Magnolia

 I was always curious about cuddle babies, and I finally ordered stuff to make one when I needed to get my total high enough for free shipping.  I always thought it would be quick, because it's only one thing that needs to be painted.  I was wrong.  Cuddle babies are just a new and fun thing to learn about.  A lot of the cuddle babies you see are older kits.  Older kits are often made of less desirable vinyl.  When I got Magnolia's head, it was grey.  What's the opposite of grey.  Nothing.  There is not a process for neutralizing grey.  You have to first overcome the grey, and then balance out whatever remains.  Because of this,  Magnolia wasn't high on my list of dolls to paint.  But an email from Carter's would change all of that!

I love a baby in overalls!  A regular reborn can't wear them because the dye would destroy the vinyl.  But a cuddle baby doesn't have that problem!  Yes, you have to be careful not to let the denim rub all over her face, but that's easy enough, right?  Magnolia's face, with her adorable nose, and her little round head seemed like the perfect fit for the super cute overalls.

I painted, and I painted and I painted.  It took me a couple of weeks to finish her because I just kept looking at her and trying to figure out what colors needed to come next.  After a while, I finally started to see progress.  Once I put her eyes in, I felt like we were on our way.  Before I knew it, we were down to the last few touches.  I had already gotten her body completed, and even dressed, so I would periodically prop her head on there just to see her.  I was enamored with her!  And yes, I had a headless doll with overalls on, just sitting around.

I can definitely see things that I would do differently, but I'm really pretty happy with the way she turned out.  She's very sweet to hold and cradle, but she's also very adorable to just look at and adore.  And she's obviously fun to dress up!