It seems life is just so busy and I just am not as in love with reborning as I used to be. I keep buying kits and painting some but I have so many issues with neck, shoulder, arm and back pain from disc issues that I have to limit myself on the amount of time I can spend painting now. I usually end up in pain the next day if I paint all day on my days off like I used to. It has all made me question if I want to continue this much longer. I have counted my kits up and I have 20 vinyl kits that are not keeper kits and a few silicones. I already paid my deposit for DOTW but this may well be my last year. I just donāt knowā¦. I feel more interested in sewing and other things these days but then I am limited in how much time I can spend sitting doing that too.
Iām sorry Angie, life and age sure can put a damper on us canāt it? I havenāt painted a doll in so long Iām sure Iāve forgotten how. I have SO Many kits, I really need to go through them and sell some of them. I have loved dolls all my life and itās weird how that is fading now, I guess itās just part of getting old. I have never sold my dolls and I donāt have the confidence to do it or the āknow howā. Iām not computer literate and I donāt think Iād ever be able to figure out how to sell them on Reborns.com since so many of our members have trouble. I wish my great grandkids lived closer to me so they could help, but alas, itās only me. Sorry I got a bit off track there. I hope if you do decide to āgive upā reborning that you donāt āgive upā on the forum. So many of our long ago members donāt come by very often now. Please stick around, we need your knowledge and friendship!!
Amen to that Lynnā¦and Iāll add the covid years jerked a knot in peoples tails also.
Some days I enjoy painting the dolls so muchā¦other daysā¦meh 
Lynnā¦Iāve seen your dolls and they are beautiful.
Learning reborns is a little challenging, but if i can do itā¦i KNOW you could!!!
Angieā¦I also know what you mean about interest in other crafts!!! I have a craft accumulation problemā¦I really want to try a bigger quilt than a baby quilt, i love painting and want to get some canvases done, I have 7 pencil portraits that have been waiting on my desk for over years nowā¦
ā¦and then there is watercolor which I LOVE and also crocheting ā¦and ā¦of courseā¦i will NOT just pick ONEā¦i want to do them ALL 
I also agree with Lynnā¦if you do slow down on reborning, please donāt be a stranger here.
We love ya!!! 
I am hoping this is just end of the year duldrums. Honestly, I have normally taken the month of November and December off from painting in the past but I feel like this year I need to try to be a little productive to offset the fact I have slowed down.
I wouldnāt quit. Give yourself time. Life feels very negative and out of control. To me at least. Its in the air. I wouldnāt make a decision until things settle. Every day I turn on the news is more doom and gloom. People around me all seem so angry. Hopefully things get better.
Maybe take a break and see how it goes. I do understand the frustration of not being able to get your dolls completed as fast as you normally would. It seems as if it takes me forever. I can only sit and do things in increments unless not even begin to mention the photo shoots and the outfit changes. I am so exhausted after I do that. Iām usually out of commission for a day or two afterwards. So just give it time and focus on the ones that you really wanna paint and put some time and attention on yourself and other hobbies.
Same here. I lost my way since the pandemic. Have unfinished kits sitting since then. I just donāt want to get back into it. I donāt want to give anything up but lack the energy or interest in doing it! I feel yah on what tour saying for yourself. It also just doesnāt feel the same as far as the excitement of creating something. But I still find myself wanting to buy stuff. 
I hear you. Itās like the saying goes āThis getting old aināt for sissiesā.
Iām the queen of not finishing anything. I havenāt painted in so long,I honestly forgot how to. I have painted parts all over and it seems that whenever I get to that point to get serious, something else happens. Past several months a major life change and Iām still trying to put myself back together. Slowly getting situated and hopefully will see some progress soon.
Good luck with your healing, it certainly takes a great deal of energy.
I have the same issue the world atound us is also not stimulating 
And i have worked form when i was 16 til now and just stopped working !And than i get so angry and think i worked al the time and look up were i end up now 
I am 65 now and my body is broken from al the work i have a new knee my back is not good form osteoperoses
And i can not paint for long also there are other things to do in the house also .Also when your not enjoy it lat it sit for a while do others things you can do that wil not hurt you .That is what i am doing and later on i wil try again .Hope you wil feel better soon and try to do the other things you love 
Awwwā¦Inekeā¦I am so sorry that you are struggling.
