Once you have determined a suitable location for the break-line of a two-part mold, you will need a cardboard box out of which you can cut the bottom. This will be the container for your clay bottom layer, the mold model, and the moldmaking material. Its purpose is to hold the model in place while you cast the two separate parts, one after the other. The box needs to be the same size as your mold model, with an additional 2″ in all directions — width, height, and depth. This extra space will be filled with clay to hold the model in place while you pour the moldmaking material over it.

What you will have is a four-sided box with no top and no bottom. Place the open-ended box on a flat, hard surface. A piece of plywood is good. Or, depending on the size, a cutting board. Layer some clay on the bottom — about 2″ — to form a surface on which the mold model will rest. Prior to inserting the model, coat it lightly with mold release agent or vegetable oil (nonstick pan spray is good) to prevent its sticking to the clay.

Remember that poured candles are normally made upside down. Therefore, place your model in the box with its base flat up against one side of the cardboard box. Secure it with tape or mold seal so that no moldmaking material will get between the model base and the box wall. This end of the mold will hold the pouring hole for your mold.

After you have placed your model in the clay bed and secured its base tightly against one cardboard wall of the box, add more clay up to the location of the line of separation between the two parts of the mold you have chosen. Carefully embed the entire part of the model that will be the other half of the mold. The upper part, the exposed portion of the model, will be the half of the mold you make first. It should be clear of all clay to the line you have decided upon.

At this point, you want to smooth down the surface of the clay very carefully so that the level of the clay is in the exact place where you have decided the seam of the mold will be located. When selecting the parting line, remember that the more strategically you place the seam line the less it will be obvious in the finished candle (even though you can scrape and polish the seam line to some extent). Check your model before starting to see if there is a natural place for a break in the mold. If you can find such a place, and align the parting line with some decorative area of the model, the seam line will be almost invisible.

Having leveled off the clay to the parting line, you must now insert several small pegs or other objects (such as little beads) in a line around the model. These will serve as the registration points on the seam line so that when you put the two pieces together they will fit exactly.

At this point, you are ready to spray or coat the model embedded in the clay with mold release. For plaster or silicone, use petroleum jelly. For rubber and Latex, use mold release of the commercial variety.

Part One

To make the first piece of your two-piece mold, pour your moldmaking material over the model. Fill the space with sufficient material to create a mold wall thick and sturdy enough to hold the hot wax without distorting its shape by bending or buckling.

After filling the box with the moldmaking material, allow it to dry thoroughly. The time needed will vary with the moldmaking material you have chosen.

Part Two

To make the second part of the mold, turn the box upside down to remove the clay bottom. Do not remove either the model or the top half of the mold. Take out the mold registration pegs or beads.

Repeat the process for making the first half of the mold. Coat the exposed model with the appropriate mold release substance. Pour in the moldmaking material. Allow to dry. You now have the second half of your two-part mold.

All Together Now

Lift the cardbox off the mold, after it has dried thoroughly. The finished mold should split neatly apart along the separation line. Take out the original model. The space left behind is the mold into which you will pour the wax. The end of the mold that was pressed flat against the cardboard wall is the opening through which you pour wax.

When making candles from handmade molds such as we have been describing, you will need some sort of clamp system to hold the two pieces together while the wax hardens. This can be heavy rubber bands, duct tape, or whatever else you can improvise. (Store-bought two-piece molds come with their own clamp system provided.)