Hey ladies.
So I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. Since my bears aren’t selling. (This is not a feel sorry for me post. I swear.)
Ive been debating with my husband about getting back into reborns. I sold them for years and I have Genesis and sculpts and everything. He keeps telling me not to bother after the nightmare I had when scammers kept stealing my photos.
And I get that.
But I feel like a burden right now. I get a disability check each month and with the cost of living there just isnt enough to pay off our debts. Its all on my husband. That just doesn’t feel fair.
I feel like im drowning in bills and with my health conditions I cant cut the food budget or anything. Gas keeps going up. We still owe for the car repairs.
Its just a lot.
I know people dont have money to buy reborns. But to be honest I sold most of them to people outside the USA previously.
I also know its not a quick way to make easy money. Trust me. I know. But….it would be a boost to us paying off debt to free the money we do make from regular means. Which would be a big help.
So. After my long ramble. Do the Gemini paints actually compare to Genesis? Should I invest in air dry?
Any advice/thoughts welcome. I still have a bunch of Genesis. But…if I cant get a replacement comparable paint I am going to eventually have to go in a different direction.
Im considering investing in air dry? Less fumes? But I have no idea how nor do I know if I can get the same depth of color as Genesis.
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If you have all the colors you need in Genesis right now. …..I would paint what I could and then invest in Gemini or whichever you decide on as needed!!! 
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Does gemini compare? Im not looking forward to having to learn the way another medium works. Thats part of what has stopped me.
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I don’t know…..I will be in that same quandary in another 6 months or so. I am almost out of flesh 08. Other than that, I have enough to last a few a years yet!!!
Can you mix Genesis and Gemini?? 
I mix 08 and 04 for some skintones
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I personally prefer air dry. No fumes, no risk of melting and I can just sit and paint without having to wait. But I made the switch far earlier on when I was still learning.
If you’re short on cash and have all the supplies, why not use those, first? Seems like a shame to have those go to waste.
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I do have a TON of genesis. At the very least I can make a,few babies until its gone. My husband keeps telling me no.
But I’m tired of feeling like a,burden. To be fair he never calls me a burden and its entirely on me and my own feelings. I just don’t like not being able to contribute to paying things off. I may be physically disabled and need a cane and a walker. I may have ptsd and a list of mental and physical issues. But I won’t let that make me feel useless.
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If you think you will enjoy the process I would go for it. You already have what you need so expenses are covered and it’s been a minute since you bought everything so whatever $$ you make will feel like profit
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What supplies do you have left? Can you physically do the painting with your health concerns? Will your making money selling reborns affect your disability benefit?
I would paint with what you have, what ever sculpts you have on hand, what ever paints you still have (assuming that the paint thinner doesn’t bother you and you wear gloves have good ventilation.
Replace colors as you need with the new stuff and just work with it. Re-tooling is expensive. You already know how to use this medium.
Make one or two Babies see how you feel, list them, see how it goes.
Honestly I have been ignoring scammers. I don’t have a magic wand, they will just exist. I can only make a baby I love, hope someone else will too and go from there. Don’t let them steal your sunshine.
I took a break from babies for a bit to work and teach and do a bunch of stuff. I am back painting because I really missed it. I am making with what I have, stuff I didn’t donate (I can’t believe how many baby clothes I had). I am little by little buying a head here, a body there ( just to complete a kit) and told myself no more sculpts until I sell a baby, then I will let myself buy two sculpts.
I want my studio to stay lean.
I do have some of the heat set paints that BB put out after genesis shut down. They are a little slimy, not as easy to mix, but it just takes a little more work to get them where I want. I am using air dry varnish and I am happy with it. I have three tubs of Americana (the purple label) it is old but still good and its lasting forever, it does well over heat set paint.
If making babies makes you happy and you can make a little money why not? I just wouldn’t go shopping.
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I am not on ssi or SSD. Basically because my father died at 60 and I have been disabled since birth. I recieve 75% of what he paid in. Legally I am considered retired. I also get medicare that I pay for each month. So selling dolls doesn’t affect my payments.
As far as my physical stuff, I can absolutely still paint. I have type 2 diabetes that was recently diagnosed. I have to take daily meds and check my sugars. But I am working really hard with diet, meds and exercise to put it into remission.
Thats where the cost of things gets high. I cant eat rice. Potatoes. Beans. Bread or any simple carbs because my blood sugar ends up over 200.
So our groceries bills have gone up as well as the cost of my meds each month.
I do have everything but paint thinner. I have sculpts. Genesis paints. Hair. Needles. I would have to check for bodies and eyes. But for the most part I have everything I need.
