Author: paulawalton

My name is Paula Walton. I’m a working craftsperson. I’ve been self-employed since 1986, when I started selling the items that I make under the name A Sweet Remembrance. Among other things, I am a doll maker, a dressmaker that specializes in reproduction women’s and children’s clothing, maker of spun cotton ornaments and holiday figures, and a freelance designer. Upon occasion I write magazine articles and am a Craftsperson in Residence. I teach and do demonstrations quite frequently, plus I was previously the director and curator of a small museum in Connecticut.
Doll Clothing · Doll for Sale · Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll · See Me in Print · Where to Shop

Three New Dolls Available for Christmas – Meet Charlcie, Savannah and Susie Belle

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Charlcie, Savannah, Susie Belle and True Blue after the Early American Life photo shoot at our house on Saturday.
Charlcie (SOLD), Savannah(SOLD), Susie Belle (SOLD) and True Blue after the Early American Life photo shoot at our house on Saturday.

12/12/12 NOTE: SUSIE BELLE IS SOLD.  Wish her a safe and speedy journey on Santa’s sleigh, as he delivers her to her new home on Christmas Eve.

12/14/12 NOTE: SAVANNAH IS SOLD.

12/22/22 NOTE: CHARLCIE IS SOLD.

I have three new dolls that are available for sale, just in time for Christmas.  All of them are featured in the upcoming Winter 2013 issue of Prims magazine. As many of you know, I don’t usually name my dolls, but I did name these three.  You can read their story, along with a bit about how they were made and a some of my doll making tips in the magazine, which goes on sale January 1st.

Each of the dolls is fully dressed in clothing made from antique fabrics and lace.  If you’ve been dreaming of a doll with her own antique trunk full of dresses sitting under your tree on Christmas morning, that can be arranged 🙂  I have an antique doll trunk for sale, which  can be filled with gift certificates for custom made dresses.   Charlcie, Savannah, or Susie Belle accompanied by the antique trunk and dress certificates would  make  a very memorable and touching Christmas gift.  I am including a signed copy of Prims along with each doll.  There is also a chance that these dolls will be appearing in Early American Life magazine next year.  EAL was here on Saturday to shoot photos of our home for their 2013 Christmas issue.  At this point I have no idea which photos they will choose to use in the magazine article 🙂

To purchase Charlcie, Savannah(SOLD), or Susie Belle(SOLD) please visit my website asweetremembrance.com.  If you would like to add additional clothing, shoes or antique doll trunks to your order you may call me (860-355-5709) or email me (paula@asweetremembrance.com)  I would be happy to talk to you at any time about my dolls, answer any questions you may have, or send you additional photos.  As always, lay-away is an option on any purchase.

Charlcie, shown on the right, with my original antique Izannah, on the left, that her molds and pattern were taken from.
Charlcie, shown on the right, with my original antique Izannah, on the left, that her molds and pattern were taken from.
Savannah has a red coral bead necklace and a chemise trimmed in red tatting.
Savannah (SOLD) has a red coral bead necklace and a chemise trimmed in red tatting.
Susie Belle has delicate wispy hair and a dress made from an amazing early "cheddar" print cotton fabric.
*SOLD* Susie Belle has delicate wispy hair and a dress made from an amazing early “cheddar” print cotton fabric.
Charlcie, Savannah and Susie Belle are looking forward to adventures in their new homes during 2013.
Charlcie, Savannah (SOLD) and Susie Belle (SOLD) are looking forward to adventures in their new homes during 2013.
Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll · See Me in Print · Where to Shop

Some of My Work to be Featured in the Winter Issue of Prims Magazine

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12/11/12 Update.  An article about three of my reproduction Izannah Walker dolls will be in the Winter 2013 issue of Prims.  The article about my bears will appear in Prims  Spring 2013.

Articles about several of my dolls and bears are going to appear in the upcoming Winter issue of Prims magazine, available on January 1st.  I haven’t see the magazine yet, but it looks like it’s going to be a great issue with some really interesting work from a terrific group of artists.  Stampington Company’s magazines are beautiful, but a bit pricey, so I thought I’d share this tip with you.  If you pre-order the Winter 2013 issue of Prims by November 23rd you can save $2 and get free shipping 🙂

Where to Shop

New Orders Will Not Ship Until After December 15th

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As some of you may have heard, I am busy preparing to have my home photographed in early December for an article by a national magazine.  Getting ready for the photo shoot and working on my current batch of orders means that any new orders placed from November 4th on will not be mailed out until after December 15th.  If you want to order a Christmas present, please feel free to email me at paula@asweetremembrance.com prior to ordering,  I will be happy to let you know if I can get it to you on time.

