3D Skull Ice Mold

I saw several negative reviews for this mold saying it doesn't work, so I was nervous about giving it a try. But I just loved the idea of having skull shaped ice, so I went for it. I'm SOOO glad I did! The ice is exactly as expected, but there are some tricks to getting it right. Admittedly, I just breezed through the directions (even the ones the company emailed) the first time and my results were less than stellar. Tons of ice between the sections making the skulls not usable...but this was MY fault. After carefully reading the instructions again, these are the steps I followed for my second attempt: 1. Molds had already been washed, but if not, make sure you wash them by hand first. 2. Fill bottom mold up the entire way with either filtered or boiled, distilled water (cooled down). 3. Put the water filled mold in the sink, carefully place the top and let the excess water spill out the sides. 4. Make sure you press the center between the skulls flat so as little ice can form here as possible. 5. The MOST important step is to weigh down the center of the mold (as shown in the photos, I used small lunch ice packs). This allows a very thin or no layer of water between the mold halves. 6. After freezing (I left mine overnight), twist mold back and forth to dislodge ice. If the center has a thin layer of ice, don't worry, it will crack away leaving just the skulls. 7. I ran a bit of water over the skulls to free them. And voila! Super awesome skull ice!!! The pictures don't do them justice, the detail is really crisp! I used filtered fridge water in the pictures.

They are a bit smaller (as listed) but fantastic and easy to produce many quickly without hassle. Unfortunately, humans are stupid and instead of following the directions that come with it, people are trying to fill them through the ventilation holes. Don’t do that. If you just do what it says, and fill the bottom tray about 1/3-1/2 way full, then push the top tray down over it, you will get almost perfect little skulls. The secret is finding the perfect spot to fill the bottom tray to. They should put a line, but anyone can figure it out fast. IMPORTANT: do not waste time double boiling water, lol. This is a myth. distilled water does nothing. Cloudy ice is from trapped air via fast freezing. The only way to get clear ice is called “directional freezing” (AJ a Clinebell machine or using an open igloo cooler). Slow directional freezing pushes the trapped air in water to one end of the freezing ice, which you saw or cut off. You are not going to get clear skulls like the photo, no matter what you do, unless you use directional freezing and/or slow freezing or both.

It’s a little difficult to get the hang of using it. If you can get the seal to stay (the silicone likes to move a lot) all the way from the sink to the freezer, the skulls turn out really cool looking. I personally enjoy the patterns and bubbles inside of the ice cubes because it adds dimension and interest to them. In any case, they’re well-designed and look really cool when they’re done right. That said, I must stress that it is difficult to get the seal right. Even when I cut the little spillage holes at the top to be big enough to pour into, it still proved challenging. It takes practice and patience; but these ahead of time so you can experiment a little, especially if you want them for an event like I did (Halloween party back in October). Still, if you can get them to work for you, you get some pretty wicked ice cubes that are a head-turner, for sure. They’re pretty sizeable for what I was expecting.

Purchased as a gift for my dad to use in his whiskey. Once he got the hang of it, he started using the molds regularly. They look awesome! Just like little skulls! He would put one in his drink every night like a real whiskey connoisseur.

The mold makes big ice skulls, big enough for a glass of Scotch. The two issues I worried about with a device like this were 1) whether it would be a pain in the neck to use, and 2) whether my cubes would taste like silicone. My worries were unfounded. The design allows me to quickly get the mold ready for the freezer. In and out in no time with little work. Also, when I received the mold, I washed it with dish soap and warm water and had absolutely no silicone smell or residue on my ice cubes. It works perfectly.

Although I have had good results with this product the mold is not the greatest in the world. Pros- very good looking mold and ice comes out good. Cons- mold will not lock together, if the just added a double rim and a single rim on the other you would not get the floating that happens with the top of the mold. When you put water in the top mold will float on the water and create air space between the top and bottom. This is why you get the skulls all linked together by ice. I have seen many craft ice molds some good some not so good this one ranks in the not the best but not horrible either..

Greetings! I don't normally write reviews, but I'll give this a shout out. I bought this on a whim because I like cool, novelty items. Was it necessary? No. Is it cool? Actually, heck yeah! Some people stated there were no instructions given and they couldn't figure out the try. DineAsia actually sent me an email prior to my item shipping with full instructions and links to a quick video on amazon. With that help and some trial and error, I'm already using this tray like it was nothing and my family and I love it! The skulls come out nicely and last a good amount even in room temp drinks. For those still without instructions, here's a basic how-to: 1) clean the tray before use. 2) fill until water lies just below halfway up the base of the mold (the part where the skull outline meets the flat surface) 3) to close and secure the top mold piece, using both hands, have one cup around the skull's face on the bottom of the hold, and press upwards, while your other hand presses down on the top half of the mold until you feel little clicks like rice crispy treats around the skull. This is the securing mechanism most fret about. 4) you probably will NOT have a perfect, flat seal all around but DON'T fret! It is secured and the skull will fill the void. 5) let stand upright in freezer for approx 8 hours, then take out, bend and twist the rubber, breaking the mold and freeing the skulls, then pop the top, pull out skulls, and impress your folks! 6) rinse the mold and let air dry, rinse and repeat from step 1! Hope this helps!

I love how easy these trays are to use in freezing up a 2&1/2 sized ice skulls! One ice cube skull is enough for most drinks. It takes one or two tries to get it just right but once you do it is very easily done with consistently equal results! I love them as do my guests and I plan to buy more as the holidays progress the neccesity! A great deal for a fun useful item! Don’t get fooled by others because there are a lot of these on the market but as I said these produce a very large ice skull with ease and consistentcy