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precious_lullabies · Guru

Luca

Heather M · Senior Member

She's very cute! I really like the limbs that you used.

precious_lullabies · Guru

the limbs were and Eva.W limb set from DD

sara zata · Guru

Was that the day your hormones were playing up. She has turned out beatifull, what else can anybody say. What type of camera do you have and where do you take your photos, inside or out? weirdface

June M

precious_lullabies · Guru

I've got a Fuji FinePix A900 9.0mega pixels and 4x optical zoom. I got it for my b'day from the folks you can get one for around $180. But to make the most of it you'll want to get a memory card also coz just on the camera memory, to use the best settings you'll only fit something like 5 pics. So i've got a 2GB memory card in it also.

its a pretty mid line camera but works well for my purposes. I don't think i've taken any other pic's on it than baby pic's so i can't really tell you anything about its other features.

I shoot indoors but during the day - night time indoors pic's tend to look a little orange from the room lighting.

I had an older 3mp kodak cool pixs before and it was just a nightmare trying to take any decent pics on that. So i'm pretty happy with what i have now, but i mean its not top of the line or anything and so some of the really fine details are not quite captured on camera, but i'm more than happy with the quality overall.

sara zata · Guru

I cant afford top line but that one sound affordable to me. I might buy Sam one for me on Fathers Day. Like a friend did, bought her husband a pearl necklace so she could borrow it. LOL weirdface

June M

precious_lullabies · Guru

*giggles* thats fantastic!!! LOL I esp love your cheeky friend who "bought her hubby" the necklace!!! LOL

tasreborner · Senior Member

Naomi she is even more adorable now !!!!!!!!!!!! Well Done !!!!!!!!!!!

Nai Nai's Nursery · Senior Member

Luca looks terrific!

Naomi, I have yet another question. I was dissatisfied with my painting of Phoebe, so I stripped her down, pulled out her rooted hair, and repainted her. She looks much more natural now. The only thing is that I couldn't reroot her since she had "stubble" all over her head, and I had to put a wig on her. She looks cute with the Jessica wig, but her appearance is much more of a toddler than a baby.

How were you able to do the rerooting without having the head look compromised by the old rooting?

Thanks so much!

Rosemarie

P.S. I've never had a friend from Australia before--or from any other country in our vast world, for that matter! This is fun! I keep trying to think of what time it must be for you as you write.

LovesDolls · Guru

She is beautiful! What size dress is she wearing?

precious_lullabies · Guru

Well firstly it's now 11pm saturday night - you're probably only starting your saturday.

Because i use the barbless german rooting needles the vinyl doesn't tear (and even the paint work) with the rooting puncture -- you wouldn't notice but with the regular felting needles, the sharft is triangular and then has barbs up it... when this punctures the vinyl it makes a triangular puncture wound and the barbs do actually leave the most minute tears in the hole as it passes through -- this is all so tiny you wouldn't even know or think of it. A triangular hole can't close itself in so well once the puncture has been made

The german rooting needles are round - like a sewing pin/needle, with an almost microscopic vertical grove on one side of the sharft going dead straight up the side of the needles sharft. As such the puncture wound/hole is perfectly round and the vinyl (or paint work) doesn't tear any. this means the punctures left by these needles are very clean, very very tiny and not very noticable.

pulling the hair out of such a clean hole is going to be easier than one with a three side point (each point from the triangle shaft of the rooting needle) and also the tears where the hair might catch and the break off - meaning you cant get all of it out of the hole again.

you might now think then that the german needles mean the hair isn't held in so well, but this isn't true either as with such a clean puncture the vinyl closes up around the hair much better holding it in just as tightly... perhapse more so??

Anyway, sorry this is a long answer and might seem off the point but i'm getting there...

so pulling the hair out was perhapse a cleaner result... however there was still some wispy bits... i just ran the razor over this.

Another point about needles... the felting needles can weaken the mohair as it can tear at this also -- perhpase making it break more as you tried to pull it out.

barbless rooting needles means that only 1-2 hairs really is rooted in each hole - meaning that where my hairs were left that i then shaved off, really was very fine... if there were say 4 hairs even (still a very small number and give a nice fine rooting result) if this were then shaved it would however still be quite noticable.

Finally i'm wondering if you were left to have to use a wig b/c your vinyl was also left visablly punctured with many empty hole that would have been difficult to hide anyway without rooting the hair really very thickly. Another vaule of the german needles leaving such clean holes they just seem to dissappear and close theirselves over to the point you can't even see.

Really wish i had taken a photo of the head after i scalped her to show all this.

in the end it was nothing to do with my tallent to be able to do this when you couldn't, i believe its simple another wonder of the german needles - these i believe fully to be the main contributor and difference here.

precious_lullabies · Guru

she's in a 000 from Myer. It's short sleeved/sleeveless but with the cardigan thats no issue. It was a little big around the neck though - my tallented mother with her sewing skills took it in at each shoulder seam, about an inch each side. There was pleantly on room in the underarm to do this without making that tight.

Really she'd be best to fit a 0000 or even 00000 but the dress was on sale and that was the smalest size left - it has a waist tie that bows at the back though so it was only the neck/shoulder alteration it needed.

