First, I had to choose my artifacts. I chose a small conch shell I found on the beach when I was a kid and a ceramic donkey that I won in a middle school trivia competition. With the shell, I plan on cutting the mould into two pieces after it is cast, because the widest planar intersection of area runs through the middle of the piece. With the donkey, I plan on also trying to cut the mould in half to preserve the donkey's symmetrical features down its back and on its head. This piece seemed like a good candidate for pulling out at first, but it has features at all edges of the piece that prevent this method from being successful. I am a bit worried about the donkey's ears and legs in particular, and I am not too sure how I will preserve them. For now, we will just cut it in half and wiggle the donkey out. With a removal plan in place, I could begin making the silicone.

Next, I combined the two parts of the silicone that we recieved in the kit in a 1:1 ratio and mixed them together with a wooden popsicle stick. It's important to remember to work in a well-ventilated area and to wear a mask and gloves while handling the liquid silicone, as the fumes are toxic! Once mixed, I had about 25 minutes to cast my objects. I first casted the seashell by pouring the mixture into some tupperware, placing the seashell inside, and pouring more mixture to cover it up. I repeated this process for the donkey, but there was a small problem. I barely did not have enough silicone to cover the top of the figurine, as my tupperware was a bit too wide. I decided that I would make it work while casting, which I will explain when I mould the chocolate later on. If I were to repeat this process, I would use a thinner bin to pour the silicone into or I would build a cardboard wall to modify the bin to a size that would work with the amount of material that I had. I let the mixture sit overnight to allow the rubber to harden.