HELP Y’ALL!!! I have never had this much difficulty setting eyes in a sculpt but LULU is making me crazy. She is supposed to have 22mm eyes. I started with a set of flat back glass eyes. They do not seat properly. Next I tried the full round eyes, first 22mm, then 20mm. They don’t fit either. Next, I tried Eyeco Polyglass half round eyes in both sizes - no luck. I am down to BB 20mm eyes. If these will not seat properly I am at a complete loss. I am supposed to ship this one on Tuesday. Anyone have any suggestions??
Hi Bette…It is the eye sockets…one of then is ‘wonky’ (can’t remember which eye it is - i think the left one if the doll is facing away from you??) Not sure if you want to do this but I had to cut the vinyl socket almost completely away…just left a lip wide enough to position the eye and hold it and used E6000 to secure them in place…I have made 3 of them in the past…all had the bad eye sockets so I am not sure if it was a problem when sculpted or in the pouring…I had forgotten about that…ugggghhhhh…very annoying…I did used 22mm flat back eyes…and once they were set I glued a piece of felt over them using e6000 as well so that they will not move or come out. Worked very well but a bit frustrating…
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It is almost as though the eye socket itself is malformed. The eye will not go deep enough into the socket so it does not make contact with the vinyl right behind the eye. I can push it forward enough but when I let go of it, the eye pulls back just a bit and leaves space that is very visible. I have never seen anything like it. I tried 18mm eyes a little while ago and they will not fit either. Right now I am trying to find something to weight the eye with that will hold it far enough in the socket so I can let the glue dry. My fingers are not long enough to hold the eye in place.
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Thanks, Starr. I cut away most of it already but will try to take away a bit more and use the E-6000 as well as the felt.
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Try heating up the socket with a hot water bottle or heat gun, then place the eyes and let it cool around them… May or may not work lol…
I’m working on Lulu now and just got her eyes in & lashes on ~ I used the ones BB recommends and had no problems but the kit I have is one of the new ones, so maybe I got lucky and missed out on the wonky eye thing?? Here’s a picture of mine:
My biggest problem with her has been that TONGUE…OMG…guess I can forget doing the Celeste challenge, I’m sure I’d ruin her! YIKES – see what I mean:
I’ve read and re-read every tongue tutorial I can find and STILL can’t get it right!
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I think they fixed the eye issues on the new Lulu kits. Or at least they said they did 
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Karen, your Lulu is perfect! Mine is one of the new kits, or at least it was sold to me as one of the new kits. I had the old one with the wonky eye, but sold it a while back. I bought two when they restocked Lulu with the new ones so I expected there to be no issue. Looking at it closely though, the left eye is smaller than the right, so maybe they sent one of the old ones by mistake. Regardless, I can’t return it because it is already painted and rooted. And I’m in a bit of a time crunch because I need to ship this one. It was ordered before they remade the kits so she had to wait for the new ones to come in. I really can’t tell her she is going to have to wait even longer so I’ll just have to figure out how to make this one work. I am in the process of shaving down the vinyl on the inside of the eye to make the eye seat properly. It worked on one of the eyes and I am still working on the other. Wish me luck…say a prayer…light a candle…cross your fingers and toes…whatever it takes.
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I am sooooo sorry you are having to go to so much trouble and I hope you are able to get her eyes in. I would still let BB know and maybe they’ll send you a replacement kit for all the grief they’ve caused. Worth a try. I know it’s too late for your customer but at least you could have a new one for next time.
(((HUGS)))
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I did the old Lulu and had a little trouble with the left eye. I used the BB recommended eye size but finally made it work. 
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Nothing more frustrating then not being able to finish a baby. You are very talented so I’m sure you’ll get it.
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I have had to cut sockets away to position side glancing eyes. It’s not hard and it works fine. I put some felt over the back to be very secure and so they can’t get pushed inward easily and I also use E6000. I stuff the head really well too so there is just no wiggle room for the eyes but haven’t had a bit of a problem anyway. The glue is very strong.
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Her eyes look absolutely beautiful Karen !!
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Is there a picture I missed, Karen?
Thank you Melanie. 
Okay, so I shaved down the socket to make the eyes fit. They are set, finally, and drying. I will finish this little one tomorrow. Who’s up for margaritas?
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Do you make them virgin?
Bette needs a nice strong margarita tonight! 
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Drinking a virgin margarita is sort of like tying a game…a big ol’ waste of time with no satisfaction.
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I posted a pic of her head and also one of her mouth ~ just 2 pictures