Technique transfer: polymer clay as a mold

Late for Halloween, but maybe in time for the release of last of The Hobbit movies, here is a tutorial for a 3D dragon manicure. It is a bit time consuming (especially the polish drying times), but is not difficult in itself. Polymer clay does not dry out, so you can just start over if you are unhappy with the result. The technique can easily be adapted for many other subjects. You will need two component silicone to make the final mold.

Technique transfer: let there be texture

Bamboo texture from a steam cooking basket

I have a collection of natural textures collected over the years, and most are wonderful on polymer. So I wondered how I could use them in the technique transfer exercise, and here is the results after a few tries.

The approach relies on  self made molds of silicone  (the type you mix out of two components). They are easy to use, have a very high resolution, and most importantly the nail polish does not adhere to them (at least to my brand of silicone, make a test on yours before ruining a precious mold).
If you are interested, here is a tutorial of how to reproduce the effect.