Reborn Portrait Doll, choosing the right sculpt

I was asked several times over the past few weeks if I'd done a reborn portrait doll.  I have, but unfortunately I only have photos of the reborn doll...I gave the photos of the actual baby back, so i have no way to prove i can do it.

I am thinking of doing a reborn portrait baby of myself.  It would be a doll I can keep, I'd always have the baby pictures.

I blew up some old photos of myself and cropped the face so i could try to find a sculpt that resemble my baby self.

First birthday, cutting cake with Auntie Erna

Me sitting in my rocker (I still love rockers, lol)

Mom and I (first birthday)

It's hard to find an exact sculpt, but i think these ones are close:   One is Lilly, by Denise Pratt, and the other is Rowan, by Jessica Schenk.  It's going to be hard to choose.  I think Lilly is a closer match though.

Rowan kit, Jessica Schenk, reborn by Melissa's Carriage

Lilly kit sculpted by Denise Pratt,

Reborn baby dolls BEFORE and AFTER

Good morning (or afternoon or evening, depending on when you're reading this).  I was asked to show some before and after shots of my reborn babies, comparing the blank sculpts to the finished, painted work.  I'm going to try to do that here, but Blogger doesn't have the best formatting, so wish me luck, lol. This is Lucy, sculpted by the talented Marissa May, and reborn by me.  My nursery name is Woodland Waifs, so you'll see that in most of the "after" shots.

Lucy sculpted by Marissa May, blank head

Lucy, Reborn

Secrist Zoe blank vinyl head

Here's an earlier doll I did, one of my first, but one of my favorites. She's the Secrist Zoe sculpt, a small 17 inch doll.

Zoe, reborn

Speaking of small dolls, I loved doing Denise Pratt's triplets, Teagan, Taite, and Tayla.  They're so tiny and cute.  I keep wanting to do a set to keep for myself, but of course never have the time.

Teagan sculpt, blank head

Teagan, reborn

Here's Denise Pratt's Taite.

Taite head, Denise Pratt sculpt

Taite, reborn by Woodland Waif's Reborns (me, lol)

I guess I should also add some photo' of Trey by Michelle Fagan, since I did that doll twice.  It's the only time I reborned the same sculpt twice, and I did it because i absolutely LOVE that sculpt. Michelle's Tory sculpt is another one that I love, and the only reborn that I kept for myself over the years. First I did the sculpt as a little girl with pretty Shirley Temple style curls, then I did it as a sweet little boy, one that I'm secretly happy hasn't sold yet because I'd love to keep him (but can't justify not at least trying to sell him as I need the money).  Here's Trey.

Add caption

Trey reborn with Shirley Temple curls

And here's the more recent Trey, done as a boy.

Trey reborn as a boy; my favorite.

Trey reborn as boy, crocheted outfit

The only reborn that I've kept over the years is Tory, sculpted by Michelle Fagan, and renamed Emily by my Mom.

Tory reborn

I just reborned my first biracial baby a few days ago. I used the Paisley sculpt I blogged about her earlier but here is a before and after shot of the little sweetheart.

I named her Jada, and if I can force myself to part with her, she'll be available for adoption.  I need to take better photos of her.  She's so chubby and cute, lol!

Paisley, reborn

Well, that's it for now.  It would take forever to do before and after shots of all of my reborns.  Maybe I'll add to this in the future, but for now, this is a good start.  

I really enjoy painting these reborns, and it's fun to look back on the older photos, or my reborn website, to see how I've grown as an artist.  Here's my reborn website, if you'd care to see more babies:

woodlandwaifs.weebly.com/

I apologize for the lousy formatting.  Believe it or not, the draft that I'm working on shows the photos lined up nicely, side by side, with the before's on the left and the after's on the right.  Yet when I hit preview, it makes the photos all wonky and puts them in the wrong place.  I spent about an hour trying to fix it and it won't get better than what you're seeing now.  I sure wish Blogger would improve it's formatting.

Have a great day!

Reborn doll in progress

Reborn Teagan sculpt in progress

This is the last of the triplets; Teagan.  I've been working on her/him for the past few days.  I want to give her a mottled newborn look.  I put some scratches on her knee; hopefully they look realistic.

Reborn doll in progress

I still have to do the eyebrows, finger and toenails.  I'm not sure if I should add more blues or purples, or even more blush.

reborn doll

I really like the shape of this doll's head; I think I may leave her bald.  I love bald babies, and I haven't made one yet.

Mac, sleeping in his crate and recuperating

I've been doing all of my crafts in the living room, next to Mac's crate because he doesn't like it when I leave the room for more than a few minutes.  I'm using the coffee table, and two TV tables to hold supplies.  I don't have a lap desk, so I'm using the top of my hamper as one, lol.  It sure makes things interesting (and messy!), but it keeps Mac happy, which is important while he heals.

He seems to be doing better today.  It's a gorgeous, sunny day, so we sat on the deck for awhile after his last potty break.  He was ready to go back in his crate after that though.  He's being so good about it.  Ben is still jealous and wants in the big crate too.  He goes in his fake (cardboard) crate at night.

Slideshow of reborn boy

Ariella

Here is my latest reborn, Ariella.