The girls and I are getting ready to take to the road on a trek to the UFDC convention in San Antonio.
There are busy times ahead! I have been invited to exhibit at the Doll Artist’s Showcase, on July 19th, at the United Federation of Doll Clubs convention in San Antonio, TX. The Doll Artist’s Showcase is new to the convention this year and is being held in the sales rooms during Public Day. Wild days and nights are in my future for the next few months as I prepare for the convention. I’ll be taking along as many dolls as I can make between now and then, plus I’ll have fabric sample books with me and I’ll be taking orders for custom made dolls.
*** a late night addition to this post. It’s 11:00 p.m. and I’m quitting for today. One doll is finished and the other one is waiting for her arms to dry. Last photo of the night, with more to follow in the daylight!
Here is a quick glimpse of two dolls that I have been working on for the past month. I’m so pleased with the way they are turning out that I just had to share a few photos with you before I go out to my studio for the day. Both of them are made from a mold of the Izannah Walker doll I bought in November.
The original Izannah is on the right. She was recently repainted by a previous owner – so this is not her original paint. My reproduction is on the left.Another view of the girls as they sat with me this morning over tea.The second doll I’m working on from the same mold.One last photo…
Now back to work so that I can get these girls completed!
Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information about either of these dolls. paula@asweetremembrance.com or 860-355-5709
In a panic for a perfect last minute present? Now you can put a gift certificate for one of my dolls or an extra doll dress under your tree!
If you need a wonderful last minute gift for a very special doll lover in your life, I have gift certificates available for custom made Izannah Walker dolls and for custom made Izannah doll dresses too! Call or email me to order – 860-355-5709 or paula@asweetremembrance.com. I can still email the certificate to you for you to print and wrap before Christmas.
My gift certificates feature images of antique paper dolls that have been altered. Illustrations of my Izannah Walker reproduction dolls now replace the original paper doll heads.
Today marks the 196th anniversary of Izannah Walker’s birth. She was born in Bristol, Rhode Island on the 25th day of September in 1817. You may read more details about Izannah’s life in this post. I wish I could invite you all over to my house for cake and silly party games, but since I can’t, I’m doing the next best thing and having a SALE to celebrate the occasion and to say thank you for being such wonderful customers, students and friends. It is such a great pleasure to know other people who love Izannah’s dolls as much as I do!
From 9/25/13 – 9/29/13 all of my reproduction Izannah Walker dolls, additional custom made dresses and accessories for your Izzy, Izannah Walker doll clothes patterns and Izannah Walker Doll Making Classes are 10% off. This sale applies only to items ordered from September 25th through September 29th, 2013, the discount is not available on prior orders. As always, all items may be placed on lay-away with terms to fit your budget and shipping is free to any United States address. I generally just have two sales per year, my Izannah Walker Birthday Sale and my Christmas Sale 🙂 So don’t let this one pass you by.
Three Finished Dolls Available
I have three very special dolls available for this years Birthday Sale. One of them is created from a brand new mold that I made from my friend Mary’s Izannah Walker doll, Anna. Thank you Mary!!! Anna is 17 inches tall, so she is a smaller size than my other dolls and has the look of a younger, chubbier child. All three of these dolls have very aged appearances, befitting young ladies that were made early in Izannah’s doll making career. They each come with two elaborate dresses, full of wonderful little details to delight the heart of any dress maker, a chemise, pantalettes, petticoat and necklace.
Isabeau #1 SOLD – Thank you so much for stopping by to look at her! Please contact me if you would like to order a custom made doll similar to this one.
SOLD Isabeau #1 comes with a necklace made from hand strung pale pink bone beads.SOLD Her dress, made from antique pink and black print fabric is adorned with rows and rows of black velvet ribbon.SOLD Isabeau #1 wearing her winter white antique wool dress. I made this dress from an antique unfinished, so never worn, wool baby’s petticoat.A surprise sentiment hides inside the waist band of her dress, which fastens with hand carved bone buttons.Details showing the antique trims used on the sleeves of Isabeau’s embroidered wool dress.three ringletsSOLD Isabeau #1 Wardrobe
Isabeau #2 – SOLD Thank you!
SOLD Isabeau #2 shows off her hand strung real coral beads.SOLD Isabeau #2 is wearing a dress that I made for her from a mid-1800’s brown “coral” pattern print fabric. The dress has full gathered sleeves, two growth tucks in the skirt and a deep 3 inch hem.SOLD Isabeau #2 in her black party frock. The dress fabric dates to the late 1800’s. Rows of antique black velvet ribbon encircle the sleeves, waist and hem of the dress.
SOLD Isabeau #2 wardrobe
Anna #2 – NOW SOLD THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LOOKING. Even though this one is sold you may order a custom made Anna style doll, and if you love these dresses I have enough fabric to make another set just like them.
SOLD Anna#2 wears a tiny golden thimble on a chain around her neck.SOLD Anna #2 is shown here wearing her dress made from a very early c. 1830-1840 cotton gauze paisley print. The green, red, brown and ivory fabric is perfect for late fall and the upcoming Christmas season. The sleeves and skirt of the dress have graduated growth tucks.SOLD Anna’s black dress is made from another very early cotton print fabric. The neckline of the dress is trimmed with antique ivory cotton ribbon, plus a row of antique silk velvet ribbon. Her chemise is trimmed in tiny waved braid (aka rick rack in modern terms).