Heather M · Senior Member

Where do you get the round needles? I have been thinking about trying new rooting materials/techniques.

Nai Nai's Nursery · Senior Member

Everything you said made perfect sense. I need to look into getting the German rooting needles! They sound far superior to what I'm using.

Thanks so much for taking the time to write back and explain--especially since it's so late for you!

Have sweet dreams!
Rosemarie

Nai Nai's Nursery · Senior Member

Naomi, I found 42 G and 43 G Forked German Rooting Needles on the Hunnybuns website. Is this the size that you use?

Thanks!
Rosemarie

precious_lullabies · Guru

I get them (the german needles) from Lyns reborn world here in aust. - one of the few products that you don't pay extra here for. Before Lyn was imprting them i got a sample pack sent... i can't remember who from now, but i'm pretty sure i've seen them on DD. You could always just google "german rooting needles" and your sure to find them somewhere near to you. I recommend the 42g but if your a little hesitant about trying them maybe start with the 40g. the 43g are frustrating to use though unless you have a first shear kid mohair, otherwise they are too fine to grab any hair thats slightly more course.

anyways my bed is calling me (midnight here now)
nite nite all

Heather M · Senior Member

NIghty night!

TinyEarthAngels · Guru

precious_lullabies wrote:

E.Knoops Luca

I re-did this baby, i wasn't happy with her initial painting or hair colouring so I pulled her head off, scalped her and stripped the paint right back... I'm so loving and mothering with my bubs! LOL

Anyways much happier now...

She is Beautiful Naomi! I love her eyes they are stunning welldone hun (((hugs))))

bandycoote · Veteran Member

Hi Naomi! I'm new to the forum, but just noodling around I saw your beautiful Luca Knoops which brings me to my question. I have reborned a few dolls, but usually ones with closed eyes. I have tried two kits now with open eyes (one is the Luca), and have had the hardest time getting the eyes in place & then glueing them. Once you get the eyes placed how you want them, how do you hold them in place while your adhesive dries (or maybe you use an adhesive that holds instantly)? I have messed up they eyes on both kits, and have just stashed them in the back room till I can think of (or get suggestions for) what to do. Yours is so lovely, and I would so like to successfully complete an open eye doll.

LovesDolls · Guru

bandycoote wrote:

Hi Naomi! I'm new to the forum, but just noodling around I saw your beautiful Luca Knoops which brings me to my question. I have reborned a few dolls, but usually ones with closed eyes. I have tried two kits now with open eyes (one is the Luca), and have had the hardest time getting the eyes in place & then glueing them. Once you get the eyes placed how you want them, how do you hold them in place while your adhesive dries (or maybe you use an adhesive that holds instantly)? I have messed up they eyes on both kits, and have just stashed them in the back room till I can think of (or get suggestions for) what to do. Yours is so lovely, and I would so like to successfully complete an open eye doll.

Part of the secret to getting eyes in is to insert them from the front! This way you aren't cutting the vinyl in the back. The best way to do that is when you bake your baby for the last time put them in while the vinyl is still hot. It is incredibly soft and pliable and makes putting the eyes in a cinch (although be careful not to burn your fingers!) If the eyes are a tad small to fill in that back space I've found that when I stuff the head with fiberfill and polypellets that it naturally pushes them forward where they belong!

precious_lullabies · Guru

Hi Jen

open eyed babies and eye placement/gluing

I never glue my eyes in place.
If you order the correct eye size (and most kits tell you these days what size to use) they should fit snugly into the eye socket. I insert my eyes from inside the head -- finddly at first but with time and practise it becomes quite easy. I usually cut a cresent around the eye socket, about half way around on the bottom side if the eye. I then slip my 1/2 rounds (eyes) into the eye socket. before placing the eye i fill the back of the eye with super-sculpeyso that it is full with a little extra sculpy still on the back. I let the flap of the eye socket fall back over the eye and the sculpey and the press it all firmly in place. The i ensure the eye placment at the front is still where i want them to be (adjust if needed) and then cook it all to harden the sculpey.

Make sure you use eyes that say they can be cooked to high temperatures. i place the whole head in the oven and cook for 10mins at 120(c). This sets the sculpey hard, sculpey also acts kind of like a glue in itself in that whatever it is pressed/attached/in or on it will basically adhere to. It takes allot of work to try and rip the eyes back out once sculpey'd in place --- believe me i spent the better part of an hour fighting with a head recently that i'd decided to re-do, trying to get the eyes back out of even though no glue had been used at all.

I don't like using glue with the eyes as if the glues spreads onto the eye front it can cloud the eye and then you have to muck around further with glazes to try and make the eye sparkle again.

The only other thing to remember if you use my sculpey method is that you need to apply your eyelashes after cooking the eye into place - synthetic lashes tend to shrink and shrivel in the heat. Human hair or mohair lashes are fine to go in the oven, but if you'r using synthetic then best to apply after. Mostly i leave my eyelashes to be the very last thing to apply to my babies anyway as they can otherwise get a little smooshed when i'm rooting the hair anyway.

hope this helps/makes sense