Thank you very much for all of your support and understanding!

Antique Izannah Walker Dolls · Reference Materials

Amazing Collection!

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My copy of Antique Doll Collector’s November issue came today.   If you don’t subscribe, you need to order a copy of this magazine right away!  There is an article in it about Kelly Harpster’s collection.  She owns 20 antique Izannah Walker dolls!!!  She also has some amazing one of a kind home made cloth dolls and a lovely group of early Alabama Babies.  Plus her house looks just fabulous.  One of the photos shows some of her dolls in an unbelievably spectacular smoke grained cupboard…    If you love Izannahs you will want to read this article and see all of the photos.

Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll

Paula’s Doll

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I’d like to ask everyone to keep Paula and her family in your thoughts.  They lost their home to Sandy.  Fortunately I hadn’t mailed Paula’s doll yet because of the storm, so she is safe and secure, just waiting to join Paula once she and her family find a new home.

These are photographs of the doll that I have just finished for Paula (no not me – I know it’s confusing, so if it helps you can think of her as Paula Too – I get to be the first Paula because I am older – LOL).

I’m in the midst of putting the final stitches in her shoes, then I need to trim their edges into neat scallops, apply their soles and lace up their ribbon ties… after that she is all done!!!

 

Making this doll for Paula has been such a joy.  During the process I have made a new friend and “pen pal”, had the opportunity to chat about dolls, learn more about Hittys, compare notes on raising three sons and so much more 🙂  On top of everything else, Paula chose to have her doll made from the molds of my first antique Izannah, which I don’t get the chance to make quite as often – so that made creating this doll even more pleasurable 🙂   Getting to make special dolls for wonderful people is why  love what I do!

 
… did you notice that she has blue eyes???
Izannah Reproduction Doll Class · Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll

The Way it Was… My 2012 Izannah Retreat Part 2

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The gang’s all here for Part 2! We lost Peggy , but we gained Mary 🙂
Mary, Susie, Vicki, me, and Charlotte.
Wondering about the second part of my recent Izannah retreat?  This is the condensed version of days 4-6.

Mary working on her dolls during the retreat.
Vicki is busy painting, while Charlotte takes precautions to avoid sanding dust and paint fumes.
Susie braving the rain to head head outside to a sanding station.
Vicki’s doll is a cause for smiles 🙂
Comparing Vicki’s doll to my collection of antique Izannahs.
Charlotte’s doll has such a sweet, wistful expression.
Packing Susie’s doll for a safe trip home.
Time out for lunch and photos. Vicki’s husband treated us all to pizza on the last day, which meant I got to skip cooking! Charlotte’s husband came for lunch too. The husbands were all very good sports about the fact that class NEVER ended on time. We always ran late, sometimes as much as 2 hrs.!!!
Even more photos! You can never have too many photos to help you recall the good times had with new friends 🙂
Susie’s doll.
Would I do it again?  In a heartbeat, if I could talk all of these wonderful ladies into coming back!  Seriously, I can not tell you how much I enjoyed getting to know everyone and learning how very much we are alike.  Six days was not enough time!  We could have used twice as long for doll making, talking, sharing, making up amusing stories about our dolls and celebrating the wonderful legacy of Izannah Walker and her dolls.
The retreat was a lot of work, which took the help of my entire family, months of preparation, and two carpenters to pull off.  I’m not sure if I will be having another one, but if I do and you think you would be interested in coming to New Milford, CT to attend, send me an email at Paula@asweetremembrance.com.  I’ll put you on my mailing list and send you advance notice of any future retreats and classes.

 

Izannah Reproduction Doll Class · Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll

A Look Back at Part 1 of My 2012 Izannah Walker Doll Making Retreat

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“It’s taken two and a half weeks for me to recover and get caught up enough to write this post 🙂 ”

I managed to write the previous sentence last Saturday… now here it is almost a week later and I still haven’t found time to get retreat photos posted.  So I am going to stop everything else for a few minutes and concentrate on finishing this post!

All ready and waiting for everyone to arrive at my studio!
The first morning of the retreat and already hard at work…
Day 2 started out with a “road trip” to the home of a local doll dealer and collector who very generously gave us a tour of her private collection, which includes this glorious large Izannah Walker doll!

The end of day three meant saying good-bye to Peggy and one of her lovely Izannahs that she brought along to class. We all hated to see her go!!!

