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The Porcelain Doll Making Supplies Needed To Create A Vintage Collection Of Your Own

By Pamela Mitchell


If you are a potter who also loves dolls, you may have already considered the idea of creating your own line of vintage style babies. It is surprisingly easy to make one of these dolls, and very hard to do it well. Porcelain doll making supplies are not terribly expensive, with the exception of the kiln you'll need to fire the ceramic parts.

You should do some planning before you start buying supplies. You need to decide how big the baby is going to be. That will determine the size of the head mold you purchase. You will need a container of slip, the water clay mixture that will become the ceramic head, legs and arms.

You can choose from a wide variety of skin tones. They range from pure alabaster to ebony black. Your first efforts should probably have a soft body instead of a ceramic one. This will make putting it together much easier. You can find molds online for fairly reasonable prices.

Molds are easy to find online, and most of them are reasonably priced. Once you have the slip in the mold, it has to be placed in your kiln and fired for eight hours. You do not want to over bake the mold because it can crack and burn. Once out of the kiln, you let it cool completely before trying to remove the head from the mold. The next step requires fine sandpaper. You use that to smooth any rough spots on the ceramic.

You paint the head next. You will need good quality paint brushes and acrylic paint to do the job. The head must be completely painted in the skin tone you picked. Don't be surprised if it takes a second coat to get the rich color you want. After you have the skin the way you want it, you should add warm, pink tones to the cheeks and lips. If you paint the eye socket area with a slightly darker tone, you'll have a more dramatic eye.

You'll need glass eyes the right size for the eye sockets and the right color for the baby's facial features and skin tone. The eyelashes are attached after the glass eyes are loaded into the sockets. Super glue will secure the eyes and the eyelashes.

If you are making a soft body doll that you want to be able to pose, you want to fill the bottom of the body with beans. Experts suggest stuffing the baby with armature instead of batting for easier posing. You can purchase a wig for the hair or paint it directly on the head. For the most realistic look, you will have to root each strand using a needle.

The arms and legs are attached to the body by sewing them on. After that, all that is left is to dress the baby. Ready made clothes work well on life size babies. Smaller versions made need handmade clothes. For this you will need to purchase fabric, needle and thread, and a vintage pattern.




About the Author:



By Pamela Mitchell


If you are a potter who also loves dolls, you may have already considered the idea of creating your own line of vintage style babies. It is surprisingly easy to make one of these dolls, and very hard to do it well. Porcelain doll making supplies are not terribly expensive, with the exception of the kiln you'll need to fire the ceramic parts.

You should do some planning before you start buying supplies. You need to decide how big the baby is going to be. That will determine the size of the head mold you purchase. You will need a container of slip, the water clay mixture that will become the ceramic head, legs and arms.

You can choose from a wide variety of skin tones. They range from pure alabaster to ebony black. Your first efforts should probably have a soft body instead of a ceramic one. This will make putting it together much easier. You can find molds online for fairly reasonable prices.

Molds are easy to find online, and most of them are reasonably priced. Once you have the slip in the mold, it has to be placed in your kiln and fired for eight hours. You do not want to over bake the mold because it can crack and burn. Once out of the kiln, you let it cool completely before trying to remove the head from the mold. The next step requires fine sandpaper. You use that to smooth any rough spots on the ceramic.

You paint the head next. You will need good quality paint brushes and acrylic paint to do the job. The head must be completely painted in the skin tone you picked. Don't be surprised if it takes a second coat to get the rich color you want. After you have the skin the way you want it, you should add warm, pink tones to the cheeks and lips. If you paint the eye socket area with a slightly darker tone, you'll have a more dramatic eye.

You'll need glass eyes the right size for the eye sockets and the right color for the baby's facial features and skin tone. The eyelashes are attached after the glass eyes are loaded into the sockets. Super glue will secure the eyes and the eyelashes.

If you are making a soft body doll that you want to be able to pose, you want to fill the bottom of the body with beans. Experts suggest stuffing the baby with armature instead of batting for easier posing. You can purchase a wig for the hair or paint it directly on the head. For the most realistic look, you will have to root each strand using a needle.

The arms and legs are attached to the body by sewing them on. After that, all that is left is to dress the baby. Ready made clothes work well on life size babies. Smaller versions made need handmade clothes. For this you will need to purchase fabric, needle and thread, and a vintage pattern.




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