Reborn collectable baby dolls

 

Hello & welcome to Nessies Nursery, where you can have a good look around as there is plenty to see and there is also a guest book, which I would love you to sign and perhaps leave a comment.

My name is Vanessa Moyes ( mainly known as Nessie ), married with 2 grown up sons and an absolute angel of a Granddaughter, Zoe........And yes I spoil her rotten......

Like many others, I came across reborns, quite by accident when my husband bought me one for christmas, my Molly. At the time I was busy making furniture and knitting dolls clothes for dolls houses, another passion of mine. Whilst searching for another reborn, I became interested in the techniques used in producing them.

I spent months gathering and reading all the information I could find and started dabbling on some old dolls bought from charity shops using oil paints and about 4 months later I was selling my first reborn baby. I have now reborn well over 100 'baby's' who have all been adopted by new mummy's, many of whom have sent me pictures of them in their new homes.

 

I spend many hours, shut away in my workroom ( complete with my headphones on & Meatloaf blaring out ), painting or rooting these little creations and love every minute of it. For those of you who do not know how a reborn baby is created, here is a brief description of how I do it.

Firstly, once I have received my kit of doll parts (head & limbs), I soak them in a solution of Johnsons Baby bath to ensure that the factory oils, etc are removed so that I have a clean surface to start painting on. I use Genesis Heat Set Paints, which I mix with odourless thinners and build up many many layers to get the skin tone as realistic as possible. After each layer is applied it is heat-set by placing the parts in the oven or using a hand held heat tool. The parts must be thoroughly cooled before another layer can be added. Also for realism, tiny veins, spots, capilleries, scratches, eyebrows, etc are applied and fingers & toes are also given their nails. I also enhance the lips & eyes by adding 'moisture' to give even more realism.

After I am happy with the painting, I then start rooting the hair into the head. This is the most time consuming task as each hair is inserted one at a time by the use of a very fine needle. Although this is a very long job it is very rewarding and really enhances the painting once finished. The hair is also sealed from the inside to allow dampening and restyling.

The limbs are weighted with poly-pellets or glass beads & fibre fill and are sealed. They are then attached to a disc jointed cloth body, which is also weighted & filled. Finally the head, which is also weighted & filled, is fitted to the body. And there you have it, a reborn baby has been 'born'.