Andy Evans wrote:
Hi,

If I wanted to make my own garden ornaments using a latex mould:
snip
4. anybody had a go at this?

Sort of.

Look at http://www.mauve.plus.com/Chinese-Lantern.jpg
The base was cast in one bit using a mould made from several sheets of
polystyrene glued together.
This was then cut with a hot wire to a template.
Then the inner core was removed, and with a plywood box round the mould
to stop it flying apart under pressure, concrete poured in.

Also.
Have made several smaller mouldings from silicone moulds, from Aldi.
They had tubes of silicone sealant at 89p.
Take a suitable object, cover it in wax.
Take the sealant, and mix it with a damp alkali, so it sets in 5 min.
Cover object to be copied.
Wait 20 mins or so, remove.
Now, place in oven at 80C, and make up some cement using hot 1:3
cement-sand or so, with just enough boiling water to make up enough to use,
and add some accellerator.

Cover with a bit of foil or plastic, so it doesn't dry out, and wait
half an hour or so.