Stone Hill Nursery

Welcome to my little tutorial about painting solid silicone dolls..

To start I want you to understand that this tutorial is to paint Solid Silicone, NOT Silicone Vinyl, is a BIG difference between the two.

Solid Silicone can only be painted using silicone paints. Silicone Vinyl can be painted with many other mediums.

Now that we got that clear, let's start.

Silicone dolls can be bought as a complete doll from a doll retailer or as an unpaited solid silicone kit.Below you can see, a sample of solid silicone dolls from Paradise Galleries, that I bought for reborning.

** IF you can't see all the pictures here's a direct link to my photo host.. I been having issues with them, you can try refreshing the page or right click show picture, if they still do not show is a direct link below.. *****

Here's a picture of  Paradise Galleries solid silicone dolls, a solid silicone kit by Donna Ruppert, and a kit from Angie Harris,Poured by Michelle Fagan.

Paradise Galleries, Dream in my Arms(by Donna Rubert) and Samuel (by Linda Murray)

Crying Baby by Donna Rubert

Camden Kit by Angela Harris, Poured by Michelle Fagan.

 

 

Also here I will be adding pictures of a silicone kit,  from Melissa McCrory.

What you will need:

1. 220 Grid Sand paper (very fine)

2. 100% Acetone

3. Cotton Rounds and make up sponges

4. toothpicks

5.old ceramic plate

6. cheap painting brushes( they can only be used once)

7.Silicone paints and silicone thinner

blue, purple,white, red, caucasian flesh and quinn's blush

you can find the paints at:   http://www.artmolds.com/product_details.cfm?product_id=244&page=0&cat_name=Cirius%20Silicone%20Paints

And last a LOT of Patience...

now, if you are reborning a doll, you need to take the doll apart, and start removing the paint, with a light sanding, for that you need 220 grit sand paper.Be very careful when sanding the lips and the edges of the nose, you don't want to scratch or nick them, when you are done with the head move on to the limbs same sanding. when you had removed all or most of the paint, get your 100% Pure acetone and a cotton round and wipe the parts well, I use a qtip to clean the ears, nose and all the wrinkles in the head a limbs. Also sand the head very carefully to remove any glue left from removing the wig.

 

220 Grid sand paper very, very fine.     you can see in the left cheek how I removed the very red paint that she was originally painted with.

                                                                     

100% Acetone.

               

                                                                                       

Clean the parts well getting rid of all the paint that you removed and the dust particles that were created by the sanding and set aside to dry.Now do the same to the limbs and set aside. let it dry completely.

 Now get your paints ready, you should have Silicone paints and thinner I can not stress enogh that you need to work fast, the paints start curing at about 8 to 12 minutes after you mix them with the thinner.

.

             

          

 

 

Cirius’Quinn Blush is a paint shade formulated by ArtMolds. It is the perfect shade for applying to the skin of silicone dolls, for the highest realism possible. No paint will stick to silicone, except paint with a silicone base such as the line of Cirius brand paints from ArtMolds.Cirius paints are actually two parts, the color dye itself  & the color portion and the Silicone Medium is the curing portion. The color must be mixed with the Medium for the paint to set up and to adhere to the silicone surface.Cirius silicone paints stick to all kinds of silicone, tin,platinum and dragon skin silicones,so NO NEED to buy separate silicone based paints anymore. :)

You want to practice with this medium before you begin, to insure that you have a feel for it. Silicone paint is not like any other painting medium on the market. Mix it up and just play with the paint right on the plate to get a feel for how fast sets up, and how to apply it. It dries extremely quickly, so you must work with very small amounts at one time. One color is all you will have out on your plate at one time. You will get the hang of the mix-to-set time ratio with a little practice. So be a VERY patient with yourself.

Place the doll's head on a clean White work towel, Use a toothpick to pick up a very small amount of paint and set it on one side of the plate. Then placea bout a ¼ tsp of the Medium and put it on the other side of the plate. With your mixing toothpick handy ,here you'll need to work fast. Add a dot and I MEAN a DOT of color to the side where the Medium is. If it is not dark enough after a quick mix, add more color from the toothpick that has color on it. Again, remember is on fast mixing, as once the color is mixed with the medium it will begin to cure.

As soon as the paint is mixed, begin to apply it to the doll. You will not be able to do the whole doll with this little mix. So concentrate on one small area at a time. Use the makeup sponge to apply the paint on the cheek. If you feel too much has been added, take a clean makeup sponge and remove some, simply by dabbing it off. Your paint will set quickly so you can't mess with it much further. If you make a mistake, you can take a  clean cotton round with some acetone and wipe the paint off. If it is too cured, it won't wipe off. In that case you can use your 220 sand paper to remove it.The blotchy effect is achieved by adding paint and then removing it in the worked area with a synthetic fine bath sponge.

There are many other ways of painting of course. With practice, you will find more on your own. The technique here uses makeup sponges, since this is the way I learned it. but you can use other things, however using brushes for large areas can leave brush marks. So avoid them.To paint inside the creases you may use the little tiny sponge that is on a stick. These are makeup applicators. Use the technique of applying and removing the excess at paint at the same time.

And last after my baby is completely cured at least 48 hours I give them a light dusting with baby corn starch, it gets rid of the shiney and the stickiness of the silicone, also helps repeling all the nasty stuff that wants to stick to your baby..:). I also do this twice a month to keep them smellng fresh and to keep the shine away.

and a quick summary..

You can mix your colors to obtain very realistic colors like the mouth of my cryer.

 

Get all your supplies ready once you mix the paint with the thinner(activator) you have to work quickly.Mix your paint and thinner I use the tip of a toothpick to pick a bit of the paint and set it on a spot in my plate, i work one color at a time, if you are doing an all over paint work in sections, I always to a test patch on the inside flat of the head to test my colors. that part goes in the body, so nobody will see your testing..:)     Once your paint is mixed you are ready to start painting, apply a small amount of paint to the sponge and pounce it in the area you want to work, and work it as you do any other paint.The paints set quickly so don't fuzz around with them too much, if you think you have too much just get a clean sponge and lift some up. This type of painting can not be rush,but at the same time you must learn to work quickly.

I do hope you enjoy my tutorial and enjoy your dolly reborning..

hugs,

Carmen

 

Here's some of my babies done with this method..

This is samuel after my first time painting him, I even gave him rooted eyelashes and rooted hair..

 My Gorgeous Darling kit by Melissa McCrory.. Now in my collection "Reyna Geneva"

and the last addition to my collection

Camden Rose kit by Angela Harris..