Our Generation doll turned into Hermione Granger

 My oldest daughter is a huge Harry Potter fan.  She's ALSO a huge American Girl doll fan.  We have been on the hunt for a doll we could turn into Hermione for quite a while, and just saw this sweet doll.  She is Mila by Our Generation.  She had the right face shape and the right color hair.  Based on this video, I thought we could straighten her hair *just enough* to make it look like Hermione's fluffy locks.  

The first thing we did was follow the steps in the hair straightening video.  This was the "before".  As you can see, her hair is VERY fluffy and curly.  

We washed it with Dawn then soaked it in fabric softener.  We dipped it in boiling water then brushed it and repeated dipping and brushing about 5 times.  The hair is still pretty curly on the ends, but is much more relaxed.  This photo is while her hair was still wet but had been towel dried.

I used acrylic paints to add her features.  I mixed brown paint with a bit of black to get Hermione's signature dark eyebrow color.  The above picture, one eyebrow has been painted.  I extended her brows in towards the middle a bit and past her eye a bit as well.  They aren't perfect but they look pretty good.

I used a skin tone color with a little bit of brown for her freckles.  I did a full layer of freckles with that color then added a tiny bit more brown to it to make a slightly darker shade.  I also added a layer of paint to her lips in a more natural tone.  It helps to add a bit of water to acrylic paint for things like lips so the paint will go on more smoothly and not leave paint lines.  

The final step was her bangs.  We were debating on whether to cut them or not and I left them a little long in case they curled up over time.  If they don't, I will trim them a little more.  

This is a close up comparison of her face painting before and after.  It's amazing to me what a big difference a small amount of paint makes!  

And finally, the side by side of the factory doll versus our "fixed up" Hermione.  My daughter is so happy with her!  <3