On the road to Reborn Baby Dolls

My Love for baby dolls that really resemble children started with the Lee Middleton Dolls in 2009. They captured my heart as their little personalities were shown in each ASC sculpt. I became a successful retailer offering the full line of Lee Middleton dolls.   My first introduction to Reborn babies was when Lee Middleton came out with their first kits to reborn.  I was fascinated by the idea of painting my own baby. But before starting, Lee Middleton Dolls sold out to Madam Alexander Dolls and my business went in a different direction. In 2012 Madam Alexander Doll sold out to  KLL Dolls (Kahn Kucas) and they changed the whole concept of the Middleton Dolls then basically dropping the line.  At that point I started putting together my own dolls offering custom orders using the Apple Valley Dolls. AVDolls offer pre-painted (air brushed) vinyl doll parts for making your own dolls. They come in many different expressions. AVD  owned by Secrist Doll company that specializes in providing soft vinyl Baby sculpts for reborn artist along with their own painting supplies.  Secrist paints are pre-mixed and pre-thinned, no guess work.  Wonderful for beginners. Starting with these and began adding more detail to the AVDolls and painting some of the un painted ones. Their paints I found  easy to work with and instead of baking the vinyl parts,  Instead of baking I used a heating tool.  Purchased very good quality wigs from Monique and provided some very cute dolls.
 Then I found Bountiful Babies and fell in love with the realism of their sculpts. They do a wonderful job of providing pictures of the finished dolls, reborn to perfection by reborn artist.  Bountiful Baby  has their own brand of paints which are also pre-mixed Genesis  heat set paints and they also sell the standard Genesis Paint for mixing your own shades.  Thinner is required for both. These are a little harder to work with because you need to thin to the right consistency.
  By now I'm hooked, buying glass beads for weighting instead of poly pellets, premium poly fill for stuffing, investing in oven for baking (3 to be exact until I found the best one), spending hours viewing how too videos, Practicing, Practicing, and Practicing- now comes the art of rooting hair- harder than painting.  Oh, forgot to mention before Lee Middleton closed their doors I bought up lots of their reborn kits and tucked them away in storage.  Smart move on my part. Thank you God for the insight.
My next post will be on the differences in painting with Secrist Reborn Paints and Bountiful Reborn Paints.

Visit us at www.quality-dolls.com

Why I Sell Lee Middleton Dolls

In 2008 I was searching for a doll on line for my granddaughter and ran across the Lee Middleton Doll website.   Immediately fell in love with their dolls. And you can see why above.  They have a life-like reality to their faces that just captures your heart. Very unlike most vinyl dolls you would find in the traditional toy stores. I bought my granddaughter, Alexa's her first  big girl doll,-Zoe aged for 3 years and up.   I already had a business in Miniature Dollhouses, furniture and supplies and when I spotted the invitation on the Middleton website to become a Dealer.  I thought -what a wonderful idea!  

My intention was to develop a website, sell the dolls and have them 'drop shipped ' from the Middleton Warehouse directly to my customer.  I chose the URL (Domain name) Lee-Middleton-Doll.com because I intended to offer the complete current line of  Lee Middleton dolls. And within a short time I did have them all inventoried on my website.  Soon I realized to give the best customer service and answer the wide range of customer questions about the individual dolls, I needed to have 'hands on' ability. So I started stocking the dolls.  That is when my house became a Doll Shop and warehouse.
 My love for them grew with each doll, with their impeccable quality soft cloth bodies and perfectly painted vinyl faces & limbs, all dressed in top quality outfits.

A word about Why Lee Middleton dolls are so special
Middleton PlayBabies were and still are specially designed to reflect the stages of a young child's physical and character development.  Many of these dolls also come in ethnic skin tones as well as Asian sculpts giving great diversity. 
Middleton NOW dolls were (I say were because they are no longer being manufactured) collector-quality dolls safety tested for children aged three and up. The same artist sculpts that were used for the ASC (Artist Studio Collection). Their bodies are weighted for realism, but not to the extent of the ASC Dolls. As of this writing I still have several of the NOW dolls in my inventory and offer them at discounted prices, because they need a home! 
The Artist Studio Dolls (ASC) dolls are rated as Collectible dolls for 14 years and up, but many are purchased for younger children, especially by Grandmothers wanting  to give a gift that will be cherished for a life time. Note the dolls are not dangerous for young children, it is just that the manufacture chooses not to have them certified for children. (Certification is expensive for the manufacture)

 Check out our Website www.lee-middleton-dolls.com to see what is New

Over the years there have been many changes in the Middleton doll company that is now owed by Madame Alexander Doll Company.  But one thing that never changed is the Quality of the dolls or my love for them.
 Follow our Blog;  for updates on the New and  retired Middleton and Alexander dolls, with special reviews on the dolls; On my new adventure with Reborn Dolls; and On the ups and downs of owning a doll business in these changing times.
Have a wonderful play-filled day,
Susan

  

Dolls Dolls Dolls -A Gift your little girl will never forget.

Dolls, Dolls, Dolls my house is full of them.  I don't think there is a room (including the basement) that does not have a doll or a part of a doll, either in the process of being made, already displayed or boxed ready to ship.

My love of dolls started with my 'Tiny Tears' baby doll over 60 years ago. A baby doll you fed a bottle and she cried real tears. (why I wanted the baby to cry I don't know- I guess I  loved realism even then)  My next favorite was my Madame Alexander Bride doll I received around 1957 give or take a year.. I still have the Bride doll, with her wig replaced. (At some point in my teenager years I thought I was a beautician and cut her beautiful hair. Ruined her hair - gave quickly up that career goal.)    The original Tiny Tears was destroyed by mold,  (which was one of original flaws with the doll) but my daughter gifted me a replica made by Aston Drake a few Christmas's ago.  What a wonderful surprise and gift! 

Over the years I have collected dolls of famous people 'mostly women', or dolls that looked like or reminded me of family members.  So there is no real surprise that 5 years ago I became a doll retailer of Lee Middleton, and Madame Alexander dolls and now have expanded my horizons to Reborn Babies that I paint and assemble. The surprise is- it took me so long.
My purpose for this blog is to share the love of dolls, and my adventure in the world of the doll business. 

My Tiny Tears - Originally manufactured by the American Character Company. First introduced in 1950 made of rubber (that is why they did not last- the rubber rotted over time.) She cried real tears- as did a few other doll of that time. What made Tiny Tears different was that she was filled with water by placing her full bottle in her mouth and squeezing her left arm.  When you removed the empty bottle, squeezing her left arm again would make her shed tears. Below is a Magazine advertisement I found for Tiny Tears. The ad shows Tiny  blowing bubbles, being bathed, and getting a diaper change. Lead caption reads " A Gift your little girl will never forget" OH- How right they were!  I might add - I find that the same sentiment for the Middleton Dolls. 

My Bride Doll:  When I started selling Madame Alexander dolls I did not realize this doll was a Alexander doll.  She is not in the best shape- but looks better now that I have replaced her wig with a Auburn Jessica wig.  She no longer has her shoes, stocking or veil.  Her gown is satin with a crochet trim with rhinestones. Although I can not fine any information on her I believe she has a Margret Face. I can find no marking on her the only thing that tells me she an Alexander doll is the tag in the dress.  LOL - If anyone can shed any information on her it would be appreciated.