Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Progress on Payton~day 2



Payton's painting went well yesterday and she is coming to come to life a bit more with two more color coats added to her.

In addition to the color coats (applied with two different types of sponges) I did detail work on the ends of her fingers and toes and also the creases on top of her fingers and toes.




I will start out today with coloring all her creases and folds and will begin that first blush layer. I think I will have this baby painted by the end of tomorrow :)

*********Other Nursery Notes*********

I was up late again last night applying lashes and a paci magnet to Carter. He is sealed, his body is put together (such a chubby little guy!) and he is ready for gloss and final assembly.

And since I was up late and got new supplies in, I changed the body and neck piece on my friends Special Edition Berenguer doll that I reborn for her. I simply was not happy with the body and neck piece I had. I will be sending that one home oh by Tuesday for sure.

Angelica is patiently waiting. I might do a little added details to her today while I have the needed color out on my pallet.

Wednesday hugs~
Debbie

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Payton Prototype WIP~



Even though I have barely begun her, Prototype Payton is just melting my heart! It's been a bittersweet thing to put Angelica aside...I am sad to not be finishing Angelica but so excited about Payton!


I've put a green wash on her to tone down her pink color a bit and to start to build visible texture. I chose not to put any matte varnish or all purpose sealer on her. (I did however use matte varnish to build textured brows and also glazing gel to give her nail beds texture).

Her lips are close to fully colored and her nails are colored and ready for tips~but that will come much later.


Isn't she just darling in her little Tutu outfit?? I can't wait to finish this one and take her pictures!

I was up late last night finishing Carter's hair. Oh wow...did I ever do a good job on his rooting! :) He has one of the best crowns I have ever done. I'll share as soon as I can.

Hugs for Tuesday~
Debbie

Monday, March 29, 2010

Peeks of Angelica!



And here she is in progress!

Pardon the different colored eyes~It helps me to decide to see them like this. I have canceled out the blue. So we know Angelica won't have blue eyes :)

These first three pictures show her with a basic skin "texture/pigment", some brow work, lip work, nail work, some chest details and...a cowgirl hat! Can you see where I am going with this??



I was not supposed to be able to work on her yesterday as my Jorja Pigott prototypes should have been here but, we were not at home to sign for them on Friday, they did not try to deliver on Saturday when my DH was home so that left me with "nothing" to do yesterday but work on Angelica!

I finished the coloring on her nails and gave her her first blush. My goal for Angelica is to give her soft colors but several colors to build natural, visible pigment and texture in her skin. As with my newborns, this visible pigment and texture is what brings the vinyl to life.


Her I show her with brown eyes. Oh it's going to be hard to choose!


Soon I will go to the post office and begin the birth of Prototype Payton by Jorja Pigott. I am very excited for that sweet face!

My grand daughter and I are having a good time. She loves dolls so of course we are a good match. She gives all my dolls lot's of attention while I work on the reborns.

Hugs for the day~

Friday, March 26, 2010

Toooo much to do!

Sorry no Friday Funnies...again. :(

I am headed out of town today AFTER we take the new horse to the vet, do some errands and I make some food for my hubby.

I am running mock ten with my hair on fire for the next few weeks....and today I am going to pick up our 7 yr old grand daughter for Spring Break to add to the fire! LOL She lives 5 hours away so I will be back with her tomorrow~after shopping. Whew....

Have a great weekend

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Sweet baby Ellie on the way home~


Huh...well, I thought I was doing pretty good with the new camera last night but I see in these next two pics that there is a lot of green. ~sigh~





Baby Ellie is traveling home today. I will miss this little one but I am sure I will get to see her again, probably as soon as this fall :)

While I was into taking pictures last night, I went ahead and took the pics of my girlfriends new baby~but, I cannot show them yet as she does not want any hint of what this baby looks like. I have a few more things yet to do on her, such as find a neck piece and body that I am happy with (decided I don't like the body she has) and touch up a spot on her eye where I touched with the toothpick when putting in her lashes. Another layer of gloss will fix that right up.

