If you make reborn dolls, please use nice poly fill. His body was stuffed with cheap poly fill that was very packed. Not like the premium poly fill that I use. I can’t afford the cloud stuff but I can tell you that the Poly Fill brand premium makes a huge difference over those cheap brands. My baby felt like a rock when I held him before. He was also put together with the cheap square end cable ties that comes with the factory bodies. That is not what I expect on a quality baby. I always change mine out for the nice skinny ones with the smaller heads.
This is what was in the limbs of my Ramsey I took apart. It is very coarse like sand only a bit larger. It appears to be glass. It is not particularly sharp but not smooth either. When I poured it out a cloud of dust hit the air. I decided not to put it back inside him.
Oh noooo…so disappointing to find such low quality materials in a reborn, whether it’s a high end reborn or not. I just hate those crappy cable ties that come with factory bodies, so I change them out and use the nice skinny ones. I use glass beads from BB (buy tons when on sale) and premium poly fill ~ I do have some of the cloud stuff but hoarding it for when I make my keeper.
It’s good you’re an artist and could re-weight Ramsey to your liking!
I have seen the glass online like this before that is green so I know it is used by others. It is not necessarily a bad thing but the dust of it would prohibit me from wanting to handle it regularly. I might take this and put it in some vinyl gloves so it is contained and use it to weight heads. That way it is not wasted. However, the cheap poly fill makes a huge difference IMO. I also just feel like the cable ties are important because those cheaper ones do not hold as well either.
I’ve bought glass beads from other places but the ones from BB are my fave. No dust, no waste, so I buy in bulk when they’re on sale.
When I first started reborning, I used play sand…heated in my kitchen oven to kill germs “just in case” 
Ahhhh…how clueless I was.
That’s recycled crushed glass, lots of artists use it, I have seen lots of posts on Facebook where people have taken a doll apart to find this and think it’s sand, it’s a cheaper alternative but horrible stuff
Karen we all did. I baked my sand in disposable aluminum trays. After it was cooled I put it in a rubbermaid tub and mixed corn starch baby powder in it so it smelled like a baby. At one point we could buy purple play sand and that was the rage because it meant no painting the insides of the limbs purple. The things we used to do!
I remember! The pioneer days 
You painted the inside of limbs purple, why?
when we started we were taking Berengeur dolls apart. The vinyl tended to be a bit orange in color and it was not translucent. So the person who started the reborning process was the first person to do so. We all followed suit as it was the thing everyone was doing. It did give the dolls the depth and look of undertones. Keep in mind too that we were using oil based paints or stencil creams back then and was not able to get the details and 3D look that later came with the invention of Genesis. Back then dolls did not have mottling but were more blushed.
Wow that’s Interesting, thank you for explaining
That looks like the “crushed glass”?
edit: Geez, I really should read the whole post before commenting huh?
I guess this is what is known as crushed glass but it does not seem to have sharp edges. I rolled some between my fingers and it felt like sand. I mistakenly ordered some glass once that did turn out to be true crushed glass and you could literally see fine slivers in it that you knew would pierce your fingers if you touched it and thus go through the vinyl. I sent that bucket to the landfill. The main deterrent to me with this is it is very dusty.
There is actually one very well known artist who uses this that I know of. She use to sell it to other artists as well. I always wondered how people felt about her using this product since she is more of a higher end artists.
I bought a bucket of it by mistake when I first started, it was advertised as glass beads for reborns and at the time I didn’t know any better and used it on a few of my early babies, it was horrible and the rest ended up in the trash, can’t imagine any high end artist choosing to use it.
Well glass beads are made from sand. Though I don’t use it I wouldn’t be mad at the person that does. I use all kinds of things in my dolls that I make for myself. Just because!
This is recycled glass. It isn’t cheap. It is better for the environment than glass beads. I use it when I can get it, they are always out of it when I go to pick up my glass beads lately.
I think a lot of people think this is sand (it isn’t but…glass and sand are the same thing if you think about it) Glass beads are made in a factory, it is cleaner. I wouldn’t use play sand its dirty and dusty but recycled glass is just glass that hasn’t been tumbled and smoothed out.
I am trying out a crushed stone soon. I like the color, I think it will be nice behind the vinyl, it also weighs more, I will report back.
As for polyfil. The only one I will stay away from is buffalo. It is meant for crafts, fake snow for Christmas displays… It is very firm. I used it for a while to give shoulders and head area a little more body, I don’t anymore.
I am not a fan of the expensive stuff. It flattens out too fast. I have filled a baby tight and a couple weeks later it is floppy. It does feel lovely though. I use the Original Poly-fil, I may mix it with something softer if I have it. It holds up over time well.
Bean uses it, still does I believe. It isn’t inferior. It just isn’t as expensive and it is less refined, but it has less dust, comes in some good sizes. It use to be easier to get, not as much anymore. It is crushed recycle bottles, it is clean. I love it. I have no problem using it, just harder to find for me now.
I love BB glass beads but they are expensive, and cost so much to ship. The size they carry is hard to find where I am. No shame in play sand…you pioneers knew how to get things done. Necessity is the mother of invention.
This is always my fear. When I see artists show their babies with almost nothing in the chest and shoulders, I am always wondering what their buyers think. Yes, it’s floppy and poses better for photography, but I would not want to have one with almost empty top. So, stuffing is definitely individual preferences.
She was the one who I thought of immediately when I seen the picture. She has used it for quite some time now. I have always wondered if people ever complained when they took their doll apart. I see people all the time question even the regular glass beads and try to shame the artist. Especially if its a finer glass bead then most.
ETA: I realize now that my original post may have sounded like I was calling it inferior. Thats not what I meant by it. What I meant is that people have this idea in their head of what should and shouldn’t be used when making a reborn. Beads/filling seems to be a hot topic that alot of people talk about when they take their doll apart. I wondered what her feedback has been using this particular weighting material.