Baby tears
 | |
 The Many Uses for Baby Tears  By Cindy Parker-Katz of www.babydollart.com I am sure many of you have used different products to give your beautiful newborn or reborn doll the final touch of realism. When looking at a doll you need to feel like you're looking at it's soul. When the eyes are filled with depth it makes you forget the doll isn't real and it is as if you're looking at a living, breathing baby. Aleene's Paper Glaze is a wonderful product that brings your doll to life. The realism it adds to the eyes is amazing. It has many special properties, one being that it stays exactly where you put it! This allows you to use it in different areas of the face to express the feeling you want your baby to convey. Aleene's paper glaze dries crystal clear and can be layered for more depth. Another great advantage is that you can use it on the vinyl itself. This allows you to add tears, moisture to the lips, the mouth and even a little to the nose if you want it to look like it is a little runny. One problem that a lot of artists have is they use to much of a product when trying to make it look natural. Some times when using the wet look for tears the baby ends up looking sick or un-natural, which defeats the purpose. You can add more layers with this product if it doesn't give you the look you want with a light touch. Another thing you want to remember is that you don't want to put the doll in the oven once the glaze is applied.   So let me take you through the processes of using the paper glaze on a finished doll. With a closed eyed baby you can use it right out of the container through the tiny hole in the cap or you can take a toothpick and put a drop on the tip of it. Then spread a thin layer of Aleene's Paper Glaze into the crease of the eyes before rooting or adding eye lashes. The crease of the eyes gets a little extra shine that makes it look like a touch of moisture. This just gives the doll a nice professional extra touch. You may want to leave a little extra glaze at the inner corners or outer corners of the eyes. Make sure you let it dry thoroughly before adding lashes.  For open eyes it's best to use the glaze on the eyes before placing them in the eye socket. If you glaze the eyes before inserting them make sure you have a place to set them down to dry. If it's a full round eye it will be top heavy and may roll onto the Iris and ruin the glaze. (Learn by my mistakes!) Let it dry completely and if you want a deeper look add another layer. If you have a scratched or dull eye, this glaze will bring it back to life and hide the scratches. It does wonders! A really neat trick I discovered was that you can paint bright red spots with genesis heat set paints on the white of the eyes, then set the paint with the dryer. Next you coat the whole eye with the glaze and let it dry thoroughly. Then insert the eyes into a newborn doll and turn the eyes to see as much or little of the red as you want before gluing in place. This looks very realistic when newborning.   If you want a wet look in the eyes and they are already inserted in the head, you can still add Aleene's paper glaze. To make the baby look sad or as if it is crying, make sure the glaze is on the bottom ledge and corners of the eyes. You can also put a few drops rolling down the cheek. You can use the toothpick, brush, or straight from the bottle for the tear drop look. If you make a mistake you can always remove the glaze. I like to use a non-acetone nail polish remover. Using a pointy cotton swab will help you to stay in control of where you put the nail polish remover. Put a drop of remover on the pointy cotton tip and then touch it on the glaze you want removed. Let it sit for a few seconds then wipe it off with a dry swab. This takes practice but can be done without any paint removal. If any paint does come off you can always touch it up with genesis paints and set it with heat. To add an amazing shine to the lips after the painting is finished, take your clean filbert brush and put a dab of Aleene's Paper Glaze on the tip. Start in the middle of the lips at the deepest part and spread the Glaze around from corner to corner. Then start to pull the Glaze upward and downward on the lips to the edges. Stay inside the lip lines unless you want it to look like it is drooling. This will add a natural wet look to the lips. When doing an open mouth it's good to have a little extra glaze sitting in between the lips and the gums again not to thick or it will stay cloudy. Also the tongue should always be wet.  To clean the brushes I dip them in the non-acetone nail polish remover and wipe them off so they aren't sticky, then I wash them in soap and water. I also put a pin in the hole at the top of the glaze bottle. This keeps it from clogging or drying out. Just remember to take your time, practice, and have fun with it. You will be bringing to life your own original, one of a kind, adorable, life like piece of art!   | |
 | Baby Tears Easily create moist looking tears, mouth, eyes, and nose |
 | |
Copyright Atelier Wiesje © 2010 Hessenweg 181A | 3731 JH, De Bilt |+31 30 220 4297 Netherlands | |
