Jena is getting new legs

Please meet my real granddaughter, Jenalyne (AKA Jena). She was 2 months old when this picture was taken. She is now 6 1/2 and starting FIRST grade tomorrow! Ikes~how did that happen?

This is the "portrait" baby I made of Jena from that picture of her taken at 2 months. It is wonderful to have this dolly that looks just like her and wears all her clothes that were passed down to me. But, I have never been happy with how her legs turned out, especially her feet. I used an Antonio Juan "Lillian" doll as my canvas for Jena and the head was a different color of vinyl from the arms and legs and the arms and legs their own separate color from the head. So I was working with 3 colors of vinyl! Ugh it was hard work to match it as close as I did. But, it's time for a change!

Here is a close up of her little piggies. You can see how lifeless they are in color and well, they never really looked like Jena's feet. This morning I stripped a set of Secrist "Corey" legs to use for her new legs. It will be a real challenge to get the skin tone to match her head but I will give it a good effort!

Wow, those Secrist limbs were oily! They were the "painted translucent" parts and were wrapped in plastic bags. The bags were oily too~like vegetable oil oily! They were blushed on the knee cap, tops and bottoms of the feet so were easy to strip. I used the LDC cleaner on them and it worked like a charm on both the paint and the oil.

I will have to coat the legs with Genesis Matte Varnish before I begin painting with the LDC paints. This stands to be another challenge: I originally painted baby Jena with Genesis Heat Set Paints. The color pigments are different between the two but I think I stand a better chance of matching the color of her head with the LDC paints on this Secrist vinyl.

Other events in the nursery are (in no particular order):

Big baby Arianna (Ari) now has beautiful lashes and has lovely gloss in her eyes! Yay! Her photo session is set for tomorrow afternoon.

I did not work on the big Latino Arianna yesterday, other than to give her textured eye brows which is done before painting is started. I began painting the "Trey" kit by Michelle Fagan. This is one of Bountiful Baby's "peach" vinyl kits. This is a strange color so I am taking notes on what colors of LDC paints I am using. I will publish a "Color Guide" for Bountiful Baby's Peach Vinyl that will be available for a small fee. I currently have one color guide available for the Newborn Skin Tone.

I will be entering two babies in the Colliii awards :)

I have decided what and who I will reborn for the IDEX reborn contest :)

I have to do a write up for the Caldwell Idaho doll show to be published in the local newspaper. The biggest task of this project is getting a good picture taken of me holding big baby Ari as they request a picture of me and one of my reborns.

I spoke with my sponsor for IDEX yesterday. We are SO excited about IDEX we can hardly stand it! Our booths will be booths 100 and 201....right on the front row and to the left as you enter the showroom floor! I will have all new releases on my show table....one will be a VERY special prototype that will hopefully be released during the IDEX show.

The next few months will be VERY busy as I gear up for IDEX. I have had the blessing of going to IDEX for the last three years but this will be the first time I will be showing there. And teaching! But first, the Portland Doll Show! I spent last night getting birth certificates and show price sheets ready. I will have 6 babies for sale and baby Jena will be on hand as a sample of my portrait work. And I will have three very awesome assistants with me. They are the BEST friends in the world!

Okay~enough blabbering! Have a terrific Tuesday!