What makes a doll a budget baby? Is the hair only painted ? What do you leave out or don’t do when you creating a budget baby.
I think some people have tried, and I know one artist has been successful at creating a Budget line.
I think a budget baby would be bald or have simply painted hair, maybe a layer mottling, a little veining, some blushing, and that’s it, I am guessing air dry on vinyl. I would also assume a less expensive or sale sculpt.
I don’t make them but I do make cuddles I sell for less.
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I think it varies for everyone. Usually I refer to mine as a budget baby when I have used:
2nds or really low priced sale kit, minimal accessories, and either bald or very simply painted hair and have not gone as in depth with the painting of the baby overall. Type of paint used does not matter because I will use top quality whether air dry or heat set. Painted hair does not make a baby a budget baby as I paint all my hair and spend more time on hair on the non-budget babies. Lastly, any baby that is marked $100 or more less than I usually sell my babies for is a budget baby in my book. So it can vary too. If I have a baby I had a hard time selling or just not that crazy about it and want to move it I will mark it down to “budget baby” status.
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Yep that’s same for me! I just did 7 budget babies for Christmas. They were all kits I got on sale, and all less detailed than my normal babies but same materials. Here’s how my budget babies compare to my regular babies:
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Kit. I don’t normally use sculptor kits unless I’ve gotten them on sale. Otherwise I like to use kits from BB I’ve gotten on sale. I also use cuddle babies I’ve gotten on sale. I don’t use a Reggie body for cuddle babies.
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Hair. I do painted hair that isn’t as detailed as my normal hair. I actually just found a way to cut a mop brush to work well with painting hair quickly. If I added a couple more layers it would be close to my normal style but I only do 2-3 layers with it.
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Lashes. All of my asleep babies have lashes. But only my regular awake babies have lashes. It’s just too hard and not worth it for me to struggle for hours trying to get open eyelashes to look right on a budget baby.
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Polyfil. My budget babies I only use regular polyfil. In my normal babies I use regular polyfil in the head and limbs, but I use the premium polyfil or angel silk in the bodies on my normal babies.
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Nails: no moons for budget babies. I don’t always do them on my regular babies but I make a point to not do them on budget babies.
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Detailing. I don’t vein or give my budget babies capillaries, milia, or scratches. The shading in the ears is minimal. I don’t texture skin or texture tongues.
That’s all that’s really different for me. It’s hard to stop. But I painted this cuddle Darren head and this Brin by Lisa Sylvia in ONE night. That also makes them budget for me!!
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I’ve never made budget. But, I’ve been working on a couple kits. I want to make them budget babies. I wasn’t sure where to stop at. Do you send accessories with the babies?
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Yup I think brin is my favorite and darrens hair looks like watercolor 
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With the 7 I just made they went home in a diaper, sleeper, a stocking hat (made from white medical stocking), white mittens, white socks if their feet weren’t covered, a magnetic pacifier (usually the 2 for a dollar Walmart ones), a bow if it was a girl, COA, and a flannel blanket. I also sent them with a chocolate Santa, a Christmas card, and a little heatable puppy I got on clearance. I didn’t advertise those last three things in my listing though.
My normal babies go home in a diaper, a sleeper, a hat of some kind, mittens, magnetic pacifier or two, usually the outfit I put in their sale photos, sometimes another onesie or outfit, matching bows if it’s a girl, an extra diaper or two, a postcard from where I’m located at, artist certificate, COA, and a muslin or a nice fluffy blanket. If rooted I do a sample size of hair conditioner and a toothbrush. I also send a plush bluebird and some stickers, tea bags, and a little opalite heart in a little packet with my logo sticker on the back.
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I didn’t think of his hair like that before but you’re exactly right!! It does look like watercolor. Probably why he was my favorite 
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I usually send several outfits, magnetic pacifier, hair supplies for rooted hair, blanket, about 4 diapers, several pair of socks, a pair of shoes coa care instructions n birth certificate.
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I’d do your normal paper stuff, then send baby in a sleeper wrapped in a blanket for budget babies. I just do mittens and hats to protect hands and hair. And socks if the sleeper doesn’t have footies on it. But remember you have to make it a budget baby for a reason if while packing them up you sneak an outfit or whatever in then that’s just a nice surprise! I always advertise less than what I actually send that way people are happy they got a surprise.
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To me it’s less layers, so more basically painted. Like a sweet reborn, but not super realistic.
Simple painted hair or fully bald.
No extra box opening stuff. So a simple outfit, a hat, maybe mittens and socks, wrapped in a blanket and a pacifier if the customer wants one.
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I have a kit here with purple discoloration on the neck. It’s painted with fewer layers, less detailed, simple painted hair. This will be a budget baby.
I don’t do big box openings anyway and advertise it that way, but throw in an extra sleeper, outfit, maybe hair bows for normal babies. I may add a little something extra with a budget baby, but it will be lower end stuff like a sleeper I got on sale.
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Those are pretty awesome budget babies!
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They’re definitely worth more than what I sold them for but that’s on me because I just kind of kept going. And it’s nice to be able to let someone afford something they wouldn’t normally be able to.
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I usually only do budget babies around the holidays but for me they are bald, don’t have texturing, milia or other details. They are closed eye BB kits that I got on sale. I usually spend 4-7 days on a budget baby vs 4-6 weeks on a regular detailed baby. I do light mottling, veining, nails, powder brows and rooted lashes, definitely a lot less layers. I also use regular polyfil instead of angel silk. They go home in a onesie, scratch mits and socks, wrapped in a blanket with a magnetic pacifier. I usually put a couple extra diapers in the box, but no outfits or other extras.
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Perfect visual thank you
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