I recently fell in love with making puzzles. I was fortunate to have won a puzzle mold from JSmolds a while back and was just getting around to trying it. I made the first one on a whim, wanting to create something different. After sorting through my molds, I came across the heart puzzle mold, tried it out and immediately loved it. I made a few before my in-person events and they sold. So, I made a few more and because I am a rainbow fan, I used some bright colors. If you are here, you know I post about how I make everything, whether it turns out good or bad, and my rainbow puzzle video went viral on Facebook. Everyone wanted the heart puzzle mold. Unfortunately, the mold makers have closed their Etsy shop and no matter how many times I check they have not opened back up.

If I wanted to make more puzzles, I would have to find a way to make my own molds. I set out to figure out how to make my own puzzle design. I could not use the original heart puzzle as a blank because it was not my design. Unless you have a commercial use license for a design you cannot just use it and sell the items.

The first thing I did was search YouTube for a tutorial on how to make puzzle designs. I already had the Procreate app for the iPad and knew there must be a tutorial out there. I pretty quicky found a video titled “Make Your Own Jigsaw Puzzle Brush in Procreate” by Jennifer Nichols Art. Her video was easy to understand and after watching it through and then watching it again with my iPad I was able to create my puzzle brush along with her.

I then worked with my design trying to fit it into a square boarder. I had to adjust it numerous times, taking out some of the tabs and holes so they didn’t fall on an edge. Truth be told I could have done a little bit better. Take your time, if you do this it is not necessary to have a perfect square and it is better for your overall puzzle to have a uniform look. I have one row that is a little shorter than the rest.

Next, I reached out to Sparkle and Ice, LLC who I connected with on Instagram through MAS Epoxies maker meetup. She had done some custom work for me before and I asked her if she would be able to cut my puzzle in acrylic. The 1/4” acrylic would give me a perfect base to make my mold from. She agreed and I was able to purchase my puzzle cut out through her Etsy shop. I do not have a laser cutter so I don’t know the specifics on what was needed or what acrylic she used.

Sparkle and Ice LLC Etsy

Once I received the puzzle, I was able to plan out how I would make the actual mold. I had seen people using transfer tape to make small molds and wanted to give that a try. I had used hot glue in the past to hold the blank, or the object I was making a mold of, down and it made a little gap between the object and the mold box. That caused the mold maker to get under the object causing the mold to need to be trimmed after it was done. With the transfer tape I was hoping to get a more solid seal across the whole surface of each puzzle piece so there would be less trimming needed when it was done. I realize this will not work for every object I want to make a mold of since more textured objects will not stick as well.

I purchased a 12x12 inch sheet of transfer tape from Michaels and arranged the puzzle pieces on it before peeling the backing. I made sure all 36 pieces would fit on the transfer sheet with space between each piece and around the border. Once I had a plan for how and where I would place the pieces down, I removed the backing on the transfer tape and placed each puzzle piece. I made sure to give each piece a good press to attach it to the transfer tape sheet.

With the puzzle pieces on the transfer tape, I made the mold box around it. I used a small trifold foam board I purchased from my local dollar store and cut the sides off. I placed the transfer taped puzzle on top of the center piece since it was just the right size. With the cut offs I cut 4 1-inch strips 12 inches long with an X-Acto knife, they would make up the sides of the mold box. I was able to then trim the strips to fit with scissors. I used a generous amount of hot glue to stick the sides to the base around the puzzle, trying to also secure the transfer tape down as I did so. Once the box was together, I checked for any gaps in the box and added more glue to prevent any leaks.

Once the box was together, it was time for the Alumilite Amazing Mold Maker. The mold maker silicone is a 1 to 1 system of part a and b that has a 6–8-minute work time and is firm in 30 minutes and fully cured in 24 hours. The nice part about using the mold maker is that it is very reminiscent of resin. You pour the two parts mix slowly and its ready to go once it is a uniform color. With my puzzle and mold box ready to go it was as simple as pouring silicone on top. I have heard that pouring silicone from higher in a thin flow helps to pop any bubbles, as well as pouring from one corner and letting it flow across to fill the mold box. I didn’t do that second part but it may help you to try it and I will do so with the next mold.

Use code AMYC10 for 10% off when you buy through the Alumilite website.

Alumilite Website

I ran into a little trouble not having enough mold maker mixed. Alumilite recommends pouring rice in your mold box then pouring that rice into a measuring cup so you know how much silicone you will need. I did not do this because the rice would have stuck to the transfer tape. I started with one 16-ounce kit and quickly mixed up another 16-ounce kit of mold maker to fill the box.

The next day I was able to take my now cured mold out of the mold box. Let me tell you I was a little nervous about it but it was easy to pull off the transfer tape and out of the mold box. I was even able to pull back one of the sides and keep most of the box intact. I had a little bit of silicone under the edge of the transfer tape but not much and it was easily trimmed away from the mold. The mold maker picks up any marks and you can see that it picked up the texture from the transfer sheet and the nice shiny surface of the acrylic puzzle.

Now it is ready for me to make a puzzle with. I am proud of this project. It was very fulfilling to take the project from start to finish. I created the design, collaborated with a friend to get it cut out, figured out how to make a mold and made one. Now I can make endless resin puzzles and not have to worry about losing the mold or not being able to get another one like the heart puzzle mold. I can simply make another one.

I hope my journey to learning how to make a mold inspires you to give it a try or think about how you create in a new way. I know I have so much more to learn about mold making and am excited to try making molds out of new objects and maybe even make a few more designs of my own.

Below is a list of supplies that you can purchase right through amazon. These are not necessarily the cheapest options but I wanted to give you a better visual of the supplies I used. If you can get to a local dollar store you can find a lot of the supplies there. Purchasing through these links does support me through affiliate commissions but does not add any additional cost to you.

Mold Making

Ladder Display Shelves