YES!!! I did start on Angelica! She has a base tone on her head (didn't get that done on the rest of her yet...my she is big!), she has lovely lips, I've started on her nails and brows and did some detail in the corner of her eyes and on her torso. I did take a picture of yesterday's work but I am not going to show you yet~hehehehehe.

Hugs for the day~
Debbie

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Okay...painting TODAY! LOL


My young customer finally was able to choose which eyes she liked for her Aubrey/Ellie baby so I spent the morning yesterday finishing up all her reborn details. I hope to take her pictures tonight and get her on her way home tomorrow. And since I was doing things like eyes and lashes, I went ahead and finished my friends baby too :)

I will assemble both babies before I attack the paint today. I did get all the sealer on Angelica...that really did take all afternoon she is so big and I am so meticulous about putting it on.

I wanted something very cutsey-wootsie for Carter and found a Carter's outfit in the city the other day...but could not find his size. I remembered that Dolls By Sandie carries Carter's clothing so I got right online and ordered the right size. It arrived yesterday and I am very pleased! (he is not put together yet...just stuffed into his onsie)




I started rooting Carter's hair last night. I never like how the hair looks...at first. It will get better.

Hugs for the day!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

No paint but getting close!

Here she is...waiting for my work to begin! (although she did have her textured brows already in this picture)

She just looks so much more charming and feminine with her head on her torso! LOL

I started the day yesterday but finishing her textured brows. I checked my work from the day before and refined it a bit then heat-gun set the brows. In this picture, they are still a little rough looking and had a bit of shine from the Genesis Matte Varnish that I used to create the texture.


Then I coated her whole head (and torso~that's as far as I got yesterday) with the Delta All Purpose air dry sealer. The AP sealer really finished up her brows nicely.


I like to use the Genesis Glazing Gel to create texture to my dolls nails. I just use a brush to create the lines found in real human nails. You can see that the last two nails on this hand have texture while the others do not. Texturizing the nails just adds so much life to them.


I can get to the nursery earlier today so I will coat her limbs with the AP sealer and get to painting her head and torso while that AP sets. I am excited for the end of the day to see how far I get.

~other dolly work~
Carter is waiting for hair and his limbs are filled and sealed with nails glossed. I am anxious to put this little one together as I love his size, his body and I have a darling outfit on the way here that might arrive today.

Aubrey/Ellie is waiting for her Mommy to choose eyes. I have touched up the area's on her that were of concern to me.

And last night...er...at 2 this morning I finished rooting a doll I have been working on forever for a dear friend. Yay!

Happy Tuesday!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Let the birth begin!

Yesterday was a very busy and hectic day and I was worried I would not get to do all that I had planned. Well, I did not, exactly, but what I did get done I am pleased with!

I finished the painted hair on Carter AND...I put Genesis Matte Varnish textured brows on Angelica! Just being able to do SOMETHING on her has me thrilled!

Today will be a much better day. I am not as tired, all the show items are put away and I do not have "other" things to tend to. So....I will do some touch up work on Aubrey Ellie (I have a few small area's of sheen that I will use the Delta All Purpose Sealer to remove) and will prep Angelica with the Delta AP Sealer AFTER I do some texture work on her nails with the GMV. Hmmm...will I get any paint on her today? Time will tell. :)

Happy Monday!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

GREAT time at the Boise 2010 show~

I'm back!

Here is my table from the very small show in Boise~




Me proudly showing of my babies~


And a few shots of the show floor and other tables~

Loved how this bear artist coordinated her table cover with her vest :)

Gina and family of Nonie's Angels Reborns

Too cute...I could take home 10 of these dollies!

Beautiful bear work (I am sorry, I ran around the show and did not pay attention to all the artists names)

My table is all set up for the weighting and assembling the reborn doll demo~

There weren't any "paying" customers (I was charging $5 to cover the cost of the huge color handout I was giving to each attendee) but I went ahead and assembled the little custom "Aubrey/Ellie" and drew a crowd of young ladies~

Aubrey/Ellie all put together and sooooo cute and cuddly!

Look at those curled legs and toes!

