I’ve only actually been reborning for a month, but I’ve been a doll person since the day I was born (my grandparents already had my first doll waiting for me when I was born lol.) I fell in love with reborns about 3 years ago, but I had to wait a year until I could afford to actually buy one (I have four now, 2 pre loved who need a bit of tlc which I’m hoping to do when I’ve had a bit more practice, and 2 from Sunbeambabies.)
Being Autistic, dolls were probably one of the first Special Interests I had, and now reborns have become sort of a separate one of their own lol My family are probably sick of hearing me talk about the next kits I want, not to mention helping me find room for all the babies I hoping to work on lol We don’t have space for me to have a doll room (as much as I’d like one) so one corner of my bedroom is currently known as Nursery Corner, complete with babies travel cot, bouncy chair and a vintage dolls pram.
Those cakes!!! So BEAUTIFUL!
I agree! I just wouldn’t want them to get smelly from smokers or ppl with strong perfumes. Not that I would be ready for shows 
I just keep a receiving blanket to wrap them in and it gets all the yuck and not the baby. Holding one that’s weighted nicely and feels like a real baby works wonders!
Hope you like long stories. I began reborning in October 2018. I have always been creative and naturally artistic. I spent hours drawing and painting and coloring. As a teen, I prepared to go to art school, but was told I would starve or, at best, end up as a teacher (haha) and that dissuaded me. I went into the sciences instead. I worked in infectious disease as a government cellular biologist for 4 years in Oregon. Two kids and a divorce later, I headed back home to my mom in Georgia for some serious healing. My artistic expression shrunk to adult coloring books, which were relaxing, but limiting. Needing a job, I became a teacher and found my calling. I now teach 7th grade life science and couldn’t be happier with that career. We do some kind of science themed art in class at least once a week. With all of that turmoil, art took a back seat in my life. Then, I met a wonderful man with two amazing kids of his own. His daughter was turning 9 and absolutely loved babies, but had never had a real “doll.” I remembered the only doll I ever liked as a kid was my Lee Middleton baby, so I decided to get her one. The only place I could find one was Ebay. That’s where I saw my first reborn. I was captivated by their realism. She got her gently used LM for her birthday and I got a Saskia for mine.
If I could only ever keep one baby, it would still be this Saskia. After countless hours of reading and watching YouTube videos, I got the starter kit from Macpherson’s with a David Kewey. They were running a promotion and I got a Jamie Kewey for free as a surprise kit. I sat down with Kim’s videos (Custom Doll Baby) and churned out these two:
I felt so happy and so at peace making these babies. It was combining the zen of coloring with my own dammed up need to create my own art. I sold those two to buy my next kits: Darren, Shyann, Quinn, and Sansa.
Round 3 saw Arya, Jaycee, and Tanner. All three sold quickly. Arya was my biggest sale as she was actually priced to keep (I was hoping her price was so high that I could hold on to her for a while, a strategy that is letting me “keep” Sansa). Jaycee was bought by my sneaky grandmother, who turned around and gave her back to me because she knew I loved her so much.
Recently, I hit a couple of frustrating bumps with Jennie and my Second Darren
I am ready to climb back on with Joseph, Reese and Sunny(!!!), who will be a keeper for me as she is my dream baby. I personally can’t wait to see where I am going with this next. I want to continue to improve and get to the point where I can reborn using more expensive materials. I still feel like my rooting doesn’t merit anything but Ruby Red mohair, for example. I will have my first vendor exhibit at our local craft show in April. I am also shooting for ROSE 2020 (as a student, not a vendor). Hope this wasn’t too long, but then again, no one is obligated to read it 
Welcome home!! Your babies are gorgeous!
Thank you! I still have a lot more to learn 
I enjoy the art. I love the delight that I see in people’s faces when they see my babies. I hate the selling process.
My goal is to sell them for enough to merit spending the money on better quality materials and growing my skills. For example, right now I root with Ruby Red mohair. I am getting better with it with every doll; however, I do not believe that at the current rate/price that my dolls are selling that I can upgrade to premium mohair. I also want to save money to go to ROSE to take classes. Because of my family budget, though, I can only put money towards dolly things that I have earned by selling other dolly things. It’s a deal that my husband and I made when he bought me the starter kit and my first two doll kits
Unfortunately with him being out of work since early December, a lot of the profit that I had made reborning went to our bills. Reborning is a rewarding, but expensive hobby to a teacher and mother of 4 
When I began I had two major problems: no money and I didn’t know how to do it. But, my son and his wife had gone to the Philippines for two months and had the gall to take my baby grandson with them. LOL I missed that baby so much and I started checking out reborns on ebay. I wanted one that looked like Junior.
I had gone to art school as a young girl then landed a job in an art studio, and my portfolio was full pictures of babies. I considered myself a reincarnated Mary Cassatt. So I used an old Berjusa doll which I reborned using YouTube videos to learn and I sold it. Then I purchased a BB kit, tried again, and finally was able to afford the Sparrow head from Secrist which I til this day believe is the image of my grandson. That started it for me. He is still my favorite doll. I have to add that I have redone this baby three times since I first made him because I learned new methods. He now has the posable cuddle body…because he’s the one I cuddle the most.
What type of paints do you use? I have spent over 200$ on paints and they give me a bad result on the two dolls I have been working on. Advice would be spots. Thanks
I’ve been reborning for 6 years. First discovered them on eBay in 2011. Began studying how to make them in 2012, for a year, before trying it myself. Started out with air dry paints first, using old Berenguer dolls I bought cheap on eBay. Then moved to BB kits and began using GHSPs. Been using GHSPs ever since. I’m still working at making each baby look as real as possible. Still learning new things.
I use GHSP. I got all of my basic colors from BB, but my favorite custom colors (sweetheart lips, vein, creases) are from MacPherson. Those colors are a different consistency from BB and the vein especially is more of a cyan.
My granddaughter discovered reborns on YouTube last year and fell in love with them. When we finally got to see one in person I was determined to paint her one. I ordered a kit and the supplies and made her first, little Rosebud who she named Hazel. It was so much fun that I ordered another kit and another and another…! I just can’t stop. I haven’t quite figured it all out yet but I am loving the journey.
I use several different brands of high quality acrylic air dry paints…artist paints, not the kind for crafts. Liquitex, Daler Rowney, etc.