Little creations....that tug at your heart!!!

When I ran across these "reborn Berenguers" about 5 years ago, I wondered if this was something that would be a possibility for me to do...and enjoy. This was perfect. It was a way of taking a cute little vinyl doll....and turning it into something that seemed to "come alive" right in front of me. When many many people got into the reborning of the dolls, then more and more dolls became available to let the artists put their own touches onto them. Now it is rare to hear of very many Berenguer dolls, compared to all of the others...and even many kits that are made for the purpose of reborning them into One Of A Kind creations.

It is something that holds my interests, and I strive to make each one even better than the one before it. Each one seems so perfect....so it makes me feel like there is absolutely no way that they will get better. Each one has been perfect, and no two turn out the very same.

The procedure for reborning is quite long. It isn't something you can do in a day or so. Even if you worked 24 hours a day on the doll....they need to rest between procedures...in order to capture the color changes....the hair....the blushing to become realistic looking.

The first step is to take apart a vinyl doll. Then clean off all the factory paints in order to make the "canvas" clean and perfect for what comes next. Some of the dolls have ridges on their heads where the company had given the vinyl dolls texture for the painted area of their hair. That is something that has to be sanded off before paint can be applied. Before the process of rooting can be started.

Usually the first thing I do after the doll has been made ready to start work on is to give it a bath in sudsy warm water to get rid of any unwanted oils and traces of cleaner. The next thing I do is remove the factory eyes...and replace them with more realistic looking eyes. I find that the REAL EYES brand of eyes has such a variety, and real look. They come in many beautiful colors, so that is sometimes the first difficult decision....trying to figure out what color to use... and then what color hair and complexion will look the very best for "this baby".

After the new eyes are in...and dried....then I start with the painting of the complexion making it look completely real... as if it were a real baby. Then when the coloring and blushing is all the way I want it, then it is time for the

rooting of their hair. This is a tedious procedure....one that can't be rushed. The idea isn't just to stick hair into the head....but to make it look like it has grown out of the head. Some colors of the mohair are more difficult to make look perfect, so then it takes more work to make them look "just right".

After the hair has had time to set, then I spray the inside of the head with a strong adhesive so that the hair will stay secure in the head. Some of the vinyls react best with a light coat of paints on the inside of the head and limbs, some are better painted only on the outside to get the exact coloring you are looking for. At first it was thought that a dark color would be best, but it was soon found out that you could actually give the doll the look of being bruised. As the darkness came thru the vinyl it was not the look we were striving for. Then we found that using a light shade could give the highlights that were needed without any bruising. The last thing you want to do, is make it look like your "baby" has been abused.

Some times I use artist oil paints, but they take quite a long time to dry.... several days or longer. Mostly I use the new Genesis heat paints which work beautifully, and dry to a lasting coloring that won't wash or rub off. It requires many layers of thin paint to achieve the right look. I usually prefer these paints on the dolls that I feel safe being able to put them into the oven for the curing. If the vinyl or silicone feels too thin, I worry about distorting the shape of the head and limbs, and then I choose a different form of paint.

Since I would be very impatiently waiting for the drying time....I find that working on 2 or 3 dolls at a time, in different stages, makes it more enjoyable. So that I won't try and rush each step.

Then comes the lip color, eyebrows, eyelashes (sometimes using false eyelashes, sometimes rooting in the eyelashes with mohair).....then the little fingernails and toenails need to be taken care of. They have to end up looking like freshly cut nails, without looking like they have been painted up for an evening out. Realistic....that is where it all is.

After getting the nails just right, then they get several coats of satin finish in order to keep the nails looking as they did when they were first done. More drying time, always more drying time.

If you are going to give the baby a magnetic pacifier, then it has to be glued inside the head behind the mouth. Then also the pacifier has to have the magnet put onto it. If you want to have magnetic bows on their head, that also has to be done before it is time to assemble the doll.

After they have dried completely, then I fill the limbs with what ever I choose for each doll. Some are filled with poly pellets, some are filled with tiny glass beads and then they are sealed with silicone so that the stuffings don't escape.

There is also the procedure of opening the nostrils, and then backing the opening with dark felt for realism, and so that the stuffings won't show. Another job that requires patience, and being very careful so as not to damage the doll.

Now is when I make up the new body. Choosing either peach, beige, brown or ivory fabric...depending on what look I have chosen. Some even get a body that looks like a little onesie...so that they look dressed even when they are not.

Most of the bodies require plastic joints for perfect movement. Some don't need joints if the limbs are full length. All a matter of what you are making and what you want the final results to be.

Then comes the day.....that you are able to fill the body and attach the limbs and eventually the head to it. That is the "Perfect Time". Then it no longer looks like a vinyl doll.....but it takes on the look of a "Real Baby". Oh yes,

that is when the chitter chatter of baby talk comes in.....and the fun part of trying to decide what outfits will bring out the best personality for each of the babies.

Somewhere between starting and finishing the "creation"....I have chosen a name that I find fits with the baby. That does not mean that the new person can't change it to what ever they like....but it makes me happy to know which baby was which.

I hope this has given you a little insight on what all is required to be able to say that a vinyl or silicone doll is a "reborn".....it has become a very big Passion for me... something that I enjoy more and more each day.