Halloween How To - DIY Creepy Doll #DIYCreepyDoll #GothBabyDoll #VampireDoll

My bestie adores creepy dolls. Me, not so much (I'm not really a fan of dolls at all) but I sure had a lot of fun making this one into a spooky Goth vampire baby.

We were discussing her creepy doll collection one day and I said "in theory" I could make a normal doll into something creepy, spooky and fun. Is was a theory, I wasn't 100% I could do it. Some of my ideas work, others not so much...

But then I had the opportunity to grab these dolls along with their brass bed and cradle all for just $2.00. 

My bestie's birthday was coming up within a few months so I figured I would try to create something creepy and cute for her from my bargain finds. If everything turned out I'd have a really awesome gift for her.

If I ruined them, I wouldn't really be out anything but time and perhaps I'd learn from my mistakes and do better next time.

I started by stripping the doll and painting the head, arms and legs a silver color. After it dried I applied crackle coat. Once that was dry I brushed on a white top coat which cracked to show the silver underneath. This gave it an aged and creepy look.

I painted the hair, added some dark gray shading on the face repainted the eyebrows to match the hair and darkened the lips. I redid the eyelashes to make them really stand out.

The result? A Goth baby. So I added tiny fangs to make it a vampire baby.

I dyed the clothing with Black Rit Dye.

I spray painted the cradle with Rustoleum Painter's  Touch 2x paint and primer in one. I used glossy black. 

Then I used a metallic red wax to give it a little shine and depth and a whole lot of Gothic vampy vibes.

I added small silver bat charms to give it that "something extra".

It needed bedding. I dug around in my linen closet and found a red satin pillowcase. Of course it was too big for the cradle mattress but that was an easy fix. I cut it to size, restitched one side, added a button closure on top and black lace at the top and bottom to dress it up. My sewing won't win any awards but I can do basic things like sew on a button and add lace trim. Just don't look at my haphazard stitches.

And finally, after a couple months of working on her here and there, the vampire baby and her Goth cradle were complete.

I gave my bestie her gift a couple days early and she was so blown away. I'm glad she loves it.