A little about Reborn dolls......
The first reborn dolls I believe started off in the USA, but the art has quickly caught on in Europe and speading further afield as women enjoy either creating the 'Babies' or collecting them. I do both !
I use Genesis paints and the best quality materials because
I like to make dolls that are not only realistic but will last for years.
I am constantly striving for perfection in realism with these dolls, and very much enjoy pushing my boundaries with experimentation with the paints I use.
I love rooting the hair,I find it relaxing and rewarding, especially when I create a doll that have realistic hairstyles as though the hair has really grown !
Information about Reborn Dolls
Reborn dolls, or 'Designer Dolls' in brief, are dolls made from soft vinyl, and are usually bought in kit form. Consisting of head, and limbs.
Bodies and all the other materials needed, are bought in addition to the doll kit.
The blank vinyl kit is then hand painted in many thin layers of special 'heat set' paints to create the detailed skin tones, using different techniques, or special permanent acrylic paints.
Many hours are spent to achieve this process, but as the doll is painted, it is brought to 'life' so to speak, and created to look like a real baby, with various skin tone effects, including mottling, vein work, fine capilliaries, milk bumps, stork bites, to create a 'living skin' effect.
Not all reborn's have all of these characteristics, it varies with each doll,
and the desired end effect required to bring the 'doll kit' to life.
Subtle blue undertones to the skin on some dolls, really achieve the desired effect of translucency of a newborn's skin.
Lips and nails are carefully painted to look realistic and protecetd with varnish. Optical grade eyes are used and the eyelashes are applied by hand,also fine hand painted eyebrows, are the usual method. Babies vary in their skin tones, and some babies are rosy cheeked, and have prominent colour.
For sure, no two baby's are exactly the same when hand painted !
They are truly OOAK (one of a kind), and totally unique.
Realistic Hair
The Hair is created by hand rooting one or two strands of soft quality angora mohair into the soft vinyl head. This is an art form in itself.
To create a young newborn, getting just the right thickness of hair is important, and many hours are spent applying the hair, which at the end you have to be a little bit of a hairdresser, because it does require cutting and styling or light trimming to create the right 'look'.
Cuddle Factor
Realism is achieved by getting the weighting correct too, for the doll to 'feel' like a real baby to cuddle.
The soft body is filled with soft fibre fill, and I usually put the actual glass granule beads inside a leak proof bag, inside the body near the baby's bottom ! The arms and legs are filled accordingly with the finer glass granules, and a similar process for the head. I don't overfill my babies, because that would only achieve an 'overstuffed' feel.
The effect should be a soft, and cuddly baby, which needs his or her head supported, just as you would a real newborn baby, who snuggles into your arms, and feels in weight just like a real baby does.
When creating a slightly older baby doll, I will stuff the body a little more so that the baby can sit up on their own.
I don't weigh these dolls to actual 'real human' baby weights. This is
purely because from experience, a real baby is made up of skin and bone, and the weighting used in a vinyl dolls arms and legs is much more dense
and in my opinion and also through trial and error, I have found that a 5lbs newborn baby, 'feels' much lighter than a doll weighted to 5 lbs.
So with my 'babies' I weight them so that they 'feel' just right in weight to a newborn or the equivelent in age eg: 0 - 3 months, and this is far more realistic. The head is always the heaviest part of a baby in real life, therefore the dolls head is always a little heavier, and will need supporting in younger baby dolls, just like a real infant.
Once dressed, these reborn dolls look just like real infants !
They are unique OOAK hand made dolls, and I could not, like any other reborn artist, create the same doll kit, exactly the same, twice !
They will always be like a 'work of art'.
Please Note
It is recommended that these dolls are collected by adults. They are not intended as play dolls not least that they sometimes will have a small magnet for a dummy/soother, or hair decoration,plus they have been carefully painted, and assembled. They are 'Collectible heirloom dolls', not to be 'played with, or constantly handled, or treated like a real infant' This is something that if you wish to buy one, should be taken into account. constant dressing and redressing of these dolls, does in time take its toll if you are not very careful, as would the overhandling of any work of art.
Please ask any questions on this if you are not sure about collecting Reborn Dolls.
I hope you enjoy browsing my website and viewing my reborn doll work.
Thanks for reading, and please allow time for pictures on my website to download,especially if you use Explorer !
But once they are visible,you won't be disappointed !.
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Previous Dolls
'Michelle' by Evelina Wosnjuk
'Corbin' sculpt by Donna Lee (preemie) 16 inches long, fine features.
Before you go !! Remember...and Bookmark me to see my latest Reborn's and check to see if any are available !
Some Options
You may have a doll kit that you would like 'reborn', and you then assemble yourself to suit your needs.
You may just want some 'hair rooting' carried out.
If you are interested in my 'reborn doll work' please contact me through the 'Contact Me' tab in the menu on the left hand side of this page.
For information on doll kit suppliers, and reborn doll
making supplies
see my LINKS page.