This young lady thought she was really, really special~

I love going to the doll shows~even if none of my babies are adopted out, which was the case of this show. I get to talk to so many people...we were more steady with people at this show than at IDEX...and get to see and hold many different collectors and artists babies. This young lady made this reborn baby all by herself! I was very impressed. She is 9 yrs old.

And this young lady made hers too! She is 8. I love the lips that she painted on this doll. Amazing young ladies!

Another thing I love about the shows is that I usually take a baby from my personal collection. This is Giovanni, a solid silicone doll by Laura Tuzio Ross.

To keep him safe and out of the way, I would place him in the large tote that I brought the show babies in. When I opened the lid, I found him looking exasperated at his treatment! LOL

Thank goodness he had lot's of Aunties willing to cuddle him! This Auntie had never held a silicone doll before. She is forever in love with Silicone...and Giovanni :)

We did shop ALL day on Friday! We were buying clothes for Angelica...wow that was a lot more time consuming than I thought it would be. We arrived at the hotel after 10 pm only to find the hotel hot tub CLOSED for maintenance! OH NO! But they shuttled us to the neighboring hotel and it was alright but there were 10 kids in the pool! After 10 pm??? ~sigh~ Oh well....next time.

So back here at the nursery I am ready to finish up Aubrey, Carter and start on Angelica! I am very excited.

Oh yes and of course I brought home a new dolly! I little resin Ashton Drake doll by Sherry Rawn. I love her work!!! I have not take a picture of her and I bought her at a doll shop in Nampa Idaho, not at the show. I just bought some little outfits at the show and a Nu Nu doll kit by Romie :) I've wanted that one for a long time!

Hugs~

Friday, March 19, 2010

Headed for the hot tub....Friday Funny


There is nothing like a little leisure time...and a hot tub to take away the stresses of life.....

Just ask Bethany! (and me after this weekend :)

Happy Hot Tub and Dolly Show Hugs!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

REAL weighting tutorial!

Here all this time I thought I had a GOOD weighting tutorial on my blog. I went back to it today to copy it as I prepare for my upcoming class. I was surprised that my "tutorial" was simply and explanation between the weighting of reborns in the past and how we do it today! Duh~ So...I decided just to go ahead and create a REAL weighting tutorial!

TNGUN Weighting and Assembly Tutorial

The first step into weighting and assembling your doll is to make sure that you have all the necessary supplies.

The List:
polyfill stuffing
your finished doll parts
quality doll body
zip ties with the small heads
plastic pellets or "baby fat" pellets
granulated glass beads (not powder fine but the "B" beads
E6000 glue
two sized of forceps
small pier
small scissors
nail clippers
powder free VINYL gloves (Latex gloves will deteriorate as will balloons)
Your favorite way to scent your baby. I use baby socks filled with powder, stitched closed


Please keep in mind that no two reborns are weighted the same. There are a lot of factors in weighting a doll from the size of the vinyl limbs to the overall size of the body and your desired outcome for that particular doll.

A few days before you expect to assemble your doll, weight the limbs with a combination of glass beads and stuffing. The kit I am using is a larger Adrie Stoete kit. Adrie tends to make very chubby, big limbs so it would be a mistake to completely fill this limb with glass beads.

Use a funnel to pour some beads into the foot and up to the calf of the leg. Using forceps, firmly pack in stuffing to just above the knee or so. Top this off with glass beads.

Using E6000 glue, my glue of choice, pour a layer of the glue over the opening to the limb. Set in a safe place to dry. (I always fill all my limbs and then apply the glue when I am sure I like the weight of the limbs)



Repeat the procedure for the arms adjusting the amount of glass beads and stuffing accordingly. The most important point to weighting limbs is that you balance the weight. Do not put all the glass beads in the lower part of the limb and fill the rest with stuffing. Your dolls limbs will just hang down and the doll will not feel real. It's really important to have weight up in the thigh and shoulder.

Set all the part in an undisturbed area to dry. (use the glue in a ventilated area) Periodically check the parts for bubbles in the first 15 minutes of drying time. The limbs will be fully dry in 24 hours but it is a good idea to let them "air out" a day or two longer.




