Reborn babies have taken the world of doll making and collecting by storm. If you’ve not discovered reborn dolls yet, you’re seriously missing out on an awe-inspiring treat. Collectible reborn dolls are one-of-a-kind (OOAK) babies that start their life as a standard vinyl or silicone vinyl doll and undergo an intense artistic process to become so lifelike that many people mistake them for real babies.
Almost without exception, the higher-quality reborn dolls have eyelashes, hand-rooted (placed strand-by-strand) mohair hair that can be gently spritzed and styled, and weighted bodies so they even feel like a newborn baby. Their bodies have been painted from the inside-out (literally) to achieve a look that is remarkably like the blush of a little one’s face. There isn’t a place on a reborn doll that hasn’t been altered and beautified. Some reborns even come with heartbeats that you can feel.
This is basically a world of two types: the artists, and the collectors. Of course, the artists often are collectors as well – many start out collecting the beautiful babies before deciding to try their hand at the process to create their own. And make no mistake of it – these babies aren’t toys. They are collectible pieces of art, and the people making them are artists of high quality.
What type are you? It’s easy to fall in love with reborns, and the moment you start perusing the first reborn nursery you find, you’ll either be dying to have one of your own or make one yourself. Either way you go, I’ve spent months because of my growing obsession with reborning dolls finding the best reborn artists and sources of supplies that will get you going without a hitch.
Best Reborn Baby Dolls
Where can you buy the best reborn baby dolls? Look no further! I’ve got three sites right here that feature the most beautiful babies in the world by artists that really, really know their stuff.
Judy’s Cuties Reborn Baby Dolls
As of my writing this article, Judy’s Cuties currently has 7 pages of babies up for adoption. With more than thirteen years of experience in hand, Judy is a member of Artists of Reborns To Cherish – and her creations are some of the most meticulously crafted babies I’ve ever seen.
Surfing through Judy’s gallery, you’ll find reborn Berenguer babies, and so-cute-they’re-alive Ashton Drake dolls. Each of the babies feature micro-rooted mohair, which is a lengthy process that results in the softest downy covering on a baby’s head.
HunnyBuns Nursery
If you are able to keep an eye on Stephanie Sullivan’s site and snag one of her prized beauties before anyone else, you’ll have a truly amazing collectible. Seriously, this woman is truly one of the best in the business and it’s hard to find any of her creations that aren’t already adopted – but worth it when you can! Her awards page is enormous, she’s been honored so many times, and she even sculpts for Secrist.
Taking the reborn baby one step beyond, there’s not just the standard reborn vinyl baby dolls on Stephanie’s website. She also creates amazingly lifelike babies from hand, using no molds, sculpting one-of-a-kind babies and bringing them to life with heat set paints.
Pitter Patter Nursery
Pitter Patter Nursery is run by Joanna Gomes, a Canadian mother who has been fascinated by the art of Reborn Babies since 2002. She was one of the artists who saw reborn babies and didn’t think about owning one – she just had to make one herself.
Like Stephanie Sullivan, Joanna also sculpts babies. Wandering through her galleries is something that can easily take hours – not so much because of the size, but because everything you see is so amazing. Click on her “Available Babies” link to check out the newest reborns she has up for adoption.
Best Reborn Doll Supplies
The high degree of realism it takes to make a baby doll “reborn” comes from a painstaking artistic process. Seriously, it’s incredibly involved – taking the doll apart, removing factory paint, purple washing the baby on the inside and painting it on the outside, weighting it realistically, replacing eyes, giving manicures and pedicures, hand-rooting hair … these are only some of the things done to create a reborn baby doll.
To make matters more difficult – or fun, depending on how you look at it – the art of reborning is so new that methods and techniques change and improve on an almost-daily basis.
If this hasn’t turned you off the idea of trying it for yourself, you just might have what it takes to do something with your passion. Before you start shelling out the bucks to get the babies and supplies you’ll need, though, take some time to check out a few reborning tutorials. These can really give you a better idea of whether or not this is something you want to invest your time in.
Reborning Tutorials
Reborning Supplies Incorporated Tutorials – Not only a great source of supplies, this site also offers up some pretty detailed tutorials that will show you the most basic process of reborning. http://rebornsupplies.com/beginning
PrissyMayDolls – This in-depth tutorial focuses on reborning Berenguer babies, but the techniques can be applied to any type of base you choose. http://prissymaydolls.com/tutorial.htm
AngelWingNursery – A series of tutorials that will take you from dismantling your baby to cutting, veining, filling … very detailed with photos. http://www.angelwingnursery.com/tutorial.htm
Reborning Supplies
Still convinced you want to try your hand at this thing? Awesome! It is a rewarding hobby that, while it doesn’t immediately result in amazing beauties, will keep you motivated for years to come. It can also be a very expensive hobby – especially when you first start out.
What will you need to make your first reborn doll? The minimum basic materials are:
- A doll – Choose carefully, as the expression can’t be changed (obviously) and you’re going to be staring at this baby for a a good few weeks.
- Mohair – You can choose between using an easy mohair wig or learning the process to hand-root mohair. Either way you go, mohair is the best – it makes your work much more valuable than any synthetic fibers, and won’t ruin the realism of your baby.
- Replacements – If you’re going to change eyes, you’ll need to get new ones. Glass are the best, but also the most expensive. You might also need to get a new cloth body. I can also guarantee you’ll want to get a set of doll eyelashes.
- Tools – You’ll need a craft knife, without a doubt. You’ll also need acrylic or heat-set paints – at least the colors white, mauve, and purple. And, of course, you’ll need paintbrushes and something to hold your mixed paint in. If you’re hand-rooting the hair, you’ll also need 36 or 38 gauge felting needles.
As you continue with your hobby, I can guarantee you’ll amass many, many more supplies than this basic list. It doesn’t hurt to start out a bit smaller, though, and continue on from there as you gain confidence. Now, for the sources of great – and not so expensive – reborn doll-making supplies.
Kemper Dolls
Seriously a standard. There isn’t a more-respected source of mohair wigs or doll eyes out there – and by purchasing straight from Kemper Dolls, you won’t pay the third party mark-up costs, either. Make sure you check out their full categories, as they constantly offer sales on different products. As you get more into your new hobby, you’ll find yourself glad you found the great deal and stocked up before it sold out.
Bountiful Baby
While Kemper offers the best hair and eyes – and the best prices on them – they don’t offer a lot else in the way of reborn doll-making supplies. Bountiful Baby definitely does. You can find complete reborn doll kits ready to reborn – they don’t have any factory paint for you to remove – as well as preemie clothing and blankets, eyes and eyelashes, glues, wigs and mohair … you name it, this site has it.
Prilly Charmin
A complete reborn supply shop. If you don’t want to pay shipping to several different places, hit this site first. Their list of products is jaw-dropping, including absolutely everything you might ever need to perform reborning. They even offer up instructions on how-to reborn berenguer dolls.
Secrist Dolls
All that you’re going to find at Secrist is doll kits … but wow, the doll kits they have! Amazing artists like Stephanie Sullivan from HunnyBuns Nursery work through Secrist and what you get are complete doll kits that don’t have any factory paint and include all the body parts for absolutely gorgeous babies. On their Reborning Tips page, you can also get some insider info from Stephanie.
Reference:
- Parenting: 5 Most Deadly Toys on the Market TodayDoll Collecting: A Fun and Rewarding HobbyTips for Making Doll Clothes and Accessories