SOLD Anna #2 WardrobeIsabeau #2 & SOLD Anna #2 show off a little Black Magic for All Hallows Eve. Black dresses are one of my favorites year around because they are a neutral accent in any room and the dark color will draw your eye to the doll and make her painted features “pop” and glow.
Are you wondering where Anna #1 is? In the very near future she is going to be living with Mary, her older sister Anna and all of her Walker cousins in Vermont. Members of my Izannah Walker Doll Making Class may read about my adventures in making Anna #1 in a continuing series of posts on the class member site.
To see photos of the original Miss Anna, follow these links:
I am a much better doll maker than I am a photographer. All of the girls look so much nicer in person. If you would like to see more photos of any of the dolls before placing an order, just ask. To purchase any of these dolls please visit my website ASweetRemembrance.com or alternately you may email paula@asweetremembrance.com or call 860-355-5709.
Time worn, well loved dolls are the ones that kindle the fiercest love in my heart, but I know that some of you dearly love newer, more pristine dolls. Don’t despair, I would be happy to make you the Izannah Walker doll that inhabits your dreams and has captured a place in your heart. Call or email me to place a custom order, 860-355-5709 ( 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time) or paula@asweetremembrance.com. I do have a bit of a waiting list for custom work, so the sooner you order the better.
Email (paula@asweetremembrance.com) or call me (860-355-5709) about prices and available fabrics for custom made doll clothing and accessories. Simple dresses made from antique fabric start at $200 apiece. More elaborate dresses with a greater number of tucks, fuller skirts, rows of ribbon or lace trim, embroidery or more costly antique fabrics run from $250 -$275 and may go upwards. Handmade leather shoes are $75. Any custom order is 10% off during the sale. Scroll up to see the new style of dress that I made for Anna #2. The fully lined dress has a slim cut bodice and sleeves, with a cartridge pleated skirt and velvet ribbon trim. The cost of an identical dress is $295, if the dress must be fully lined, or $275 for one with a lined bodice.
I don’t have a pattern available yet for smaller size clothing to fit Anna.
To read more about my Izannah Walker Doll Making Class by Mail follow this link to my website, where you may also order the class. The class comes with unlimited support, plus a class member only discussion site that features extra bonus material and patterns, including five different flat faced heads that work with the rest of your Izannah class patterns so that you can create a variety of different cloth dolls as friends for your Izzys! Sophie and Mae, two of my dolls that I made using the flat faced patterns will be featured in the Spring 2014 issue of Prims magazine.
Time For A Party
After trying on all their new clothes and posing for their photo shoot, the girls and I spent some time in the kitchen baking Izannah a birthday cake. We all agreed that it was the perfect treat to celebrate the birthday of our very favorite doll maker!
The recipe for the cake came from The Best of Shaker Cooking by Amy Bess Miller and Persis Fuller. I chose this recipe because it is one that would have been in use during Izannah’s lifetime and is filled with apples, the perfect seasonal fruit for an autumn birthday. I picked apples to use from our oldest apple tree. It is a very firm, late season cooking apple that I have never been able to positively identify. We grow our apples organically, so they are not picture perfect, but I’m sure apples just like these would have been a familiar site to Izannah.
Apple Cake
from Shirley Shaker Village
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1-1/3 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 apples, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup currants or raisins
powdered sugar
ground cinnamon
Cream butter and gradually add 1/2 of the sugar, beating well. Beat egg with remaining sugar, add to first mixture. Sift in flour, salt and baking powder alternately with the m ilk. Flavor with vanilla. Add apples and currants or raisins. Beat well to mix and turn into a well-buttered 9 inch cake tin, square or round.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cinnamon, and bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for 30 minutes. Makes 1 cake.
Two Isabeaus in the center and on the left, with an Anna on the right. Notice that the Isabeaus are a bit different in height. This is a natural variation that occurs with hand made dolls and is one of the things that I feel gives Izannah Walker’s dolls part of their charm.
I am now making reproduction Izannah Walker dolls using molds taken directly from three different original antique dolls made by Izannah Walker.
Zanna
This is the first Izannah that I bought, named Zanna. She is 18-1/2 inches tall. You may order a reproduction Zanna with an authentically worn surface like the original, or you may order one that looks newer and has only a few signs of age.
Isabeau
My second Izannah is Isabeau. The real Isabeau is currently 17-3/4 inches tall, but she has had some damage to her ankles, so I believe that she was once 18 to 18-1/2 inches tall like Zanna. Isabeau has a very classic Izannah face and is the doll most people order from me. You may order Isabeau with a worn original surface, or a new, slightly aged head.
Anna
Anna is my newest mold. The real Anna belongs to a my friend Mary, who also happens to be a member of my Izannah doll making class. Anna is smaller than Zanna and Isabeau and has more child like proportions. Her face is fuller and her body has a chubbier waist. Currently I am only offering Anna with a worn original surface. If you would like to order her with a newer, less aged head and don’t mind waiting until I have time to make new more “perfect” molds, which will not be until sometime in 2014, you may go ahead and place an order. Obviously if I have several people that order a “new” Anna, making the molds will move up my priority list.
Izannah Walker Journal 