You know how you think you have all the dolls you could possibly need and you’re perfectly content?….(me neither)…
Well, I was perfectly fine with the dolls I had until I saw this little 10″ cutie called Elin, from Iplehouse. I know you all know that obsession that overtakes you and the only thing you can think about is that particular doll that you must have! Well, that’s what happened to me. She was a sweetheart of a doll and you could save $50 when you ordered her if you chose one that had a blank face… no painted details at all! I had seen quite a few artists and some “not artists, but just tryers,” who had done remarkable face-ups and I decided I would like to give it a try. I did a little research and looked at probably hundreds of faces before I decided how I wanted my doll to look. (hopefully look…)
If you’ve never bought a doll with a blank face, it is quite a shock when you open that box… how do you love a faceless doll? You give her a faceup.
I bought a few chalk pastels and watercolor pencils in the face colors that I wanted and then some MSC (Mister Super Clear) to use as a sealer. You have to do a little bit at a time and then spray with the sealer, then do a little more and spray again. The scariest part was just getting started. If you make a mistake you can clean the face all off and start over, but I didn’t want that to happen. Fortunately, my 1st try was okay with me. She wasn’t perfect, I’m sure, but I fell in love with her, imperfections and all.
…then another light layer….
…another layer with a few more details…
…and then I thought it was enough… so I stopped…
Here are a few shots of her after she was finished. I’ve found it’s very easy to love a doll with an adorable face… she’s a keeper!
She does have eyes that can be changed, but I found these blue eyes from a seller in Germany and they are just perfect, so she’s always my blue eyed girl. She is wonderfully poseable and I think very photogenic.
Okay… who’s ready to give it a try?
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
She is absolutely darling! I don’t think I would have the courage to try painting a face. WOW, she is perfect !!!
Thank you Jeannie,
Elin isn’t what I’d call a real “money-maker” for me, but she’s here to stay. I just love her too much to sell her. It was really fun seeing her come to life right before my eyes!
Blessings, Jeanne
She is darling, and I had no idea what an artist you are! Me, a former art teacher, who would be scared to death of doing something like that! Did the eyelashes come with the eyes, or did you put them on afterwards?
Linda,
Wow, another thing we have in common… I’m not an art teacher, but my major in Bible college was Christian Education, and I did my student teaching in a 2nd grade classroom. Art was my favorite subject and the projects we did were always fun!
The eyelashes are for women, and I got them at Wal Mart. I just picked some lashes that were fairly short (because her eyes are so small) and cut the outside ends of the lash about 1/4″ long. Then that tiny 1/4″ strip is glued up under her eye socket. It was a bit tedious to say the least.
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
You did a beautiful job, Jeanne! Can’t believe this was your first try! Amazing!
Thank you Cindy,
It was more scary thinking about doing it, than actually doing it. Once I decided what day I was going to do her, and got all my things together, it was over in a matter of hours and I was thinking to myself, “now what was all the fuss about?”
Thanks for the compliments, Cindy.
Blessings, Jeanne
Wow, I’m so impressed. She is beautiful, and you did a wonderful job. Where did you find such a beautiful doll?
Judi
Judi,
She comes from the Iplehouse company in Korea, I think. If you just google Elin Iplehouse, and then go to Images, you’ll see all kinds of pictures of here where she has been painted by various artists. She is beautiful blank, but when she got some color to her cheeks, she came alive to me!
Thank you so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne thanks so much for putting this up in your Blog as it’s something I have been strongly considering doing! now with the info you have input here, gives me more confidence to give it a try!
Cathie
My gosh, is there any thing you can’t do artistically??? Little Elin is beautiful and a big applause goes to you for just deciding to “up and do her face!” I have been putting off re-wigging an AMG for months….you are an inspiration to get serious and try to do the re-wig.
I see the outfit Addy is wearing here on your site. Oh my goodness!!