Linda Maclean's Reborn Dolls : Shyann and Cozy

I am having so much fun making these Reborn Dolls, and I'm getting paid to do it. How lucky is that!
After my visit to South Africa in early 2012 and my discovery of this relatively new art form, I have made two.
The response I get from these dolls in phenomenal, people materialize out of thin air (or so it seems) to hold and cuddle these incredible dolls. An automatic impulse seems to be 'to rock' and 'pat their little bums'. Major kudos have to go to the wonderful Reborn Doll designers out there without whom I could not have achieved this.
The first of my dolls was 'Shyann', who was a total learning curve. There were days when I became quite despondent, and others where I could only smile. One of those many 'smiles' was when one evening in the summer, Mike and I had just had our dinner, and we were watching the sunset over Musquodoboit Harbour.
Shyann's head, which I had painted and baked that day, was sitting on the coffee table in front of us. She still had no eyes and the sun shone through the vinyl and produced a 'demon glow' which radiated out between her eyelids. The Exorcist here we come! Unfortunately I don't have a picture of her, but I did take one of the sunset

One month after starting Shyann, she was completed and what fun we have had with her.

Shyann is weighted at 4.1lbs, and her head has to be supported just like a real child. She has veins, fingernails and hand rooted Mohair on her head, and eyelashes.
I took her off to see my doctor, who is also a family friend, and he spent more time with her than he did with me!
On another occasion, Mike and I left her in the car on a hot day during the summer and watched the stir that was caused by passers by who thought she was real. I did fess up! I think we are becoming known as the 'crazy doll people'.

                                                                        SHYANN

My second Reborn Doll, Cozy, was finished on the 12th November, 2012. A very different Reborn from Shyann, with blonde hair and closed eyes. A true thumb sucker and a cutie. It took me a little while to 'get into' making Cozy, but the end result was well worth it. His skin tone took a while for me to perfect, but I eventually got it right.
I did have a 'spot of trouble' whilst baking his head. I exploded! I was in complete shock after the amount of hours I had put into painting him. Fortunately all was 'fixed' when I phoned the Reborn people and they shipped me another within the hour. I was told that 'these things happen!' So back I went and started to paint him again. I put it down to getting more experience!
Once completed, I took him off to the pharmacy to get him weighed, and once again he was passed from pillar to post. Cozy was posted on Kijiji.ca (Halifax) and was sold within 24 hours. My Reborn 'babies' are becoming celebrities and people are asking when I am going to make the next one.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the wonderful response.

Stay tuned for number three: 'Muffin'.
If you are interested in contacting me, my email address is lindaamaclean@gmail.com