Follow along step-by-step as I transform a blank doll kit into a lifelike doll baby.  A lot of the videos are even in HD! 

PREPARATION

1. Getting Started - gathering the supplies, inserting the eyes and taking before photos.
2. Kit Prep - getting your doll kit clean and ready for painting

COMPLEXION PAINTING

1. How to Base Coat - a good base coat will save you a lot of grief later 
2. Mottling - gorgeously mottled vinyl looks like blood flowing under the baby's skin!
3. Veining - subtly painted veins looks amazing on a reborn doll
4. Blue Shading - another advanced painting step that brings life to the baby's skin
5. Complexion Layers - once the under-skin work is done, you're ready to add some skin! 
6. Blushing - warm the skin and make it look bight with beautiful blushing
7. Creasing - create the illusion of folds in the skin when you paint the baby creases
8. Accent Blushing - accent blushing makes the hands, feet, knees and elbows really pop! 
9. Sweet Spot Blushing - when i comes to blushing, I don't stop till I get enough! 

FINE DETAIL PAINTING

1. ​Lip & Nail Blushing - too much red makes a baby look like a doll.  Find out how to get just enough blush for a real-baby look. 

SKIN TEXTURING, SEALING & VARNISHES

1. Skin Texturing - one of the most challenging reborning steps demystified
2. Glossing - wet lips and a moist nose really bring a reborn doll to life!

ROOTING

1. Draw Your Hair Plan - a hair plan helps you root faster and ensure that the hairs are flowing in a natural growth direction
2. Rooting Directionally - learn how to angle your needle so the hairs follow your hair plan
3. Getting Started Rooting - how to warm the head and prep the hair for an excellent rooting experience.
4. Rooting Lanugo or Peach Fuzz - this advanced rooting technique gives your doll the perfect peach-fuzz look

FINISHING TOUCHES

1. Sealing & Gluing - protect hours of rooting from pulling out by sealing the hair from the inside.  While you're at it, let's add some magnets and eyelashes!  
2. Perfect Baby Tears - this may be more work that you're up for, but jeweler's grade resin makes spectacular baby tears! Also works as a gloss. 
3. Stuffing, Weighing & Assembly - high quality materials properly distributed make your doll feel like a real baby in your arms

​See the Completed Doll on Alissa Beth's Page! 

Here's where you can find tips and demos for all things rooting.  Stop by often to ask your questions and share your advice! ​

Here are the topics on the hopper.  Anything in pink is now available for your enjoyment! 

Rooting Core Courses​

• Rooting Ergonomics
• Rooting 101: What is Micro-Rooting?
• Rooting 102: Rooting Methods
• Rooting 103: Which Rooting Needles You Need
• Rooting 104: Root-A-Loop Micro-Rooting Method

Advanced Rooting Courses

• Drawing a Micro-Rooting Hair Plan
• Rooting in the Hair Growth Direction
• Getting Started Micro-Rooting
• How to Root Eyebrows
• Sealing Your Rooting
• Rooting Watch Outs!
• Rooting Baby "Peach Fuzz" or Lanugo

Bi-Racial Rooting Courses & Resources

• Looking for Curly Hair? Try My Sampler!
• How to Root a Baby Fro
• How to Cut and Style a Baby Fro

Coming Soon!

• How I Root the CustomDollBaby.com Brands
• Lightning-Fast Rooting
• Cuticle-Aligned Rooting

Genesis Heat-Set paints have been the choice of reborn artists for years.  These paints are reliable - we have decades of experience to know that they adhere well to vinyl.  They offer artists more control. Heat-set paint does not cure until you heat it up, giving the artist ample working time for blending her colors into incredible lifelike effects.  

However, you must warm the vinyl to cure heat-set paint.   Hot vinyl releases toxic fumes, including vinyl chloride, which is believed to be carcinogenic.  So, to use heat-set paint, you must buy an oven that you use exclusively for crafts and you must locate this oven outside your living space. 

There are still many videos on YouTube of artists baking doll kits in the kitchen.  This is an extremely health hazardous practice.  

