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Georgiaga · Senior Member

Awl and filing stick for noses?

Buffington · Guru

I personally do not open the nostrils any longer. Some of us long-timers found that it can compromise the integrety of the vinyl. Most of us no longer do that, as we have learned to realistically shade inside the nostrils. There are some reborners that still do it but its more of either how they were taught or their own personal preference.
Also, most people were using dark felt to glue behind the nose to give the illusion of shading. In gluing, or just in general, when most craft felts get wet they either fade or transfer the color to whatever they are touching. That dye can be absorbed into the vinyl it's glued to after a while.

If you heat the awl it actually melts the vinyl so there should be no need to file. If you do have need to file, use a very fine grit to sand with otherwise you'll be making more rough than you are getting rid of.

I hope this helps :)

-- Edited by Buffington on Wednesday 12th of January 2011 07:26:06 PM

cazzy · Senior Member

after reading some of the advice on here i decided to not open my nostrils but i shade them instead x

Buffington · Guru

I find it's always nice to see what others do in making my decisions. That is what is nice about the search feature, you get them all in one place :)

Georgiaga · Senior Member

I shaded the nostrils on my little Gumdrop and I thought that was fine, but I didn't want to "miss the boat" on a technique if it was a must, y'know? Glad some feel that shading is sufficient. That's going to be my thing, too. Thanks again! G

sage brush nursery · Guru

another way that i have used to open babies nose is to insert toothpicks on the next to the last bake while the vinyl is hot from the oven do not remove till vinyl is cool and your done bakeing baby..........i don't always open babies nose only if it so shallow that shading might not work, i all so worry about moisture getting in just from the air........i live in florida............................sage aww

Buffington · Guru

You are welcome G. :)

Yes Sage, I too get concerned about the moisture issue. We have high humidity here in the summers. We have a dehumidifier on our furnace. It works in all seasons for us here.