How to detangle/restore doll's hair.

Now here is a good trick for someone who wants to quickly restore their doll's hair whether it is for a child's play doll or your own collectable.

The first thing you need to know is that you can't save everyone. Sorry! I know this is a cruel reality but the truth is that sometimes the hair is just too far gone. However, I have a very difficult time giving up. I am committed that way.

So let's assess your doll. Most doll hair is made up of a plastic called saran. There are other types of doll hair but they are all generally a form of plastic. This will work on your child's baby doll, Barbie, your collectable dolls, etc... Even My Little Pony has plastic hair.

The first thing I do is shampoo the hair with regular dish washing liquid. This is a harsh detergent so it is going to get out anything that might be in the hair. Often the factory hair will have a form of hairspray or a sticky substance that holds the hair in place. You want to remove all of that and dish washing liquid will do the trick. I will wash the hair a couple of times just to make sure it is clean and free of residue. After that I condition it and comb it through. If the hair still feels like there is something in it try a little baking soda mixed with your dish washing liquid.

If the hair is too far gone, matted and really terrible you can always use a little oil in the hair to help comb it. If you do this you will need to re-shampoo and condition it after.

So depending on the condition of the hair your doll should now be restored. You can allow the hair to air dry or blow it dry with on a medium heat setting with a blow dryer. Blow dryers on hot will burn your doll hair. Melt it! So be careful with that blow dryer. If you don’t feel confident about it let it air dry. You can always set your doll in front of a fan.

If your doll’s hair still looks icky even though you can now comb through it then you need the boiling water method. This is after you have washed, conditioned and combed through it. I use a glass measuring cup to boil two cups of water, takes about 4 to 5 minutes in the microwave. Next you set your doll upright in the sink and pour the boiling hot water right over the top of the head. Immediately after comb the hair in place. Be very careful not to burn yourself. You can always hold your doll with a towel. The hot water will smooth out the plastic in most cases but remember I told you not every doll can be saved.

Never dip your doll’s head or hair in the boiling water. This will ruin it permanently. No saving that.
Your doll should be almost as good as new by now. You might have to trim it with scissors to clean up scraggly edges.

If you have a terrific doll and the hair is simply not fixable, the next step would be to reroot your doll with brand new hair. I have a DVD on both rerooting doll hair and restyling doll hair available on eBay or my website.

For more information you can contact me at beautifulfaces@cfl.rr.com or visit my website at www.laurieleighart.com .

Links on eBay for Rerooting and Hairstyling:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/beautifulfaces/m.html?_trksid=p4340.l2562

In any case I really hope I helped save a doll’s life today.

Happy doll collecting! LL

Quick note about commissions >>

I am accepting commissions. When I get a commission sometimes I am quick about it and sometimes I am not so quick. It isn't because I am not giving your commission the full attention it deserves but rather I am working it out in my head. I have probably started it already and if I have run into a snag or I don't like the direction I am going I will shelf it for a bit so I can have a fresh perspective.

I want to give every doll the full attention it deserves. Sometimes the inspiration is so strong it comes together easily... other times (especially if I have painted several of the same doll) it will take a bit longer. It isn't because I don't care for the doll at all... I am always looking for ways to improve. I do a lot of research on celebrity dolls as well. I study pictures and watch videos on the subject looking for things I might have missed before.

Your turn around time could be two weeks or two months (sometimes a bit longer - depending on how many dolls I have in the house). I always deeply appreciate your patience. I do want your doll to be very special to you and something you will love for many years to come!

http://laurieleighart.com/commissions.htm

XOXO LL

A little advice on painting doll eyes....

I was recently asked how I get the details in the eyes when I paint them and this was my response. I thought I would share with anyone who might be interested. : )

It is so hard to try and explain how to get details in the eyes... especially small ones. I don't want you to get caught up in that when the shading is actually more important. Try to look at the iris as shapes and colors rather than an eye. It is hard to separate, I know... it's an eye. But beyond that it is just color and shadow and light.

If I am painting a blue eye and I don't want any other color than blue (and I believe that is hard to make it real and not flat) I would start with the blue I planned on using...

Start with the basic iris shape/circle in black. Then clean that up with white until your black outline is very very thin. On the inside of that black line add your blue... I would use a strong pigmented darker blue and the line inside the line is barely there... practically on top of the black line. Then paint the entire eye in with a watered down wash of that blue. Find your pupil. Now you have the eye. It is plan and flat but there. I know this is a tiny space and I use reading glasses to see it better. Try that.