Today, there are many brands of acrylic paints formulated specifically for reborning. Artists who are very familiar with the medium also create their own air-dry reborning paints from artist acrylics available in the craft store, such a Liquitex.

The benefit of acrylic paint is that you do not have to heat the vinyl.  So if you do not wish to buy a craft oven, this may be a good alternative.  

However, acrylic paints also carry heath-risks which are largely understated by the proponents of air-dry paint.

Most acrylic paints contain ammonia and/or formaldehyde, which causes that “nail polish stench” many of us know.  Acrylic paints can also contain phthalates, which act as a plasticizer to reduce chipping and cracking. These solvents are respiratory hazards that evaporate into your workshop as the paint cures.  So make sure you can work in a well-ventilated area when handling air dry paints.  For me, enough exposure to those fumes trigger migraines, and I reborn for hours at a time.    

Besides the health-risk imposed by both types of paint, there are other trade-offs to consider when deciding whether to use Heat-Set or Air-Dry Paint:

At the end of the day, the choice of Heat-Set versus Acrylic is up to you.  I've worked with Genesis for years and I can trouble-shoot literally any problem you could encounter with Genesis.  I have seen it all!  I am less familiar with air dry paint, but that is no reason to avoid it if you feel that medium works best for you.  I've trained many artists who work in air-dry, but I am less useful when things go wrong as each air-dry brand works differently.  

As much as I would love to steer you to Genesis, the heath-risk of heating vinyl cannot be overstated.  However, acrylic paint carries health risk too.  You have to decide which you can manage better.  I manage the Genesis risk by using a portable oven and curing the paints far from my work space.  Acrylic paint evaporates all its nasty fumes into my workshop as the paint dries.  These fumes, for me, trigger migraines.  But I still have a Luminaire set for dolls I cannot put in my oven.  So I feel that I can manage the risk of Genesis better.  But you must decide what works best for you.  

(For the record, the NOVOCS solvent used to paint silicone dolls is a known carcinogen. So is E6000 glue, which many crafters use for various purposes.  So to put this in perspective, anybody who works with chemicals to make anything is exposed to some very toxic stuff.  The key is mitigating the risk to your health.)   

Artists who  have mastered Heat-Set paint create incredible lifelike dolls.  Artists who have mastered Air-Dry paint create incredible lifelike dolls.  Once you've learned how to work with either paint, there's nothing you can't do!  

As more artists convert to air-dry, my information may become dated, but it is my understanding from my survey results that most reborn artists work with Heat-Set paint. Old-timers like me are especially more likely to use heat-set because that's what was available when we were first getting started.  That said, most of the tutorials available will use GHSP.  But, more and more air-dry tutorials and workshops are becoming available. And you can easily apply Genesis painting technique to Air-Dry. 

​On occasion I get a question about how to pierce the ears on a reborn doll.  Since Soniyah is going home with a little bling, I thought this would be a good time to record a quick ear piercing tutorial.

Piercing for me is the last step before assembly.  I simply use a rooting needle to make a small hole and push my stud through it.  You can warm the head if you need to, but stay under 100-degrees or you may start to melt lashes or adhesives.  Be sure to let your customers know that earrings are a choking hazard, or use earrings that screw in and don't come out.

The beauty of Genesis Heat Set Paints is the incredible freedom we have to work with the paint before it cures.  The benefit: our paint remains move-able and blend-able until we put it in the oven.  The catch: our paint remains move-able and blend-able until we put it in the oven. 

If you just completed a layer that you want to neither move nor blend, it's time to cure.  Layers that meet this criteria include:

• Wash Layers - like the base coat, complexion layers and warm blushing layers.  Some artists build color on a dry wash.  But if you need really smooth and even layers, you may be better off baking each one. 
• Detail Layers - like veins, creases, nails and painted hair.  Once this fine lining and shading is finished, you don't want to risk smudges by painting on top of it before you cure. 

On the other hand, do not bake a layer that you intend to blend.  For example, I do 2 to 6 mottling layers on my dolls.  I like for these layers to blend with one another, so I do not bake between each one.  I bake after all the mottling is done.  Same with some blushing steps. 

