Just as there are stages in the delivery of a real baby, there are also stages in the delivery of a reborn baby. We would like to share with you the stages that your reborn goes through before winding up on your doorstep. If after viewing this page you would like to discuss trying your hand at reborning, you may contact me via the contact link at the bottom of this page. In the first step of this amazing process we help the babies relax from their long journey to the nursery by giving them a warm bubble bath. The bonus of their bath in warm water is that it rinses away all traces of dirt or soil left on the vinyl from the factory. Once our lil’ angels come out of the bath it is time to air dry. We air dry the vinyl - not towel dry. The reason for this is we do not want to leave any little strings or bits of fuzz on the vinyl before painting. As our lil’ angels are drying I take that time to set up my work station. Setting out paints, brushes, paper towels, and other items may not be necessary if you are able to keep your craft area set up. Once I have set up completely the magic begins. I begin painting these Sweet Lil’ Angels one layer at a time. Depending on the sculpt I will begin painting the head or arms first. Each completed reborn has at least Each completed reborn has a minimum six layers of paint. I use Genesis Heat Set Paints as well as Secrist Authentic Reborn Paints.  The first layer of paint I place on each reborn is the veins. When completing each layer of paint the vinyl bakes at 265 degrees for 7 minutes. It is very important to keep your oven temperature even, as it is easy to over heat the vinyl, thus ruining the doll. After allowing the vinyl to cool down it is time for another layer of paint. After the vein painting is done, we then go to our first skin tone. I then apply a blush and another skin tone.  I bake the vinyl between each skin tone and blush, remembering to allow it to cool completely before applying more paint. This process is repeated until I achieve the exact skin tone I am looking for. Here you see the tiny poly pellets used to weight the baby’s limbs. Then I use #2 glass pellets to weight the body and head.  I always use new products in my babies and NO SAND. Placing the pellets in a stocking allows them to move freely while keeping them contained for safety. Once I have filled the stocking I place polyfill around the stocking to finish filling out the baby. After completing that step all that is left is to assemble and dress our newest lil’ angel! These little bundles can be seen on the adopted babies page. They are the Valentine twins! Check back soon for additional photos and descriptions in our Labor and Delivery Department!