Ok so I bought my daughter her first reborn and she’s in love. While I do think the doll is AMAZING for the price, I AM a perfectionist and want to get into this craft myself so… after spending some time on this forum I realize that some minor improvements can be made, probably my myself. I’m going to post some pictures and I want y’all to be as brutally honest with me about what you think, as professional reborn artists and collectors, could be better with this doll. I have tried with the hair, I don’t know what else to do there. It’s untamable. But I am open to suggestions. She does look a little like she needs some Benadryl for those hives but hey, maybe she just has sensitive skin? She’s got very reddish undertones which are very hard to capture with the lighting. I tried with the flash in the last picture but it lightens her up ALOT. But, I can’t do anything about that for now because I don’t have paint or mohair or the skills to fix those things. And maybe I don’t need to. I might just need some advice on how to tame the hair. I did want mottling but it seems that there is just veining and blushing. The blushing was supposed to be light but I think it’s a little on the medium to heavy side. Tell me if I’m being too critical, please.
BUT!!! I do have glass beads, baby fat pellets, and the angel hair poly fill. I can also order a new body. She already has glass beads, poly fill and the fancy fat inserts (you know the chicken cutlet kind)!
This is the Ariella sculpt by Reva Schick. Sold to me as a 23” doll but she’s actually supposed to be a 22” so if I were to replace her body, what size should I order? I’m also interested in getting her a front loading legs cloth body because the way her legs lay aggravate my daughter and these aren’t as easy to hide in the diaper.
Oh and I need zip ties that will work with the cloth bodies, where can I grab those easily? Walmart? Home Depot? JoAnn? What size, etc?
Thanks for your brutal honesty in advance. Any and all recommendations are highly appreciated!!!
Let’s start with the hair. Take a spray bottle with water and add some hair conditioner, give it shake and brush the hair forward in the front as if you were giving her bangs. Many of us root the hair from the hairline towards the swirls, so instead of brushing it back, brush it forward.
A 22” or 23” body would be suitable- 3/4 arms and full front loading legs.
The coloring doesn’t look bad to me, it just looks beginner level- however, the photos are taken indoors and aren’t too bright- maybe take her outside once you tame that hair and give us another look at her
This kit itself is expensive- over $100, so for materials and clothing, the artist probably spent about $200 to make the doll.
She is a cute sculpt! I want to see her with her hair tamed!
Good luck!
I can style the hair and get it to look good while it’s wet. But once it dries it fluffs back up and it’s a mess again. I considered adding a little soft hair wax to it but I wasn’t sure if that would hurt the mohair?
All I have is some of this, it always works well for my little boy and his hair never feels waxy.
It says Free and Clean, no parabens, titanium dioxide, nanoparticles, lavender, tea tree, petroleum, oils, musk, propylene glycol, sulfates, gluten, soy, or dairy. E.U. Compliant, 100% Vegan, Biodegradable Wonder what it does have in it then
I think it will be fine. She might look great in a cute headband, it will help tame that hair a bit. You can finger curl the hair before you set it and it should look nice, it is an adorable sculpt. Not super clear about the painting, kinda hard to tell in photos.
Don’t worry about the legs too much, a diaper and a cute outfit will make them not so annoying, they do look a little long for that baby, A new body may be a big improvement.
Yeah, I think the new body with some extra weight and support in her neck to help hold her head up will be just what we need. I think she could use some more hair as her hairline is a little high, so I MAY consider doing that. I just need to find a body that is in stock somewhere.
The hair looks to be low quality and appears not to be rooted from the cut ends. It is possibly even rooted from the middle of the shaft. This means you will always be brushing hair against the grain and that is why it fuzzes up so bad when it is dry. Leave in conditioner like the spray on kind from Pantene will help but nothing will solve it.
I’m wondering if I should reroot her because it doesn’t seem to have a pattern to it, it always just sticks straight up and won’t lay flat. I’m going to watch some videos and see how hard it would be. I don’t mind investing the time, I just don’t want to ruin her. If I take out what is already there, can I reroot in the same spots and just angle it differently?
Try swirling her hair with your fingers maybe it is supposed to be curly. I like the head on sleeping babies floppy because they are in total relax mode. I put weight towards the front so that they will flop forward instead of back. Good Luck she is a cute baby.
If you want to re-root her I would remove the old hair. If you put new good hair in with it the old hair is still going to be frizzy and hard to to style. Honestly, you might be better off just letting your daughter play with her as is and then buying a nicer reborn or making one yourself.
Several years ago I purchased the Ariella head and the head was a hard vinyl which made it very difficult to root. I got discussed and set her aside and until today her head is still stashed away somewhere waiting until I can figure out to root her or buy her a wig. I only paid $8 for her head so I didn’t lose much. I’ve just chalked her up as a learning experience with different types of vinyls…
She’s got very reddish undertones which are very hard to capture with the lighting. I tried with the flash in the last picture but it lightens her up ALOT. But, I can’t do anything about that for now because I don’t have paint or mohair or the skills to fix those things. And maybe I don’t need to. I might just need some advice on how to tame the hair. I did want mottling but it seems that there is just veining and blushing. The blushing was supposed to be light but I think it’s a little on the medium to heavy side. Tell me if I’m being too critical, please.
Wonder what it does have in it then 
