Changing eyes on any doll can be very intimidating, especially if you haven't done it before, but if you are willing to learn it's time to roll up your sleeves and dive in.

Here's what you'll need:

An empty sink

A pair of kitchen rubber gloves

A pot to boil water in

A towel folded and placed on your kitchen counter close to where your sink is

A washcloth

A small tupperware container or a coffee mug

An eye tool which you can find here

Ok let's get the set-up going first. Place your tupperware container or your coffee mug in the empty sink and stuff the washcloth inside it. Your washcloth should be thick enough to come to the surface of the the tupperware or mug, if not use a folded kitchen towel (you know the kind that is thin and hangs on the oven and such). Put your doll's head upside down so that it nestles inside the washcloth/towel and doesn't topple over. If it feels like it's sliding around, use a bigger container. You want the head to be cushioned inside the towel and be tight enough that it's not going to tip over.

Then go to your stove and fill your pot with water. Lay your towel as close as you can get to your sink but not in it, just flat next to it. Lay out your rubber gloves and your eye tool near the towel.

Ok read this part through before you do it. Read it multiple times until you have it memorized as you'll need to work fast.

When the water starts boiling you are going to take the pot over to the sink and pour it inside the upside down head (not over it, but pour it into the hole at the neck almost like you are filling up a cup with water. Try not to pour any on the outside, though if you do that is what the washcloth/towel is there for to soak up any drips and keep your head relatively dry on the outside. Fill it all the way up.

Wait 10 minutes. Yes 10, because the hot water will be softening the head and if you try to rush it, you are going to need brute strength to get the eyes out of that head. The softer the head is, the easier of a time you will have.

**Note: If your doll has any ear piercing or holes in the top of their head you will want to cover these areas with tape before you proceed. If you do not, the head will never heat to the right temperature to be able to get the eyes out. It will simply slow drain for 10 minutes out of the holes and remain cool.

Put on the rubber kitchen gloves, we don't want any burning of fingers. That head is now hot. Gently pick up the head and pour the water from the head back into your boiling pot (if we need more hot water explained later, it's faster to use already hot water and just heat it more than to go back to a cold water batch so don't pour your water down the drain, reuse it).

The head will be empty and now it's time to work your fingers fast. Keep the head in the sink holding it low and deep within the sink. With your rubber gloves on, poke your fingers inside the head to feel for the two vinyl bulbs inside that hold the eyes. They are solid pieces of vinyl so what you are going to do is press hard against those bulbs and the eyes will come flying out the front. The reason we are holding the head low in the sink, is when those eyes come flying out, they will hit the sides of the sink and be easier to recover than if they go shooting off into your house. Just make sure you have your drain catcher or sink plug there otherwise they might disappear down your drain. If at this point they eyes have not shot out yet, you will need to try again. There is only a small window where the head is hot enough to squeeze those eyes out. After the window closes the vinyl cools down too much and you are using lots of strength but nothing is happening. So heat up that boiling water and try again until those eyes come flying out.

This is another part where I want you to read first and then once you understand, go forward.

When you have practiced this process many times you will be able to get the old eyes out and then pop the new eyes in without heating the head back up. Those that have done this, eliminate their fear and just work quickly to get the job done before the head cools again. If you are a beginner, cut yourself some slack and realize that it might take a 2-part step where you get the eyes out in Step 1 and then put the new eyes in Step 2. You can work on being a pro when you do more dolls. Instead be patient with yourself and just let the process happen.

The head is going to need to be still hot for this part to work. The key part is to remember that if you are overly struggling, it may not be because you aren't doing it right, it most often is that your head is too cool now. Remember it's a very short window where your head is the right temperature. So if you are trying and trying and you just can't get them in, take a breath and reheat the head.

Reheat the head by boiling the water in your pot and pouring it into the head. Wait 10 minutes and then drain the head.

From the front take the new eye, angling it slightly and push it into the eye socket. That push takes some strength. Some will say try to position it in a certain angle so that it goes in at it's finished position. I say, don't worry about it. Push those eyes in at whatever angle you can get them to pop in, because time is short and it is far easier and faster to get the eyes in and then adjust the position than to have to start over because your head is too cool again. Push those babies in, even if it's cross eyed, or looking down or to the left or whatever as long as they aren't upside down, it will work. Once you have both in, use your Eye Changing Tool (whichever end you are more comfortable with) to gently push at the corners to rotate the eye to it's final position. I say gently because you don't want to bend the "silver" metal pieces around the eye, you just want to rotate the eye in the socket by applying pressure either up or down or side to side to get your doll's eyes looking at you in the way they are intended. I recommend the Eye Changing Tool, because it doesn't scratch the eye and it's ends have a nice way of pushing and pulling at the vinyl to position it without harming the structure. I never do an eye change without it.

If you made it this far, you are done and it's success. If you didn't and you got stuck, please message us and we will help you. You are not alone!