I just have to dig the sculpts out of storage. But I do know where my paints and hair and needles are.
I’m not sure how many I have. But I know for certain I have a few sculpts at least.
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If you enjoy painting, paint. I wasn’t around to see your babies and I would love to see your work. Gina is right, we can’t get rid of the scammers. Just focus on what you can control. Maybe a reborning youTube channel would be fun and might also bring in customers and get you recognition for your work.
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I have been finding my photos here and there for years, but the one that got me was when someone set up an ENTIRE Etsy shop using my photos. 
I am so grateful for the people who spot these situations and let me know.
That said, I view them the same way I do flies or mosquitoes. I may have to spray something, use a fan or add netting, but I’m still going to host my cookouts.
Sales might not be as consistently fast as they were in the past, but dolls are still selling. Some of mine have sold within minutes, some have taken longer. Some artists from right on this forum seem to sell all of their dolls quickly, so goals. 
We at least know that it’s possible.
It seems logical to paint a couple of dolls with what you have and see how it goes. I have never used heat set paint, but have been around while everyone has sort of transitioned from Genesis to other products when they run out. They seem to be doing fine, so no doubt you’ll be okay too, and hopefully you will sell a few dolls prior to having to buy much of anything.
Grocery prices definitely suck right now, especially for the diet that you need to follow.
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I still use mostly Genesis but I find the Gemini works perfectly with it. I use all Gemini mediums. I have found Gemini to be the most like Genesis of all the new heatset paints I have tried.
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Here are some of my babies
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I had several people do that to me. Steal my photos and my entire descriptions. It was insane.
For a while it was happening almost as soon as I had a doll listed.
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That 
!
You already have all what you need for several years to paint.
Gemini is compatible with Genesis, but you will not need them for several years.
Downside of it: unfortunately dolls might not be selling as quickly as you think they would, so be patient. But like Cherie said, whatever you’ll make will be a profit vs having stuff sitting unused.
I would monitor Reborns for pricing to get an idea. If you’ve ever sold on Reborns before, it’s not the same as it used to be - everything costs money, but you can do your own SM advertising.
But the main thing that I wanted to say - if you have a desire to paint, then paint. Don’t worry that someone will steal your photos (that happened to most of us), or your dolls will not sell as quickly or as high, just paint 
Good luck!
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Good to know. Im tempted to try air dry but if I.can continue heat set then it would work better because ive used,them for so long.
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Can I ask why he doesn’t want you to paint? If it makes you happy, it fills your day, and possibly every once in a while you can sell a baby… why not? Does he worry you will try to turn it into a business? We need hobbies as humans, and art is great therapy, good for physical and mental health. Does he have hobbies? Not trying to stir up feelings just curious what he is worried about?
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Sounds like you are ready to have some fun!
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I dont think its worry about the financial aspects. I made reborns when I first met him. I sold them when he lived with me while he was unemployed at the beginning of our relationship.
For over two years my reborn doll sales paid the bills. I think its a point of pride for him. He wants to earn and pay for things now. Which is all fine and dandy but I dont see we should take longer than we need to pay them off when I can contribute.
He also saw me go through the emotional ringer between a customer who spent months trashing me online to the point where I had to get a lawyer to make her stop.
And then the people constantly stealing my pictures.
I will say he would never flat out try and stop me. He is always supportive of my hobbies. I make bears. I write romance novels that im too afraid to share. Lol. Hes trying to shield me from the things I dealt with before.
That said. I found my paints and eyes and small stuff today. I just have to get some thinner and get the keys to the storage shed to find my boxes of sculpts.
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What a sweet partner, I hear you, he is protective and wants to take care of you. I know a lot of women who would like a little more of that in their lives!
I am sorry you had to go through all that messy business with the trash talker. That must have been horrible. I don’t understand people trying to undo people, who wins really?
We all went through that picture stealing, grrrrr… chaps my arse more than you know took that with me to therapy for a hot minute.
You write romance novels? How cool is that? Damn girl you do it all. Be honest do they make you cry like a really good happily ever after cry or are the steamy and erotic. You don’t have to answer I am just trying to guess, I love it, you have all kinds of mad skills. I hope they see the light of the on demand printer some day.
Sound like you are ready to paint. Can I suggest you just paint for yourself at first, just for the pleasure of it. If a baby sells bonus, but just pretend it’s your first time making a baby and how scary and exciting it was. Those good vibes can only heal things in your body and mind that need it.
It is like being a kid again.
I Hate Hobby Lobby with a passion but once a year I use to go when thinner was on sale (don’t tell anyone) I think it goes on every two weeks, it will show on the online site. It saves you a lot of money.
Glad you have someone who loves to love and care for you.
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