How to Create Your Own Newborn Porcelain Dolls
Creating a newborn porcelain doll can be a challenging but satisfying first-doll artist project. Learning the process of preparing and making porcelain doll parts can lead to lifelong hobby. Once the skills have been mastered, you will be able to make any porcelain doll, regardless of size, type or design.You will also be able to repair porcelain dolls by replacing missing or broken parts with new ones. Choose the perfect newborn porcelain doll kit, and start your new life as a doll artist.
Things You'll Need
- Newborn doll parts mold
- Soft brush
- Large rubber bands
- Porcelain slip
- Gallon pitcher
- Clean piece of nylon
- Stiff sponge
- Knife
- Acrylic paints and stains, variety
- Artist's brushes
- Acrylic gloss varnish
- White or craft glue
- Fine-gauge wire
- Wire cutters
- Pliers
- Muslin doll body
- Fiberfill batting
- Doll wig
Instructions
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Choose the mold for the head, arms and legs from a pottery or craft store. A soft-bodied porcelain newborn doll will be easier to make for most beginners.
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Prepare molds for pouring porcelain slip. Remove any dust or debris out of the molds with a soft brush. Secure two-part molds with large rubber bands made specifically for this task.
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Prepare porcelain slip per manufacturer's directions. Place in a one-gallon pitcher, and carefully pour slip into mold through a clean piece of nylon to catch any lumps in the slip. Gently tap mold on a hard surface to ensure that the porcelain slip has filled in all the crevices in the mold and to release any air bubbles. Pour out excess so that only the walls of the mold are coated. Place molds in a location where the extra slip can drip out. Allow slip to harden.
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Carefully release porcelain pieces from the mold. Molds will release easily when slip is thoroughly hardened. This can take one hour to several days. Although solid, the pieces are still fragile at this stage. Fire the molded pieces in a kiln for no more than eight hours. Sand any sharp or jagged edges on the doll parts with a stiff sponge, or trim larger pieces carefully with a knife.
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Paint porcelain newborn doll parts. Paint entire all body parts with a flesh-colored acrylic stain with an all-over brush or sponge. Allow acrylic stain to dry. (Note: Some paints and stains may require several firings in the kiln to achieve desired colors.)
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Apply a pink flesh-tone acrylic stain to the doll's lips. Paint lines that appear naturally on human lips a darker shade of pink with a fine-tip brush. Add a touch of gloss acrylic varnish to the lips to add dimension and realism.
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Paint the fingernails and toenails in a tone slightly lighter than the flesh tone.
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Paint the eyebrows a light shade of brown. Paint tiny, fine-feathered lines to imitate newborn hair for eyebrows.
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Paint the right eye with a white acrylic paint. Allow to dry. Choose a gray or slate-blue shade for the iris. Allow to dry. Add a pupil in dark navy or black. Add tiny flecks of colors to the pupil. Allow to dry. Outline the entire eye in with a very thin line of light brown. Add tiny painted lashes. Allow to dry. Paint the left eye by repeating the steps. Look at doll's reflection in mirror to check that pupils are facing in the same direction. Paint both eyes with a gloss acrylic to add sparkle.
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Assemble the body parts. Turn the manufactured muslin body inside out, and lay it on a flat surface. Place the neck opening to the right; the leg openings to the left. Place the arm and legs in their correct position inside the muslin body so that when the body is turned right-side out, the arms and legs will be in their correct position. The arms/hands should be pointed toward each other when inside the muslin body. The legs should be toes-up with the top of the leg in the muslin “leg” sleeve when inside the muslin body. Check positions before attaching.
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Connect the arms and legs to the muslin body. Each porcelain part will have a flange rim at the end of the arm or leg. Apply white or craft glue to the flange, and wrap thin gauge wire around it several times. Knot the wire, tie it off, and cut off the excess wire with wire cutters. Bend the cut wire edge into the flange with pliers to prevent it from poking out of the muslin body.
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Stuff muslin body with fiberfill batting to obtain the appearance of a plump baby body and to support the weight of the porcelain.
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Attach the head by applying glue to the neck flange. Place head in the neck opening of the muslin body. Double-thread a needle with heavy-duty thread, and proceed to gather the fabric around the neck area. This will attach the head and close the muslin body. Pull thread taunt. Wrap the thread around the neck flange several times. Knot, tie off and cut thread. Allow glue to dry before handling doll.
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Apply hair. Glue wig into place and allow to dry. Cut or trim hair as needed. Some wigs may need to be thinned to look appropriate on a newborn porcelain doll. Dress doll as desired.
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Tips & Warnings
You can add additional details to your newborn porcelain doll by adding some pink blush to the knuckles of the hands and toes. A very light wash of pink and light brown mixed with water can be painted over the wrinkles in the neck and body to bring out the detail.
Baby hair can be very fine and sometimes nonexistent. Instead of a thick wig, paint the hair. Another choice would be to glue individual hairs to the head with white or craft glue. Mohair or human hair works well.
Porcelain is very fragile and is not a child's toy. Care should be taken when handling the newborn porcelain doll.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit bébé 2 image by Nathalie P from Fotolia.com
