Reborn Dolls

[skookum hime]

This is probably a topic I thought I'd NEVER post about.

So Anyone Collect, Customize or generally have Knowledge on reborns?
Seems I may be getting into it for my cousin who, unfortunately, can not conceive. I got myself a Bountiful Baby Princess Pug kit. No body, no beads, no special paints....Imma do that all by scratch. I want a puppy baby thing XD

So Types on Customizing? Please share your's too! Even if you didn't do the customizing. I need inspiration for when she finally buys her kit!

[WhiteDove01s]

I've never really worked on one, but I do remember some stuff from sites on them when I was reading up on dolls in general, properties of vinyl, staining on vinyl, and so on. There's one thing they do involving painting the inside of the doll with a lavender purple paint that's supposed to help make them look more real... and I also read that it's being phased out because some paints after a few years will start to work their way through and show up on the outside surface of the doll, and end up looking like some pretty realistic and horrible bruises.

I'm not sure of the details regarding this, if some paints don't do it (reborns so not my thing, so didn't read much further at the time), or what the methods are now. I just recall thinking at the time it'd be great if you were trying to do a creepy zombie baby...

[DollyKim]

Sorry I didn't see this faster. Look in my old blog DolfieLittles.Typepad.com and search reborn for the dolls I did.

I ended up using the acrylic paint I use on my other dolls then a matte Liquitex paint on sealer. Most of the work was done with a large cell sponge for texture and it was done with layers, no painting on the inside, no baking. I did buy blank kits, a store bought baby would have to be stripped first. Berenguer makes lovely babies, same company that does the 5" Itty Bitty and other crochet babies.

The painting was done in layers. Blue-purple where the skin is thinnest, ankles, wrists, temples, look at your own body. Then dabbing on skin tones and occasional reds for blood vessels and blushing. I used some taupes and browns for a bit of shading and birthmarks but I come from a history of painting portraits so I'm used to painting skin. I didn't root hair or eyelashes because I didn't know how then. Until it's sealed you can wash off any boo boos.

Unless you plan to make clothes get at least a newborn body, mine was just smaller and can't fit many of the fun clothes.