One hard and fast rule of Genesis Heat Set Painting is to always let it dry, no matter what you plan to do next.  We use odorless paint thinners to make the paint loose and move-able.  Always allow these solvents to evaporate completely before you paint on top of it and before you bake it.  This stuff is flammable, so we don't want to put wet paint in a hot oven.  Also, solvents make your work shiny and difficult to see.  I always carefully inspect my work before I cure, but I don't really know what I have until the paint is dry. 

I try not to over-prescribe because reborning is an art and art requires freedom.  However, if it helps, here's a quick guide to when I bake:

• Base Coat, allow to dry, then bake
• Mottling Layer 1, allow to dry, then 
• Mottling Layer 2, allow to dry, then
• Mottling Layer 3 - 6, allow to dry, then bake
• Veins, allow to dry, then bake
• Complexion Layer 1, allow to dry, then bake
• Complexion Layer 2, allow to dry, then bake
• General Blush Layer 1, allow to dry, then bake
• General Blush Layer 2, allow to dry, then bake
• Accent Blushing allow to dry, then 
• More Accent Blushing allow to dry, then bake
• Sweet Spot Blushing, allow to dry, then
• More Sweet Spot Blushing, allow to dry, then bake
• Creases Layer 1, allow to dry, then
• Creases Layer 2, allow to dry, then bake
• Lip & Nail Details, allow to dry, then bake
• More Lip & Nail Details, allow to dry, then bake
• Varnish / Skin Texture / Skin Sealant, allow to dry, then bake OR bake while wet for Dewy Skin
• Flip it over and bake again 

I don't always do these steps strictly in this order.  This is a much better depiction of how to reborn: Reborn with Me!  But you can see that I generally cure my wash layers and detail layers, but add color on blend-able layers like mottling and blushing. 

Check out Recommended Ovens for Reborning. 

Both Bountiful Baby and Authentic Reborn offer the Seven Flesh Colors; Flesh 02 - Flesh 08.  Where's Flesh 01?  I don't know.   I have another post with more information about each complexion color and how it behaves on vinyl.   ​I also have recommendations for how to use premixed complexion paints for African American, Biracial and Black Reborn Dolls.  Here, I'll just touch on a few.  

Click each photo to view larger with commentary, where available.

If you purchased a vinyl reborn doll kit, it probably came in a peach-colored vinyl.  Usually, this is a fine base for your work.  But sometimes, it may look a little too orange (Real Effect) or too pink (Secrist) for your purposes.  In such cases, you'll need to neutralize the vinyl doll kit to achieve the color you want. 

With this set, you will also receive a jar of Titanium White.  Yes, the same Titanium White in Bob Ross' "happy little clouds."  This is a pure white that is useful for making other colors lighter.  Interestingly, I don't use it very much.   I didn't take a picture because it's, well, just white.

Finally, your starter kit will include a small jar of Matte Varnish.  Matte Varnish is a clear coating that removes shine from the doll.  However, it is hell to work with straight out of the jar.  It can become flaky, crusty and even turn white.  After years of working with it, I've found ways to make Matte Varnish work for you, so check out my Secret Sauce recipe for flawless skin texturing and sealant on your reborn doll.    

​Genesis® Heat-Set Artist Oil colors or Genesis Heat Set Paints (GHSP) are a time-tested staple in reborning because these permanent and waterproof colors adhere well to vinyl and allow the artist ample time to paint and tweak her work before heat-curing the paint.  

Though acrylic paints are growing in popularity, many of us old-timers have stuck with the Genesis because it has been around for decades and has proven reliable over the years.  As a result most tutorials and workshops still use Genesis, so I always suggest beginners start there to learn the techniques before branching into newer forms of painting such as acrylics and powders.  

But the question I often get from beginners is Which Paints Should I Buy?  The cost of oil paint can add up, so check out my thorough review of what's out there and what you actually need before you start to shop.

