My friend Stephanie - Reborn Baby Artist

My friend and sister artist Stephanie is one of the most talented dollmakers I know and she also has the biggest heart. I met her several years ago at Doll U and later we became members of the same doll club. She welcomed me to club and bent over backwards to make sure I always felt comfortable and encouraged. (I was not only a novice, I was also the only African American member) And, once we discovered that we were both Christians ...well of course we became sisters. Although, the doll club dissolved awhile back, Stephanie and I have remained friends and have stayed in contact. As I mentioned, Stephanie is an extremely talented and prolific cloth dollmaker...who finds it a privilege to share her skills and knowledge with others. Additionally, Stephanie, for years...has made numerous cloth babies that she's ships off to Haitian children on the regular. She even had the doll club help make the dolls one year. Stephanie, along with another former doll club member and equally talented dollmaker Doreen have had (What they called) "weekly play date" to self-teach and create a truckload of beautiful pieces by simply using a book and/or some very advanced patterns. Stephanie newest dollmaking love are "reborn babies". I have posted some of her pretty babies earlier. Well, Stephanie has been so excited to finish and share with me her first African American reborn...however she wrote me recently about her progress and frustration she's experiencing due to some setbacks. However, from this picture it looks like she fixed the problem and the baby looks like it's coming along beautifully to me.


Here is an excerpt of how Stephanie explained some of the difficulties she facing:

"Well the AA baby gave me so many problems. When I finished painting her she was beautiful to me and I was very satisfied. Then I rooted the hair and loved it. But then I went to spray the hair to cut and style it and the mohair dye bled all over the head and face. I couldn't take it off and I was so upset because the shading got messed up. So then the limbs didn't match. Then I tried to paint the limbs again trying to get a closer color match and I couldn't do it. I just made the limbs look dirty. Then when I made the body I messed up. It was the first body I didn't order and made myself. So I just put her on the back burner for now. I will send you pics of what she looks like now anyway. But I will make another one but I have others I must do first."

Well to me, it looks like she has resolved the problem...but what do I know, Stephanie is the expert. This is definitely is not my genre of dollmaking ... I can't wait to see a completed doll she is satisfied with. Anyway, I sent her my daughter's newborn picture for a reference. I hope it helps.

Also, here is Stephanie's newest reborn.