BubblePop Babies

I am a full-time mom and wife. And I'm a part-time nurse. I have a half dozen awesome kids - five boys and one girl from age four all the way up to age seventeen! I am fortunate not to have to work too much right now so I can mostly stay home where I belong. As my husband and I support our own family without the help of government (ie - taxpayer) hand-outs, I am always looking for something I can do at home to help out financially. That's how I founded BubblePop Shops:

BubblePop Bling - Handcrafted Leather Wrap Bracelets;

BubblePop Beauty - Natural, handcrafted beauty products and gift items including Premium Lip Balms, Invigorating Sugar Scrubs and Whipped Body Butters in 56+ flavors / scents;

and BubblePop Babies - Adorable handcrafted soft-sculpture babies in a variety of species.

Remember, when you support my BubblePop Shops, you are helping a REAL family meet basic needs, not helping a CEO of some big company purchase a third vacation home or another fancy vehicle. I appreciate each and every person who supports my little business. You help me be able to stay home with my kids most of the time - where I belong. I strive to provide the best possible services because I believe that repeat customers are the best compliment!

Of course, I'm referring to my BubblePop Babies! 

Okay, truthfully, I've had people give me an "Are you out of your mind?" look when they ask how much I sell my babies for. Sure, you can go out and buy mass-produced dolls for less, but they don't compare to the charm and personality of something handcrafted with love. I don't think some people realize that not only do I have to pay for materials, but each baby takes literally several hours to complete. So I thought it might be fun to chronicle the "birth" of one of my creations!

As far as materials, I have to purchase the craft velour, the fun fur for the hair (not cheap and not easy to find in bright, fun colors), thread, stuffing, joints, felt, floss, diaper and outfit for each baby. I also give my daughter some money when she crochets cute little hats for the babies. Add to that all the odds and ends I end up having to replace over time: needle threader, disappearing ink pens, needles, sculpting needles - you get the idea.

Now let's talk about TIME. These babies are very time-consuming. After the cost of materials, I make barely more than minimum wage for my time. Don't believe me? Here we go:

 First, I cut out all the pieces and sew the ears. This is the easy part. Approximate time: 40 minutes.

Now I sew all main pieces together. Some of these parts, especially the head and the bottoms of the feet are especially frustrating to get just right. Approximate time: One hour. 

Next, I stuff, joint, close and fully sculpt each limb. Approximate time: 1 hour, 50 minutes. Keep in mind that the sculpting includes two elbows, two inner elbow creases, two wrist creases, two hands with dimples, two feet, two ankles, two knees and two creases behind the knees.  And it does not always go smoothly. Sometimes I end up ripping it out and redoing it once or twice to get it to look right. This is probably the most time-consuming part.  

On a side note: I did take a minute or so of this time to marvel at the directions imprinted directly on my new disappearing ink pens: "Please try with a waste cloth cutting before use. Please take off a cap with hands, not with a mouth." Yes, I'm serious.

Okay, you caught me! I do use my mouth sometimes. 

But seriously, are people really that stupid? Or do the makers of these supplies just think we are? Hmmm...

Now it's time for my favorite part. I love it because now I can finally see the baby coming together. I still have a ways to go yet, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The body is now stuffed and assembled and the head is stuffed and gathered, ready to begin work on the face. Approximate time: 15 minutes.

Now I hand cut the eyes from nice, thick felt. I always do this freehand to add to the uniqueness of each baby. It's challenging to get those little buggers to match! I hand sew the eyes on and embroider the mouth. Approximate time: 20 minutes. 

Next I sculpt the face so he/she has nice, chubby cheeks. Then I add some "sparkle" to the eyes, embroider the eyebrows, attach the head and define the neck. I also sculpt the outie belly button and a cute baby bottom. Approximate time: 45 minutes. 

Time so far: 4 hours, 10 minutes and he/she still needs a nose, ears, hair and some color. Of course, this time varies slightly from baby to baby, but not much. Because what goes smoothly with one baby will give me a hard time with the next. And what I struggle over with one baby, I might sail right through with another. Just like with real babies (and I should know, I've had six of them).

Next, I sew on the ears. Then I cut out the nose, gather it, stuff it, sew it on, then sculpt it. I sketch it freehand so that no two are ever exactly alike.  Approximate time: 45 minutes. Now we're up to nearly 5 hours to create this baby. But she's not quite finished yet!

Finishing up: I cut out the pieces and sew the wig, then attach it. Then I brush the hair out and give it in a nice trim. I then add some blushing to the baby's skin. Approximate time: One hour. In this case, with the lighter eyes, I wasn't quite happy with them, so I cut out teeny, tiny black felt dots (that was fun to get the little buggers to match - not) and sewed them on (a nightmare). However, it was worth it because it looks so much better. That added another half hour of work.

Even without the extra eye work, that brings the total time for a doll up to 6 hours. That doesn't even include the time it takes to take photos, upload and edit them and advertise and list the baby. I usually ask $75 for a doll, depending on extras and how I think they turned out. Minus at least $15 for supplies / outfit / hair thingies. That leaves me with $60. Then if it sells on Etsy. I have Etsy fees to pay. If the buyer uses PayPal, I have PayPal fees to pay. That's at least another $5 or so off, leaving $55 give or take. Divide that by 6 hours minimum is about $9 an hour for the work. Not a lot. Still, I love bringing these adorable infants to life and I enjoy bringing happiness to others when their new babies arrive home. :)

I hope you have enjoyed my little tour of my BubblePop Baby-making process. Thank you for your support! :)