Click Each Topic Below for a Detailed Review:

• Bountiful Baby Starter Kit Paints
• Set of Five Basic Genesis Colors Set
• Complexion Premixes (Flesh 02 - 08)
• Eyebrow & Hair Premixed Paints
• More Genesis Colors for your Palette 
• Genesis Varnishes and Mediums

1. Use a lower gauge needle.  I use a 42 gauge regular and a 42 gauge crown.  Anything much smaller will have a difficult time grabbing your hair.  For more info on which needle is best for which hair, please see: Assessing Your Rooting Needle Needs: https://youtu.be/8X-lCcECmBw 

2. Root directionally. human hair has a tendency to stick up.  You have to root it flat in order for it to lay flat.  Learn more about rooting directionally at: https://youtu.be/HtoTrXGPd58

3. Hair diameter varies by donor. Asian hair is thicker than European hair.  But European hair is still thicker than mohair.  Understanding where your hair came from will help you pick the best needle to root it.  See more info on hair diameter by origin on my blog: http://customdollbaby.com/reborn-doll-artist-tips/rooting-103-assessing-your-needle-needs 

4. Do not trim human hair too short. Human hair needs weight to lay down.  If it is too short, it will stick up.  Leave 3 - 4 inches minimum, which is why this works best on older babies.

5. Treat before you root. Human hair tends to get very dry because it no longer has the natural oils on a scalp to keep it moisturized.  For best results, shampoo condition human hair before you root it.  
Shampoo until you've removed any extra dye, which could stain your doll. Use a quality conditioner (fortifying or protein treatments work well) to replenish much needed moisture.  You can use whatever products you like for your own hair, just avoid pyrithione zinc and other anti-dandruff ingredients as this may remove too much color.

Wondering which human hair to buy? Check out my human hair shopping tips at: http://customdollbaby.com/reborn-doll-artist-tips/find-the-perfect-curl-for-your-biracial-reborn-dolls 

Get an Instant Quote for your Custom Reborn Doll Today: 
http://www.poll-maker.com/QZVT149

All you need is Flesh 08, Genesis Red and Raw Sienna! 

Mottling is the process of adding multi-colored layers of delicate patterns to create the appearance of blood flowing under baby’s skin.  I put a lot of care into creating my mottling sponges because I reuse them over and over again to create gorgeous skin texture on my lifelike baby dolls.

There are a variety of suitable materials for mottling sponges, including sea sponges and bath sponges.  I prefer to work with a firm cosmetic wedge which gives me more control over the pattern and more consistent results.

Learn more about mottling and the entire reborning process on the Reborn with Me! Playlist! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z9y0vcdeO0&list=PLY0D7_fO0RBeErTy6k83PKTKFLXYtME1Q   

I've been getting a lot of questions about Dewy Skin, so I decided to try it out!

Dewy Skin medium, by Precious Little Baby Dust, is a heat-set medium that can be used to seal the paint, create lifelike skin texture and sheen for glowing baby skin. 

Through my tests, I found that it works fine for all of these purposes.

Few notes:
- Add time (not heat) for a proper cure.  15 minutes at 250 F works well for me.
- Bake while wet for sheen.  Let it dry then bake for matte.
- I forgot to cure a piece and left it over night. It turned white like matte varnish would, but did bake clear.

Where to buy it? 
​https://www.dollsbysandie.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=10520

​I get a lot of questions about ovens, so I'm excited to finally post this NuWave oven demo.

Disclaimer: I do not work for NuWave and NuWave did not pay me to produce this video.  But if you know someone at NuWave, send them this video and I'll let you know where they can send my check. LOL

In this video, I will demonstrate how to set up and program your NuWave oven for reborning.  Of the available options, I prefer the NuWave because:

• It is portable.  Vinyl puts off nasty fumes when heated.  The NuWave is easy to relocate to a well ventilated area
• It is accurate.  All NuWave products have very accurate internal thermostats, so it heats evenly and maintains constant temperature.  Convection ovens can sometimes reach 20 - 50 degrees hotter than the temperature you set, leading to shiny spots and melting on the doll.
• It shuts itself off.  If you forget about the timer, no problem.  The NuWave shuts itself off when it is done cooking so you never over-bake.

