Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 at
12:08 pm
I am planning on making my own reborn doll and need to know where to get all the parts and bits and pieces that make up any well made doll. I have looked on the internet and found lots of things but I wanted just one place where I could go and find nearly everything in one place. Hence I have made this site to give me, and you, all the information needed. It will take time to grow as I find out more and more information.
First of all you need a body, head, legs and arms. There is such a wide choice of designs that it is hard to decide which style to make. I have decided that my doll will be about 6 months old. By that age babies are easier to handle, you do not have to hold the back of their heads all the time and they are not quite so fragile. I must admit I am a little scared of newborn babies. They rely on us for everything. Well, all babies do to some extent but once they pass the 6 month stage they are at least able to hold themselves up a bit and can be left on the floor for a while. If you would rather have a soft, cuddly, gorgeous, newborn, then that is your choice.
Once you have got the body pieces you need to do some serious coloring of them. A baby’s skin has many different hues and a lot of care has to be taken to get the right mix of colors. We want the skin to look real and this takes many layers of paint to get the right effect. Just like a painter of pictures, many layers allows the differing shades to show through each other. Sometimes reborn artists paint a dark color on the inside of parts to give a more realistic veined look but this can lead to what looks like bruising as the color can work its way up through the vinyl.
Once the painting is finished to satisfaction, the doll needs weighting to make it feel more realistic. This is done by adding various products into each part to get them to the right weight comparable to their age and size.
Hair is usually mohair that is planted into the head by the use of a special needle. Each strand is implanted separately and how natural the hair will look when finished depends on the ratio of strands to the inch. It is quite a time consuming task to make the hair but a very rewarding one. With practice you will get a lot faster.
Obviously dolls are clothed and the clothes can either be handmade yourself or if the doll is really life-size then baby clothes will suffice. Some dolls have magnets put inside their mouths so that a dummy/pacifier can be inserted when needed and it will not fall out.
Really what you do to your doll is entirely up to you and what effect you wish to achieve. Whatever method you use, I hope you are happy with the result and a beautiful baby doll is born.
© 2009 www.RebornDolls.biz
Sunday, December 14th, 2008 at
1:06 pm
Doll makers are people, either professional or just ordinary people at home, who make a doll. These days it is relatively easy to make a doll as the internet provides all the things required to do so.
There are places to buy the bodies, the eyes, the sucking mouths, the arms, legs, clothes, etc. There are forums to talk to other people who are also interested in the same hobby.
There are directories that tell you where to buy anything you want so you can make your doll as beautiful as you could possibly dream.
Whether you be a professional or amateur, the design and making of a doll is a unique experience.
© 2009 www.RebornDolls.biz
Sunday, December 14th, 2008 at
1:03 pm
A dolls house is an essential part of the life of any doll unless it is a reborn doll in which case it will live in the big house with its owner just as if it was a baby. Any other doll really needs a home to be able to function properly in a little girl’s (or boy’s) life. They can be made of any material that is available but usually they are made of wood.
They come in as many different styles are there are different styles of house in the world. Some are big, some small, some one storey, some two or more, tiled roof or aluminum roof, carpeted floors or tiled, etc. You think of something that is in a real house and it can be in a dolls one too.
But our website is about reborn dolls so we do not need a dolls house. Our babies live in the real world with real people. OK, maybe they are put in a corner to decorate a room because the owner thinks it is a nice feature, or they are in a glass cabinet as a display collectible, but normally they are brought up just like other babies.
They are fed, watered, put to bed read stories to, loved and cared for. Nearly everything they need can already be found in the house.
© 2009 www.RebornDolls.biz
Sunday, December 14th, 2008 at
12:59 pm
A dolls bed is a must for any self respecting baby doll. When I was a little girl I had a wooden bed that my walking, talking, beautiful doll was able to lie in full length. It was wonderful.
My dad spent hours making it after I had gone to bed at night so I did not know anything about it until Christmas Day when in my stocking there was an envelope containing a piece of paper which had a clue in it on where I could find the next clue. Luckily there were only about 4 of these envelopes spread around the house. If there had been any more I think I would have died of curiosity and frustration. Anyway, I finally ended up out in the tent that had been erected in our back garden (this was in New Zealand so Christmas is in summer). Sitting up against one of the tent poles was the most beautiful doll you have ever seen and beside her was this gorgeous bed. I hardly saw the bed to start with though as I was too transfixed with the doll.
A few years later, after I had spent many long hours playing with her, my family was sent to Fiji to live. My mother gave my doll to a friend to look after till we returned 3 years later. When we finally returned 5 years later instead of the proposed 3, the lady who had been given the care of my doll told me she had given it and the bed away to someone who needed it more than I did now that I was grown up.
Well, you can imagine how I felt at that news. I was devastated. I have never gotten over it and I am now nearly 60.
© 2009 www.RebornDolls.biz
Sunday, December 14th, 2008 at
12:51 pm
Can you imagine a little baby doll dressed in a soft lemon colored cashmere dress with a ribbon threaded through the neck and underneath it a cream, silk petticoat? Little socks and shoes on her pretty little feet, a ribbon in her hair. Wouldn’t she look absolutely divine?
Yes, OK perhaps that is going a bit overboard, and a bit pricey too I would think. But you can get the same look with ordinary wool, cotton and polyester these days.
There are many places to purchase your articles of clothing for that little precious being. Some stores sell everything from top to toe, others specialize in certain articles.
Perhaps you need a pattern to knit an Arran cardigan for the winter, or perhaps a pair of bootees. Would Grandma knit them for you if you got her the pattern and the wool? I am sure she would.
Shoes, not high heels, she would never be able to walk in those, that is if she is even walking at all yet, but certainly little black patent shoes and white socks on her feet would look lovely whether she is already walking or not. Maybe even some sneakers to make her look trendy. Feet do get cold if left to hang outside the blanket in the pram.
© 2009 www.RebornDolls.biz