Favorite Moments:

Susie and two of my dolls, the one on the left came back to visit during the retreat and to pick up her new sister, on the right.
Another visitor to the retreat was Peggy’s wonderful new Queen Anne wooden, made by Kathy Patterson.
A champagne and jelly bean toast to celebrate a successful end to Part 1 and the first half of the retreat 🙂
One last hug at the end of day three! Vicki, Peggy, Susie and Charlotte the world’s most wonderful quartet of doll makers!!!
This is just the tiniest glimpse at the fun, laughter, sharing, learning and friendship that we experienced during the first half of the retreat.  It was a wonderful experience having all four of these incredible ladies, who were willing to journey to my small corner of New England, come  make dolls with me!  I simply can not express how much I truly enjoyed  getting to know them and sharing our mutual love of Izannah Walker’s dolls.  The only two difficult obstacles we faced were actually being disciplined enough to  work – since it was all too tempting to just have fun and play dolls – and the rain!
Doll Clothing · Doll for Sale · Izannah Reproduction Doll Class · Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll · SALE · Where to Shop

Last Three Days of My Annual Izannah Walker Birthday Sale

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If you are a long time reader of this blog, you will probably recall that for the past few years I have been having an Birthday Sale to celebrate Izannah Walker’s birth on September 25, 1817.  

 

Any new orders for custom made Izannah Walker dolls, custom made Izannah Walker doll clothing, Izannah Walker doll clothes patterns, or my Izannah Walker Doll Making Class by Mail are 10% off from 9/19/12 – 10/7/12.  So if you have been contemplating buying my class, or commissioning a special doll, now is the time!  The sale goes through midnight eastern time Sunday night.

Celebrations · Doll Clothing · Doll for Sale · Izannah Reproduction Doll Class · SALE · Where to Shop

Izannah Walker Birthday Sale!

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For the past couple of years, I have declared Izannah Walker’s birthday one of my own personal holidays and celebrated by having a sale on all things Izannah.  September 25th marks the 195th anniversary of Izannah’s birth in 1817.

Because of my upcoming Izannah Doll Making Retreat, I am starting the sale a little bit sooner and running it a smidge longer too.  That way if you have questions you’d like to ask prior to ordering items, there is plenty of time for me to answer before and after the retreat.

Any new orders for custom made Izannah Walker dolls, custom made Izannah Walker doll clothing, Izannah Walker doll clothes patterns, or my Izannah Walker Doll Making Class by Mail are 10% off from 9/19/12 – 10/7/12.  THIS DOLL HAS BEEN SOLD. I also have one very sweet Izannah Walker reproduction doll that is finished  who is included in this sale.

Orders for the finished doll, patterns and the class by mail will be probably be shipped out after October 3rd, when the retreat is over.  Right now, I am working on three custom made dolls, so any new custom orders will be added to my calendar after these current commissions.  I do ask for a 25% deposit when you place a custom order, or you may set up lay-away payments of varying lengths.

You may place orders through my website A Sweet Remembrance and call or email me to order custom made dolls and doll clothing.

Paula

paula@asweetremembrance.com                       860-355-5709

Doll for Sale · Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll · Where to Shop

Announcing My Very Newest Doll – SOLD

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This doll has been sold, thank you for stopping by to see her. Here she is!  I just finished her this afternoon.  While making this doll I became quite enamored with an Izannah Walker that was very briefly for sale on eBay.  This same doll first came to my attention when it was up for auction at the Sandwich Auction House in April.  It is similar to an Izannah Walker doll pictured in a daguerrotype owned by Elizabeth Isenburg who writes the Steamboat Arabia blog. I loved the scalloped waves around her face accompanied by two long curls over each of her ears.  I really wanted to paint that hair!

More of a “Rose Red” than a “Lady in Red” or a “Red Hot Momma” she has a second skin made from vintage red polished/glazed cotton.
She has a long chemise made from fine antique linen.

 

 

Her second dress is made from antique red and blue paisley fabric.

Rose Red has bare feet.  She comes with a chemise, pantalettes, petticoat, red and cream print dress and second dress made from red and blue paisley.  $1450.00  If you would like to add her to your doll family, please visit my website where she can be purchased via my secure automatic check out.  Email or call me with questions (paula@asweetremembrance.com, 850-355-5709) or to arrange lay away payments.  You can add socks and hand made shoes, sheer white cotton undersleeves,  a bonnet, a  necklace, or additional dresses to her wardrobe.  Please inquire for the cost of any of these custom made accessories.