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| Adorable | 31% | 61 votes | Total: 199 votes | |
| Eerie | 69% | 138 votes |
Adorable
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Add to FavoritesReborn or fake babies, sometimes even referred to as real or not fake, seem to be the new hot thing. These beautiful little dolls sell for $100 to $4000 and even more! They look so realistic and you can even special order a baby to have all the features you want. These babies have been talked about, and used on tv by numerous shows, ranging from The View and Dr. Phil to Law and Order.
The art behind these babies is amazing, but in reality not all that new. People used to make porcelain dolls to look as real as possible. Reborn babies now are just using newest material available to make the babies not only look, but feel real too. These babies are hand painted, with everything from veins, to eyebrows and some even have mottled skin! After the artist is finished painting the baby, he or she then has to add hair. Although some artists use wigs, and some paint, most root the hair, or use a combination of painting and rooting. This is a very time consuming process, as the artist has to use a rooting needle to add each hair one to two strands at a time. These babies can also be fitted with pacifiers, heart boxes, breathing mechanisms, and many other extras. It is amazing how realistic these babies can be made to look and feel.
Some people find these babies "creepy". They believe that the people that buy them are crazy, but in reality, most of the buyers for these beautiful little babies are just collectors who find the art behind it beautiful. It is no different than any other collectible. People often times collect trains, coins, or stamps, and find these things beautiful. Some people do collect these dolls as there own personal "therapy". Some have lost children and find these babies help them move forward with their lives. There are other collectors who enjoy these babies because they are now empty nesters and want something to cuddle. Instead of getting a dog or cat, they get these beautiful little babies to cuddle. These babies are even often times given as gifts to grandmothers. They are made to look like their grandkids, and grandma can be with them year round.
There are many wonderful reborn artist and websites. Most do custom orders and are located all over the world. Some of the best are in Australia, the UK, and even in the US. For example, http://www.angelstow nnursery.com/ , or http://www.freewebs. com/twinklestarnurse ry/ ,or even http://www.kangaroos nursery.com/ . Many of these artists work full time, raise their own families, and make these dolls as their artistic outlet.
These little works of art are often times inspired by real babies and are meant to look and feel as close to the real thing as possible. The people who collect them should be judged no more than the man next door who collects stamps. They are all unique works of art and deserve to be treated as such.
Learn more about this author, Kimberly Roos.
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Eerie
A tiny newborn infant with rosy lips, pinch-able dimpled cheeks and wearing a pink baby Dior pleated dress sleeps in a pretty pram pushed by its Mommy. Oh, how cute- wait a minute that little, cuddly infant is not even a real life baby. It is a doll. But it looks like it is breathing, because it "is"- mechanically breathing but still its chest moves up and down. Yeah, that becomes eerie and totally freaky. Now, the doll looks as if it might jump up and draw a large knife on you. Or worse it looks like a tiny baby that has lost its life and is awaiting burial. Any time a doll looks like it can open its eyes while laying down really ups the freaky factor considerably.
These dolls are called reborns. Talented artists have unquestionably done a remarkable job in creating pieces of creepy artwork. Lifelike features, including freckles, birth marks or visible veins, really make them look like real babies. Reborn artists can take a plastic doll give it a fake beating heart and paint it to look like an actual baby. Then they stick them in the oven to bake and set all the paint. Some customers request reborns of their own baby or of their grown child as they looked as a baby. These artists recreate the baby with pictures the customers give them. Bronzed baby shoes are not enough for some today. They need a believable recreation of the child itself.
Perhaps a larger leap in the hard to understand are the mostly women who purchase these baby dolls to carry around, change their diapers, feed fake formula and put down for naps in beautiful bassinets. Having a doll made of your own child and put into a cabinet as a memento can be a little bit understandable, but treating them as real babies in public has taken it a step into the difficult to believe. The BBC had a document on this subject titled, "My Fake Baby." These women, often against their spouse's wishes, take care of these dolls as if they were their living baby. While technically speaking these women hurt no one, it is clear that therapy might help better.
Whether its visions of Chuckie running through your head or snippets of old Twilight Zone episodes these dolls often conjure up visions that are better left to horror movies. It is a good thing these dolls often come with their own personalized blanket, it will come in handy for covering the freaky things up and sticking them in the dryer out in the garage. Be sure to lock that door and put the chain up. Really any strange banging noises with sounds of metal scraping are simply your imagination. Go back to sleep and hope the doll is not at the foot of your bed when you wake up in the morning.
Learn more about this author, Stacey Rue.
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