What about convection ovens or toaster ovens?
While toaster ovens are also portable, they have several limitations for reborning:

• They are not accurate. Temperature can swing above and below the set temp.
• They do not heat evenly.  The back of a convection oven can be up to 50 degrees hotter than the front - leading to a part that is melted in the back and never cured in the front.  (Trust me, I've melted a lot of dolls in convection ovens.)

What about conventional ovens?
It is not recommended that you heat vinyl in any oven that is also used for cooking food because the chemicals evaporated off of hot vinyl stick to the inside of the oven.  They re-evaporate the next time you heat the oven, which means you risk contaminating your food.  

Secondly, conventional ovens cannot be moved, so you also risk releasing vinyl fumes into your home.

What about heat guns?
Heat guns are great for curing small areas on your doll, like just the lips or just the veins.  Make sure you don't hold it too close to the piece and keep it always in motion.  Honestly, I just bake the whole kit, even when I'm only curing small areas because I like getting that curing time back to work on something else.

If you have a NuWave oven like mine, keep this chart handy:
Power Setting Temperature
10 (HI)            342°F(172°C) - this is the default setting! =-0
9                      325°F (163°C)
8                      300°F(149°C)
7                      275°F(135°C) - tempting, but too hot
6                      250°F(121°C) - my favorite curing setting :-D
5                      225°F(107°C)
4                      175°F(79°C)
3                      150°F(66°C)
2                      116°F(47°C)
1                      106°F(41°C) - my favorite drying setting

Genesis Heat Set Paints (GHSP) cure at any temperature between 250 and 285 Fahrenheit.  My parts cure just fine at 250.  At 275 in the NuWave oven, the parts become shiny.

A normal bake cycle for me is 11 minutes at Power Setting 6.  It takes the NuWave oven 3 minutes to reach the set temperature, so an 11 minute bake cycle gives me that warm up time plus a full 8 minutes of curing time.

Varnishes and Mediums need more TIME, not more heat.  I find that 15 minutes at 250 Fahrenheit is enough to cure most heat set mediums and varnishes.  If you find that you need a better cure, add more time, not more heat.

Where to get it:  

• Amazon.com
• Bountiful Baby  

Make sure your oven comes with the 3" extender ring!

These are questions I hear often from reborn doll artists.  The reality is that it is difficult to find satisfying answers to these questions.  Which is why I developed one tool that quickly and easily answers them all! Click Read More to learn how I achieve lifelike Real Feel weight on my reborn dolls!

At CustomDollBaby.com, I only use the highest quality stuffing and weighting materials.  I use premium poly-fil for volume and softness.  There are a variety of high-quality weighting materials that you can use to make your doll feel just like a real baby in your arms. These include:
- Fine Glass Beads: http://www.bbreborndollsupplies.com/product/1663 
- Silicone Baby Fat Inserts: http://www.bbreborndollsupplies.com/product/2488
- Baby Fat Pellets: http://www.bbreborndollsupplies.com/product/716 
- Poly-Pellets: http://www.bbreborndollsupplies.com/product/218

A doll should never be weighted with any form of sand.  Sand is non-uniform - which makes the doll feel gritty rather than soft.  Depending on the source, sand can also carry bacteria and contamination.  If your doll is weighted with sand, replace the sand with a high-quality material as soon as possible!

Now that we know what we can put in the doll for weighting, we need to figure out just how much weighting material we need.  Find out next time in Stuffing & Weighting 201: Distributing Weight for Optimal Life-likeness!

First, you don't need as much weight as you may have thought.  Real babies are mostly water.  7lbs of mostly water feels a lot lighter than 7lbs of glass beads.  This is known as the "dead weight" effect.  In other words, if you want your doll to feel like it weighs 7lbs, it needs to weigh a bit less than that.  