This getting old business is a hard thing.
If you are like meā¦my mind feels young and wants me to continue on doing thingsā¦ ā¦and when I try to do what I used to doā¦my body tells me to stop itā¦NOW.
Soā¦like youā¦I do what I can or want to doā¦then when it starts hurtingā¦I quit nd do something else for a whileā¦or just go put my jammies on and crash at 6 pm
But Inekeā¦we canāt stop the process..
And tho I grumble and complain about getting oldā¦there is still SO much to enjoy !!!
A beautiful blue sky
A brilliant crimson sunrise
A hug from a child or grandchild
Flowers
Coffee 
Listening to the birds in the trees
Our pets
Our families
Our friends here on the forum
Just soooo many good things outweigh the bad!!!
I had my 6 most check-up yesterday to go over my meds, tests I have had etc. My blood pressure was 128/70. My pain levels were not at their worst but not at the best either. I am finishing off a long 2 weeks today of working with my co-worker gone on vacation so I have been very busy with not much rest. The doctor discussed the possibility of trying another medication for my nerve pain but I told him I am so skeptical because everything we have tried so far has such strong sedating side effects that I have not been able to function and cannot take them. Even though one actually took away all my pain, it knocked me for a loop and I am not willing to spend my life sedated. So then he ends with, āWell Angie, you are doing as well as can be expected.ā I said I was not sure if that was a compliment or not! He laughed. So here we are. He gave me a script for another drug to try if I get so bad that I want to try it for relief and see if it sedates me. I am not ready to jump on that right now. Instead I have been continuing with chiropractic, herbs for inflammation and muscle spasms (Inflammatone, Formula 303 and sometimes CBD from hemp oil), and deep tissue massages when I can afford them.
Have you thought about THC? I have a lot of patients and a few friends who have success with it for pain relief. You donāt need to smoke it even, thereās a lot of options for people. Idk but what I hear commonly is that people take a dose in the evening and then sleep, it can be a smaller dose, not enough to be āhighā though for during the day. But everyoneās different, it may make you tired but I wouldnāt qualify it as sedating especially in small doses.
In Georgia limited medical use is allowed in the form of cannabis oil containing less than 5% THC. We can get the Delta-8 THC I think. I have not pursued it though.
Soooo adorable!!! She is going to love it!!
I am jumping on here after a long making babies rest. I got caught up doing other art and kinda walked away from painting babies for a while. I thinned out my studio, gave about 3 thousand dollars worth of new baby clothes away (donated them to a mom and babies resource center). Attempted to sell a few kits and didnāt follow through.
With sales slowing down, the forum kinda quiet, the whole knock-off-business, I kinda felt like I needed space.
I did, and guess what, I really missed it, I am a little embarrassed to say it out loud. I have painted down almost all my kits, I may have about 15 kits, most of them uglies I just didnāt want to paint, some are just parts and pieces.
One day I just sat down and started painting for fun, for myself. No rush, not wondering if anyone would like it, not thinking about sales at all.
I made four babies for an Annual āwhat scares youā art show I do for the Art Collective here and they were sorta awesome, just fun spooky babies.
I may list them or not, not sure.
Just paint for yourself, donāt do long hours or long nights, just put something funny on your computer and relax, enjoy the process. Use your sewing skills to make some costumes or some cocoons, some pretty dressesā¦
I hope its not your last year but if it is go out happy, make stuff you never have just because.
Like you my shoulders, neck and eye strain get to me. I hyper focus, but I am working on it.
Oh I would love to see your latest creations! I always enjoy seeing your work.
Today I baked bread. I love milling my own wheat and making my own bread. I bought a Zojirushi bread oven that I have been using to make 1 loaf in for just me and hubby. However, today I got out my Bosch machine and made a large batch. I forgot that the amount of dough I made would make 5 large loaves and instead I put it in 4 pans so I have huge loaves of bread! I usually freeze the extra to have for later so in this case I cut each loaf in half and froze them in halves.
Hey Gina, nice to see you on here again. Weāve missed you and your stories, not to mention your babies!! Try to hang around more often. Iāll bet itās nice to have a āthinnerā art room. Stick around!!