Painting Reborn Baby Dolls - Stage 2 - Adding first layer of blushing

Most instruction have the flesh paint applied first, but with this doll I am adding a first layer of  light blushing.  This will be under the flesh tone.  I also add the veining prior to adding the flesh.  This seems more natural to me.  I vein with the Secrist Authentic Reborn cream paints. The veining color is pre-mixed and no thinner is required, giving better control. On larger dolls like this one (31-inch Tibby),  I only add veins at temples, wrist and ankles. They are applied with a very thin bristle brush and blotted to fading.  You only want a vague resemblance of a vein to show.
The blush I use is Bountiful Baby pre-mixed Warm Blush and just a touch of their premixed Lip and Nail Blush. The Warm Blush has a lot of brown in it making the color look a lot like dried blood, so I have found for a more alive look I add just a little touch of the Lip & Nail Blush to add more red to the skin.
 This paint mixture is thinned to a very thin consistency, so thin you can see through it. There are various ways to apply- sea sponge, foam wedge sponge, mushroom sponge to name a few. With this one I used the sea sponge. To get the best effect you swirl  a small mop brush in the prepared blush mix and paint a surface of the sea sponge (this is the same technique I use for the other sponges also). Blot the sponge lightly around the head and limbs at random. You will see splotching of the paint, if it is too dark- thin your paint: if it is too light - add more paint to the mixture. The thinner will flow over the vinyl and also give a blushing glow to the skin. I always start on the back of the head to get the right effect and color before going to the face. Let the parts dry completely for several hours. After drying completely bake in a 265 F degree oven for 8 minutes. I use a NuWave oven and set the power setting to # 7 for 8 minutes. The color of the blush will be lighter after baking.  This is a picture of a wet just blushed head. looking closely you can see the veining and the blushing. I will add the Flesh tone next- watch for my next blog.

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