After the limbs are dry and aired out, it's time to weight the body while assembling the doll.
Start with the legs. This doll is a 3/4 limb doll which means that there are hips and shoulders to the cloth body. The technique is the same for both the hip and shoulder on a 3/4 limb doll. Of course this has to change on bodies that have caps for full limbs, for bodies where the limb goes directly into the torso of the body and for 1/4 limbed bodes.

Place a small amount of stuffing in the leg openings. You want this to be firm enough to support the leg but not so full that the doll has hippo hips.




Gently tighten the zip ties around the leg flange. You will leave this loose during the full construction of you doll so that you can make adjustments where needed as you balance her out.


Now it is time to fill the torso of the doll. The arms are done after the torso is filled.
All bodies are different and this body just happens to have a nice gathered tushie.
On a body like this, I use two of my baby powder filled socks and tuck one on each side of the tush. This creates firmness while remaining soft to the pat.


Once again, all babies are filled differently. For this doll, I placed some baby fat pellets in a nylon stocking and dropped it down into the bottom of the doll. I keep my doll sitting upright for this application. Then I dumped in loose baby fat pellets to surround the gaps around the nylon sock.


I place another baby powder filled sock in the belly of the doll and begin to fill in the gaps with small pieces of stuffing.


When I have the bottom filled, I then prepare 1-3 vinyl gloves lightly filled with glass beads. I never, ever place glass beads in a nylon sock. Even double filled, they leak. I use the vinyl gloves as they won't corrode and they move so nice creating a real feeling to the doll.
This is a big doll and her mommy wanted a lot of weight so I used three gloves for her.


Laying the body down on the back, I cup the glove in my hand and lay it along the back of the body with the knot down into the lower part of the doll.


I then take a second glove and do the same thing but laying it towards the front/belly of the doll. I usually do not need to put stuffing in between them but instead take a thin layer and place between the glove and the back and the glove and the belly. Then I fill in under the arm pits...not tightly but just enough to give support. As you can see, I have left a pocket.....

This pocket is for the last glove, which is folded in half and place in the center to front chest of the doll. It's important to use common sense in where to place this. You do not want your doll to fall backwards or forwards. You will adjust this placement after the arms and sometimes after the head is on.


Fill in the top of the body with stuffing~again not packed in there, just enough to be firm while allowing free movement of the doll. Than add your arms in the same manner as you did the legs. LIGHTLY stuff the shoulders....we don't want any football playing babies here!
Lightly tighten the zip ties.


Now for the head. I have a HUGE pet peeve when it comes to reborn dolls. I despise nostrils in the air! LOL This should not be as real babies do not always lay around with their nostrils flung up in the air. I am going to show you how to prevent this from happening.

The formula is simple too! Don't put your weight in the top of the dolls head! Fill the top of the head FIRMLY with stuffing making it more packed in the back of the head while allowing some room into the lower part of the face.


Take another vinyl glove, open it up and place the fingers down into the center FRONT of the head, then wrap the opening around the head flange.


Pour in glass beads.


Use a wood craft stick to help push the beads down into the fingers then add more beads as needed.


Tie a knot in the end of the glove. You can see here how the glove is mostly to the front, in the chin area of the doll. This is very important for proper balance of your doll.
Fill in the empty area's with stuffing. Make sure this is packed well for security but not so stuffed that the dolls eyes bulge out.


Now it is time to place the head on the doll. Lightly tighten the zip tie, pick up the doll and see how she moves. Lay her back down. Does she lay in a realistic way? If not, remove any parts that you need to an make adjustments. Test her again and again until you think that the doll feels real in your arms and looks real when you lie her down. It is not uncommon for me to spend an hour to an hour and a half weighting a doll. If I just cannot get it right, I leave her alone for many hours and test her again later when I am less stressed.


Once the doll passes all tests, tighten all the zip ties, clip with a rounded nail clipper so that the ends are smooth, and if you can, tuck the head of the tie into the body casings.


The finished reborn baby waiting for a cuddle~

Happy Baby Making!