Thread: My first doll - where to start??

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Alrighty, I found this little gal at the Salvation Army tonight. I grabbed her up because she was the creepiest one there. She's got a porcelain head, hands and feet with a stuffed cloth body. Her head had been broken at one time, so there is a crack with chunks missing across her cheek and thru her mouth (adds a little something, I think!!)

My problem is....I don't know where to start! Now that I have her home, she doesn't look as creepy as in the store! What could I do with her?

My goodness she is wonderful!

I would just play up her great features. Her skin tone seems beautifully pale already.
Maybe make sink the eyes and cheeks with gray or raw sienna lowlights. maybe play up the crack with the raw sienna and copycat it on the other side, then make it look like her jaw is stitched on with either paint or thread glued on.

The dress is amazing! I wouldn't do anything to it.

You have such a great base, you could do anything and it would turn out amazing.

What a great find! I need to go to salvation army now.

Hello Lisa,
Although I am no doll expert... This doll looks a bit more expensive and of higher grade than ones you normally find just floating around...Is there a date and manufacturer on it anwhere??? Maybe on the back, under the feet etc...Might be worth checking these things.. You may have an old collectible.

Also, I think this doll is pretty creepy... Mizerella offered some good advice, to just play up the features she already has. I think the thing is pretty creepy as is too. Leaving it like this would have a big creep factor in itself..

Sometimes surroundings help.. If you put this on a small wooden, old faded chair, with spider webs and maybe some spiders crawling on her. That would be creepy.. Also, in dim lighting, this would make for a pretty creepy composition.

Whatever you decide, it is a nice find.

Rob

I was looking at her last night - she's hand made! Whoever made her did a very nice job, not sloppy at all. I didn't check the porcelain itself for any markings, tho. Her entire head is porcelain and her hair is like a cap that is glued on. Her body is linen & stuffed with something dark colored.
Ever her dress is a combination of machine & hand-sewn!!

The more I look at her, the less I want to do something drastic with her. Maybe just dying the dress black and darkening her eyes some. Her hair needs some attention, its just pulled back in a braid. Maybe a nice veil?

I'd forgotten I had a small wrought iron chair I was using for a plant stand - it's the perfect size for her. So right now she's sitting on my "garden table" in the kitchen, all surrounded by plants in her little chair. My 13 y/o daughter swore her eyes were moving last night!!

Yes she would be great just as is.
You inspired me to check out Good Will and I found these today.



I am in the same dilemma now

Nice, Miz! I really like the one with her eyes closed.

I almost picked up a porcelain boy baby doll that night, too - he had his mouth open and had fallen over against another doll and it looked like he was trying to eat her head. A zombie begging to be created !!!! But when I picked him up & looked closer, the open mouth looked like he was in mid-barf. Meh.

Just an update - the dress apparently was nylon or polyester or something & didn't dye well. So it's a darkish gray with the brown bib & trim and dirty yellow lace. Pretty disgusting.

I'm totally not happy with the acrylic enamel paint, since it still left the brush strokes on her face. I don't see how its any different from regular acrylics. Anyway, I'm going to attempt to sand it smooth & I found a cheap matte gray spray paint & am going to try that instead.

To be contined.......

Can't wait to see how she looks lisa! Those are all great dolls mizerella. I got a seymour mann doll over the summer for $4 and did't do a thing to her. She was a bride and she looked creepy enough.

FINALLY !!! Done! I ended up using haze gray spray paint for her skin and I am very happy with the results. Then I hit her with a couple shots of some pale green spray paint I had in the garage. I used a toothpick to color in the crack in her cheek to look like a scar. I painted the black over her eyes, then couldn't decide what to do with them, so I just painted in some blank white irises.



and of course she needed a sister, too! This one had glass eyes, so I taped over them to keep the spray paint off. I like the red wash around her eyes.

Originally Posted by Mizerella

Yes she would be great just as is.
You inspired me to check out Good Will and I found these today.



I am in the same dilemma now

Make them look like the addams family! . If you want to touch up the dolls, start with their eyebrows and make them more sinister.