Crafters everywhere are taking up a new hobby. Its called "reborning" and it is the process of taking a vinyl baby doll and remaking it into a doll that looks as life like as possible. It is a craft and an art that can be created from scratch or through reborn doll kits.

The process is an interesting one. First the doll is taken apart and re-weighted to be consistent with a newborn baby.

Then the same is done with the hair. Lastly the baby doll is painted to make it look real. Sounds simple enough, and though artistic ability is not necessary, a good sense of what a real baby looks like is extremely helpful.

It takes practice and patience to develop the necessary skills to get the most from this hobby. But women everywhere love it.

Finding a doll to begin the reborning process is not difficult. You will find the largest selection online.

A Berenguer doll is a popular choice because it most resembles a real baby and the way it is made makes it easy to work with. These vinyl dolls can be purchased online and usually cost between $10 and $40. You will also find kits that contain the tools and supplies you will need to customize your baby doll. They include such items as paints, hair and eyes. This type of kit is great for someone new to the reborning process.

Kits of all types are available and Berenguer kits are a good option. Some kits provide what you need to sculpt the baby's face yourself. You can create a baby with the skin tone, eye color and hair exactly like you want. These kits give you the most creative flexibility. Other kits include tools and materials for other parts of the process of reborning.

Start from scratch by buying a kit that gives you what you need to sculpt the baby doll's face and weight the limbs, or choose a kit where that has all been done for you and all that's left are the finishing touches. You simply apply the paint and work on the hair to create the finished product. Kits like these range in price from $30 for a starter kit to $150 for an advanced kit. The internet offers a wide selection of reborning kits.

One way to dabble in the reborning hobby is to buy an inexpensive vinyl doll. Experiment with it. See what you can do with it to make it more realistic. Weight it and paint it and try out a few ideas to see where they take you and if you think you might enjoy doing more.

Reborning hobbyists enjoy dressing their baby dolls as well. They either purchase clothing or make them. Many enjoy this aspect of the hobby and some doll's are so spectacular that they quickly gain the attention of collectors.

The reborning hobby is exciting and creative. Many find it a very therapeutic hobby and get a great deal of satisfaction in turning an uninteresting vinyl baby doll into a life like looking and feeling baby. It does take time and practice to produce an exceptional baby doll using the reborning process but some collectors are willing to pay several hundred dollars for a doll that is outstanding.