My final custom doll creation was inspired by the folklore of the Chinese Zodiac, with 2025 being the year of the Wood Snake.  The snake in Chinese culture symbolizes creativity, wisdom, and rebirth: as the snake sheds its skin.  Introducing An, my one of a kind Chinese dragon snake princess.  Pronounced "ahn" her name means "peace" and reflects a desire for harmony. In designing Princess An, I began with a gently preloved Nanea American Girl doll.  Beautiful brown eyes were

My second fantasy princess is Lantana, named for the dainty multi-toned flower of the South, a favorite of bees and butterflies.  Lantana was created from an American Girl doll featuring the charming Jess face mold.  I have given her warm brown eyes and a mystical face repaint. Lantana has a happy butterfly dragon friend.  I named her after the beautiful lemon-yellow quartz crystal, Citrine.  This dragon was created by 3-D printing using a gradient color scheme of yellow, pin

Greetings, fellow doll enthusiasts!  I'm Liz from American Doll Dreams!  I'm excited to share with you my "Flight of Fantasy" collection showcasing my work as a custom doll artist.  This week I'll walk you through 3 Custom Princesses I've created with a final doll that readers will be able to purchase at the end!   For this collection I chose to work with 3 Colors of Bbeauty Doll's "Constance" Doll wigs.  The colors I chose were " Light Blonde ", " Black as Midnight " and " A

"Them Bones" by Doll Maker's Notebook If you were to visit our home, there isn't much around here that hasn't been found second hand or refurbished.  Let me explain.  Growing up, my dad was always adopting the most downtrodden wooden furniture.  The way he'd talk about a dresser did not align with what I was looking at.  "Look!  It's solid oak!  Look at the dovetails in the drawers!  This is probably 70 years old and was made to last!  It just needs a little sanding and I can

Spooky Special Effects by Doll Maker's Notebook Originally made in the late 1800s, French Bisque Bebe Bru Dolls were luxury playthings made from porcelain and often only the wealthy could afford.  These days the originals are highly sought after and are valuable collectors items.  I have fantasized about owning one of these dolls for many years after learning about them in my college days.  I appreciate their soft expressions, round cheeks, and innocent beauty. This is my ins

Felani was born in a small village deep in the forest. Her people were a hybrid mixed between orc and elves and they were outcasts not accepted by the orcs nor the elves for their existence. But over time, it was discovered that this unique blend made for excellent warriors.  The elf in them made them good with swords and bows and arrows with the ability to be stealthy and sneak up on an enemy.  The orc side made them incredibly strong and resilient.  And so her village becam

An Intro to Doll Maker's Notebook What happens when you request a custom doll?   I have the pleasure of customizing dolls for their people, and many wonder what the process is!  First we talk and agree upon who will be customized.  When I receive the head of a doll in the mail, I make sure I label and keep everything together.  I use inspiration pictures and ideas from my client to make their ideas come to life. I need to clean the doll's face of factory paint, stains, and su

As a costume designer by trade, one of my favorite things to do is to mix and match time periods and styles in character design. ...

Week 2, Issue 6 Exploring variations of the Pollyanna Pattern in Purple by Bbeauty Dolls Creating a New Variation with the Pollyanna...

One of the subjects I talk a lot about is overcoming the limits of what is manufactured. Customization and personalization is how we...

When I'm giving presentations to doll collectors what always seems to catch me off guard is the question "What's inside the doll?". It...

When I first saw a Theresa I thought her face was just so cute, but I also could see a potential for more so when I finally got my hands...

As you get out there and shop for wigs, there might be a few things you notice when comparing wigs and that is the way that the wigs are...

Now you are probably thinking, why in the world would anyone do this? The truth of it is, there is a very good reason to do this. It is...

Changing Eyes on an American Girl Doll Changing eyes on any doll can be very intimidating, especially if you haven't done it before, but...

Re-wigging a doll is one of the more fun and easy things to do to customize your doll and make it your own. As well it is an essential...

Tips and Tricks: Removing Old Doll Wigs from Vinyl Dolls Tip #1: Using the back end of a spoon (or our eye changing tool), you can gently...

Why is it so complicated to find the right eyes to replace for your doll?  If you've ever decided to do an eye swap on your doll and...

I was waiting for just the right opportunity to add eye change instruction for a Ruby Red doll and a siblie created the perfect...

The one draw back to having a custom work of art doll, is that you really can't change it afterwards. This can be incredibly frustrating...