Secondly, where you place the weight plays an important role in the making your doll feel lifelike.  A newborn baby carries 25% of her weight in her head.  That is why you have to support the head when handling an infant or newborn sized reborn doll.  However, toddlers have considerably less of their weight in their head.  In fact, an adult only carries 8% of her total weight in her head.  So, for true lifelike-likeness, the amount of weight you put in each body part should be appropriate for the age and size of your baby doll.  

So how do you know how much weight you need and where? 

Over the years, I've combined medical research with my doll weighting experience to develop an algorithm for weighting my dolls to feel as real as possible.  For the first time in my career, I'm making that algorithm available to other artists in my Real Feel Lifelike Reborn Baby Weight Calculator.  And I've summarized all my math into an easy 10-step process.  Just fill in the yellow boxes and the calculator does the rest! 

The calculator has data for any vinyl doll kit from 10" to 28" in length.  Grab your copy today in my online store! 

Now that we've established what kind of weighting materials to use and how to distribute them throughout the doll, we're ready to begin the process of weighting, stuffing and assembling Alissa Beth!

Maybe your customer specified that she wanted a 5lb baby.  No problem, type 80oz into the calculator.  Perhaps you're donating your doll to a nursing home and need the doll to be lighter.  Or maybe you want your doll to be real baby weight.  Just type in your target weight in oz and the calculator does the rest!

Step 2: Weigh the Vinyl Parts.  To figure out how much weight you need to add, we first need to know how much you're starting with.  Weigh each part individually and add that weight to the calculator (or write it down somewhere if you're not using the calculator).  

Step 3: Weigh the Torso. I like to weigh the torso with stuffing in it because the stuffing, as light and fluffy as it is, does add weight.  If you're putting any other goodies in the torso: silicone inserts, belly plates, back plates, breathing mechanism, heart beat, etc... be sure to weigh that too.  We need an accurate assessment of the starting weight before adding any more weighting material.

Step 4: Determine the Real Feel Weight of each part.  If you have the Real Feel Calculator, that output is given to you in percentages and ounces.  If you don't have the calculator and you're weighting a 20" doll, multiply your target weight by each percent given below:      

Step 5: Weight the Legs.  A perfectly floppy baby doll has limbs that are bottom-heavy.  So I always add my weighting material first.  Remember, the polyfil adds weight too, so if the Calculator says you need 4oz of weight, don't pour 4oz of glass beads in the part or it will get too heavy.  
Work the beads down into the toes and ankles.   If your leg is already heavier than Real Feel Ideal, only fill glass beads to the ankle.  

Once you've added your weighting material, fill up the rest of the limb with poly fil. Use a dowel if necessary to pack the polyfil in so that it is flush with the glass beads and prevents them from rattling around inside the limb.  Top the limb off with the compatible plug. Weigh it again to see that you're somehwere in the ballpark of your desired weight.  Being within plus or minus 0.5 oz is totally fine and no reason to re-weight.  

Step 5: Weight the Arms. Weighting the arms is just like weighting the legs. However on a newborn, the vinyl is already heavier than Real Feel Ideal weight.  That's okay!  Just fill your weighting material to the wrist to give the hands some bulk and weight and fill the rest with polyfil.  Make sure you really pack in the polyfil so there are no air pockets or rattling beads.  Weigh the stuffed arms and plugs to make sure they're similar in weight.  +/- 0.5 oz variance is fine.

Like the limbs, we're going to add our weighting material and pack it into place with polyfil.

Baby's First Shampoo removes all our hair plan markings from the scalp, rinses any excess dye out of the mohair, and leaves baby smelling soft and fresh.

There's no one right way to wash mohair, but here are some tips that have worked well for me and kept my babies tangle-free:

• Hot Water: mohair felts in cold water, so wash in the hottest water your hands can tolerate. My hot tap is tolerable.  But yours may be scalding, so shoot for slightly warmer that bath temperature.
• Brush Through: it can be very tempting to scrub your hair into a lather, but I get fewer tangles when I cleanse with a soft baby brush.  
• Leave-in-Conditioner: it's great to follow Baby's First Shampoo with Mohair Conditioner or a similar leave-in-conditioner.  Conditioner adds luster and softness to any brand of mohair for a perfect baby hairdo. Silken Child is also good on mohair, but I dislike the fragrance in it.  Mohair conditioner has the fresh smell of baby powder.  You can grab some at: http://www.bbreborndollsupplies.com/product/5596

I got my first starter kit from Bountiful Baby and I've been a loyal customer ever since.  BB is great for beginners because the kits are inexpensive ($20-$50) and you can even get defective kits to practice on even cheaper!  

