Those of us in the reborn hobby spend a lot of time, money, and effort buying the reborn supplies thoroughly reborn our little dolls We need to use a lot of tools and chemicals (paints, glues, etc.) and in the case of being reborn, what you don’t know MAY hurt you, or more specifically, your doll!
Here is my list of five ways to ruin your reborn baby doll, hoping it will save you from these “oh no!” that twist your stomach. Moments many hapless reborns have faced in the past (and sadly, in the present):
Oh no! #1
Try gluing eyelashes to your doll’s head with clear nail polish.
First of all, it’s really not a very good adhesive. Secondly, if you make a mistake (let’s be real, it happens) to remove the eyelashes again you will have to follow step number two on my list:
Oh no! #2
Use nail polish remover on your wrist.
Regular nail polish remover contains acetone as a solvent, which can damage plastics and vinyl. Of course you know that our dolls are made of plastic and vinyl. You should especially avoid this chemical around the doll’s eyes because they can easily break down when in contact with acetone. Now it’s even clearer why you shouldn’t use nail polish to bond your lashes together?
So you can’t just use a good clear nail polish to bond those lashes together. What else could be a good adhesive? Hm… well, if you want to ruin your doll, you can try this:
Oh no! #3
Use super glue on your doll.
Are you ready for the terrifying truth? Super glue WILL MELT most doll eyes. That’s not something you want to happen. But maybe you are thinking that you can use it on another part of your wrist? Do not do it! Unless you want to ruin your doll, of course. Super glue can damage plastics and acrylics.
You may be thinking… I know! Hot glue!
Sorry honey, it can’t be done! (can you say that I studied English?)
Oh no! #4
Use hot glue on your doll.
Again, this is weathered, decomposed and damaged plastic and vinyl.
Does your husband or teenage son like to build model cars? Why not use that glue? It’s plastic glue, after all. No! The plastic of the hot rod and fighter plane is hard. Vinyl and plastic baby doll is soft. So if you want to ruin your doll:
Oh no! #5
Use modeling glue on your reborn baby doll.
Look, oh no! #4 for the reason why.
OH YEAH!
So what kind of adhesives should you use to make your reborn baby doll?
The favorite choice of glue in the reborn supplies The seasoned reborn’s toolkit is Aleene’s Tacky Glue. This can be found at many craft stores. You can also use special E6000 craft glue, which I would recommend if you are making a doll hoping to sell it, as it is a higher quality glue with a very strong bond.
So there it is 5 ways you can ruin your reborn baby doll!
Of course, I hope you use this information so you don’t have the same “oh no!” moments others have had while working on a renaissance project. I hope you will NOT ruin any dolls and instead create adorable, lifelike baby dolls that will bring smiles to the faces of those who hold them for many years to come, without any of these “oh no’s.”
Do you like reborn dolls? Read more about reborn babies at