun stuff to use.
    Mags
    x

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I love reading your comments, thank you for taking the time
Enfys x