Now I look at a picture of an eye that is blue... a reference. I look for the light and place it in. First the light shine in the pupil and then I dot it in here and there depending on where the light is at in the picture. After that, if my white is too light, I will wash another color of blue over it and go back again after that and add more white. Look for the shine in the eye on pictures. Look where it is reflecting. It only takes a tiny dot. I generally don't love mixing white and blue together. I prefer layering washes of blue over white.

At the top of the eye under the lash line and around the pupil I mix a little black with my blue... just enough to darken it... and I paint it around that pupil and up under the eyelash line to shade it. It is really a lot of light and dark... don't be too literal. Paint creates an illusion... especially with something so tiny.

Hugs! Laurie

Last day of August!

This can only mean one thing... summer's end in nearing. I admit I am far more productive in the winter months. I don't know why but it seems to be so true for me. Even though I live in Florida and I love it, I appreciate when the fall comes. It is just so nice here.

I have quite a few commissions I am working on. Lots and lots of characters and celebrities! I love creating those. I will be updating my galleries soon so I can feature some of my favorite new repaints. I seem to be loving all kinds of vampires lately as I have been working my way through Twilight and True Blood.

I will update those galleries later tonight. Must start painting now...

Have a safe and happy day! LL

Reflections

Trying to decide what to do first this morning. I don't have a "plan" or a "to do list" so I will probably do that. I know there are a few things that must be done and the rest is for me to decide. Not even thinking about housework or that sort of thing. Only art related today.

I was on Facebook and one of my friends mentioned she was hitting Starbucks. Made me think about how much I have always wanted to live in a quaint little town. The kind where you can walk everywhere and you know everyone. I would have an art studio there and people could stop by and say hello.

Chances are that sounds nicer in the imagined world than in the real world. LOL

Thinking about my website. I am still using an old program. Poor thing is more a hodgepodge of over 10 years instead of a well oiled machine. Gotta look around for something new. I learned that old program, I can learn a new one.

So off to the races. I have a Mighty Mugg to finish, pictures to take, coffee to drink! Let's go!

Why I like fan art...

My boyfriend sent me a link to a wonderful artist. I was looking at her work, admiring it and followed a link to her blog. There I found this wonderful quote! I don't know who it is by and pardon the "French" but I love it so here it is.

"Drawing is fun, but making fanart is the best. Because fanart gives people permission to like things. So much today, there’s this attitude that it’s not cool to like things, that you have to like things ironically or not at all, that you have to act restrained, unenthusiastic, bored, and that it’s better to scoff and keep your embarrassing pleasures to yourself. So I make fanart because fuck all that. I’m a nerd, and I like things, and I enjoy liking things. If I draw something, and it makes a person feel like an unabashed kid again, then that’s worth it. If I draw something, and it makes a person feel like they have an ally, like they’re allowed to smile, like they have someone to share their geek-out with, and they’re reminded that there was once a time when stories could capture their imaginations, then that’s good enough for me."




This quote was found here.... enjoy her work!

http://alicexz.tumblr.com/

La sigh....

Okay - so I have worked a little since my extravagant three day holiday weekend. I did manage to create a doll I am so proud of and she will be up for auction tonight. I am also working on a little side project that I really must finish. I actually love this little project and can't wait to share.

First off... here is my newest doll. She was created out of a Birthday Bella and she happened to remind me of Scarlett Johansson as she appeared in Iron Man 2 as Black Widow. She is a favorite creation of mine and I hope you like her as well.

My other little project allows me to stretch my creativity. I found an artist through Facebook and followed his work. I put a link to his blog below. I just fell in love with his stuff and while looking through it I found these little doll like toys he paints. They are called Mighty Muggs. I loved what he was doing with them and thought it might be something I could enjoy putting my own twist on. So I looked them up and sure enough I was able to find them and picked up a few.

The first thing I decided on was Derek Jeter. I am currently watching a lot of Yankees baseball and discovered that Derek Jeter will, any day now, have 3000 hits. He will be the first Yankee to do this and one of only 20 or so baseball players in the history of the game to have 3000 hits. He is literally 3 hits away as I write this.

To commemorate this I have created a Derek Jeter. I will have 3000 hits on his back above his number and the date it happens below.

I love these little Mighty Muggs and am considering creating more in the likes of some of my favorite characters in pop culture including the Twilight saga and Star Wars.

So that is what I have been up to this week. Current commissions I am working on to look for are Legolas, Jasper (Twilight), a 12" Megan Fox, and several more just waiting for some creative love.

I can't believe it is Friday tomorrow already!

XOXO