The new Realborn(R) line is an incredible innovation in reborns - doll kits based on 3D prints of real babies!  How cool is that? It's very cool.  That's why my Reborn with Me series is all about reborning a Realborn.

Service is great. Shipping is fast.  BB is a great place to start.  
Based in UT, USA.
​You can buy their products here:
http://www.bountifulbaby.com/
http://www.bbreborndollsupplies.com/
https://macphersoncrafts.com/en/online-store/realborn-kits

Sandie Unger is amazing and has a great selection of doll kits and reborning supplies.  She's very responsive and her shipping and processing is so fast that it will blow your mind.  She once sent me a tracking number before I even got the payment confirmation from PayPal.  I love Sandie! Based in PA, USA. 
Visit her at http://www.dollsbysandie.com

Brenda MacPherson probably has the largest selection of vinyl doll kits.   My favorite feature is the ability to sort the doll kit catalog based on Sculptor or doll size.  This is also where I like to buy my OOAK mohair. 

Even though they are in Canada, prices are in US dollars and shipping is available.  My only complaint is that the website sometimes lets you buy things that are out of stock.  But other than that, they've been great!  

Based in Ontario, Canada.  Visit her store at: ​https://macphersoncrafts.com/en/online-store/reborn-doll-kits _

I buy stuff here too.  Great service. No complaints. :)
Based in FL, USA.  Visit them at: ​http://www.dollssoreal.com/collections/doll-kit_s 

Another great supplier of doll kits and reborning supplies.  No complaints. 
Based in IL, USA
Visit them at: ​http://www.irresistables.com/

Great place for doll kits, reborn supplies and play dolls.  I use Secrist kits for my 18" play dolls. 
Based in Midland, MI
Visit them at: http://www.secristdolls.com/home

Thanks to months of research and experimentation, I have finally found the solution for perfect baby tears! 

​I'm excited to share my baby tears process because I'm one of the few (if not the only) reborn artist who uses Jewelers Grade Resin to make my tears and seal the eyes.

Resin is essentially two liquids that when mixed together become a hard, crystal clear plastic-like substance. I use resin because:

• it creates a permanent, durable and waterproof seal on the eyes
• it is crystal clear
• it makes acrylic eyes sparkle like glass!

I tried a few different resins and came to the conclusion that the best resin for reborn dolls is Little Windows Brilliant Resin.  A small set is only $8 and will provide tears for a lot of dolls.

If you choose to shop your own resin, please watch out for:

• Air Bubbles - air bubbles will ruin your piece. Some resins are more prone to trap air than others.  For example, Ice Resin is very thick and picks up a lot of air when you mix it.  You can still use it for tears, but make sure you pop any and all bubbles that show up in your eyes.
• Heat - many resins release heat when they cure. Some release enough heat to melt your eyes and the vinyl! Test your resin thoroughly to make sure it remains cool during the curing process
• Pot-life - some resins cure faster than others.  The shorter your working time, the faster you have to create your tears.  

I almost ruined a LeLou using Aileen's Paper Glaze.  Though recommended by most tutorials, paper glaze has a shelf life.  Once it has reached the end of that shelf life, it no longer dries clear.  So I had to scrape an ugly haze out of my doll before deciding I would not bother with paper glaze again.

You can still use paper glaze, just test it on a clear surface first to make sure you're still in the clear-dry phase of the shelf life.  Once it gets old, throw it away!  

In Part 1, I'll be demonstrating:
- how to use light to set the doll's gaze
- how to seal rooted hair and eyebrows
- an easy way to place and glue magnets

In Part 2, I'll walk you through the somewhat tedious process of gluing eyelashes.