Critter cobbler.

That’s what my sister from another mother calls me now, lol!

Recap of several old blogs, combined.

Our Sylvanians live on top of cabinets with drawers. Some used to topple over each time that those cabinets were used and when gigantic farm vehicles pass by. When I bought a shoe store, I discovered that those shoes made the Sylvanians keep standing up a lot better. Yet, Sylvanian shoes are not sold separately, and I was not planning on buying a ton of shoe stores either.

So, I lurked online and tried some BJD/Shelly/Kelly/Barbie shoes instead. That actually worked! These are bendable Barbie shoes, for example.

These are Kelly shoes!

Some Kelly shoes are a bit bigger and fit children. But back then, I had no solution for adult feet. I managed to find a few molds for resin which made a perfect sized shoe for the rest of the adult Sylvanians as well.

Resin is not that easy to work with as it seems. Using exact amounts of both components is a must. Buy the best rated resin and hardener, with non-stinky and none toxic stuff. When it doesn’t cure, it’s hell to clean out a mold! I used mold spray release, but that did not make a real difference for me at all.

Be careful with which colorant you add. I discovered that they sell resin liquid colorants and nail color powders. The powdery nail colors do not work, they keep the resin from curing. The very grainy glittery ones do work. Add less color than you think the mixture needs, as too much seems to create brittle shoes. If the mixture looks a bit transparent still, that’s really enough, it will look perfect once the resin is cured. Liquid colorants and glitters work best.

Scrape the bottom and sides of your mingling container whilst you stir too. Stir well, not whisk air bubbles in the mixture, still for at least 3 minutes.

Filling a silicone shoe needs to be done carefully, slowly and in 3 sessions. You drip in a few drops, let it sink to the bottom, start on the next set, etc. Fill a bit more, move onto the next, etc, till you have filled them all up. Use a straw to blow warm air on the resin to make bubbles appear. Check after 5 minutes and remove bubbles by either pricking them with a toothpick or flicking them out with one. Leave the resin to dry in a room temperature setting.

I had molds which fit all adults. The adults with the largest feet, like lions, required an extra step to get them on. Once that the resin is exactly on the hour that it can be removed, have Sylvanians ready. Take out one shoe and put it on instantly. That way, the resin is just a bit bendable to fit those large feet. Leave them on till they hardened to keep their shape.

Silicone molds do not last. They start to go white after several resin sessions, tear, the resin starts to go dull, and then they won’t come out of the molds anymore.

I have the luxury of having plastic cutter scissors, for straight and curved plastics one each, so I could correct some resin rims easily, as they cut perfectly. Standard scissors could crack the resin. I even cut slippers, like the left cat is wearing here. As for slippers: best to cut soon after they come out of the mold.

Resin shoes break easily when force or pressure is applied. Some molds never seem to fill up right and leave air bubble gaps.

It is fun though if you like to do stuff like that.

Yet, don't use the last 20-30 ml of your resin bottle though. Too much resin component sagged to the bottom and it doesn't set.

If the resin doesn't dry, stick the molds in the freezer for a few hours. Put on disposable gloves and break the resin out. It's messy, but that saves you from throwing away the molds.

After I made a few hundreds of resin shoes, I discovered some new types of shoes for an affordable price tag: plastic 13-16 cm doll shoes.

I can also 3D print shoes, which works pretty well!

As a female, I have few shoes. I never felt the need to have more. But, my future Sylvanians need shoes, heheheh. These can last me a few years, I hope, bwahahah!