Paula Walton’s doll-making notes
Sources for doll making supplies and materials.
Hmmm… decisions, decisions. What to wear today??? Pink, brown or cheddar orange?
This doll is currently available with any one or all of the three dresses shown here.
For more details please see her full description on my website, or feel free to call 860-355-5709 or email me paula@asweetremembrance.com. I would also be happy to answer any questions you might have about placing a custom order, or be happy to chat if you’d just like to say “hi”.
Today is the 193rd anniversary of Izannah Walker’s birth, September 25, 1817 – February 15, 1888. Happy Birthday Izannah!!!
You made exceptional dolls and I think about you whenever I look at my own dolls that you made. Even after all this time and all the loving hands they have passed through, they still have the power to enchant everyone who encounters them.
The girls and I decided that we needed to have a celebration today in honor of Izannah. I baked a Birth-day Pudding and plan to spend the day making a new batch of molded heads.
In case you would like to celebrate with us, here is the recipe for the pudding:
Birth-day Pudding
Butter a deep dish, and lay in slices of bread and butter, wet with milk, and upon these sliced tart apples, sweetened and spiced. Then lay on another layer of bread and butter and apples, and continue thus till the dish is filled. Let the top layer be bread and butter, and dip it in milk, turning the buttered side down. Any other kind of fruit will answer as well. Put a plate on the top, and bake two hours, then take it off and bake another hour.
This receipt (aka recipe) is from Miss Beecher’s Domestic Receipt-Book by Catherine E. Beecher. Catherine Esther Beecher was born in 1800 in East Hampton, Long Island. She founded the Hartford Female Seminary in 1823 as well as other schools for young women in Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. She wrote A Treatise on Domestic Economy (1841) and Miss Beecher’s Domestic Receipt-Book (1846).
Notes:
After buttering my dishes I dusted them with sugar, before layering in the bread and butter.
I cut the crusts off my bread, as the pudding was for a special occasion, but you certainly don’t have to. I saved the crusts as a treat for the wild birds in my yard. You may also save them to make stuffings, bread crumbs, or croutons.
I chose cinnamon, mace and nutmeg as my spices.
I baked my doll sized pudding in a custard cup, which would also be nice if you want to bake yours in individual portions.
I preheated my oven to 350 degrees and baked my puddings for 15 minutes, then I reduced the oven temperature to 250 degrees and continued baking for the remaining 2 hours and 45 minutes. I removed my doll size pudding from the oven after 30 minutes of total baking time. Your baking time is going to depend a lot on the size of your dishes and the thickness of your pudding, so check your oven fairly frequently. It’s also a good idea to put a cookie sheet under your dish, because my pudding bubbled over as it was baking.
For any of you that would like to celebrate Izannah’s 193rd birthday by learning how to make dolls like Izannah made hers, I am having a special sale on my Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll Making Class by Mail. The class is on sale through tomorrow, Sunday September 26th at midnight, for $193.00. Its regular price is $250.00.
If you would rather celebrate by buying a finished doll, please contact me this weekend, September 25 & 26, to order your own custom-made reproduction Izannah Walker doll. I will give you a discount of 30% off of my normal prices, for any doll that you order today or tomorrow.
Email me at paula@asweetremembrance.com or call me at 860-355-5709 to describe what you want your doll to be like (distressed, pristine, fully dressed, au natural, boy or girl, accessories, etc.) and I will be happy to give you an exact price quote before you place your order. Because of all the variables that you may choose from it’s very hard for me to list prices, and I found out that people were getting confused, so call me or email me and I’ll talk you through the ordering process. Remember lay away is an option 🙂 !
SOLD, and soon she’ll be off to her new home in London.
This is my newest Izannah, that I just finished this week. She is currently up for auction on eBay. The bidding ends on September 14th. Please feel free to email me at Paula@asweetremembrance.com or call me at 860-355-5709, if you would like to ask any questions about her before you bid.
Recently, Margie Herrera, one of the students in my Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll Making Class, finished her first Izannah. Margie is an extremely talented doll maker and her doll is beautiful. I feel just like a proud mother. So in the tradition of Moms everywhere, I am posting photos of Margie’s doll here for you all to admire.
Margie currently has this doll up for sale on eBay. Her auction ends on September 11th.
One of my very favorite things about teaching is “meeting” all of the wonderful people who take my classes. Being able to chat with each other online via my Ning site exclusively for students is the next best thing to having everyone all together in one big classroom.
Margie, just like all of my students, has been a joy. She keeps assuring me that she had a lot of fun working her way through the class – even on the day she re-made her shoulders three times 🙂 ! Now you can see why I love the people who take my classes!
I thought I would share some of Margie’s kind words about her experiences with the class.
“I can only say that even though I have been sculpting and making dolls, I didn’t have the information about Izannah Walker doll design that your class has offered, as well as your other sewing information, and ongoing online assistance with the challenging areas of sculpting and mold making too. It’s a lesson as well as the real up close information, like patterns, body design and history. Those of us who never saw a real Izannah doll can get a closer look from this class. Much enjoyed! Thank you Paula.”
– Margie
If you want to see more of Margie’s work, add her to your list of favorite sellers on eBay.
Have you been dreaming of owning an Izannah Walker doll for years? If so, you probably have an idea of what your favorite hair style, clothing, feet and other features are. You may even have decided on just the right spot in your home to display an Izannah, should you ever own one.
If you have a dream doll that you would like to have me bring to life, you may commission a custom Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll.
With a custom doll, you may specify:
– which mold you would like used to create the doll’s pressed cloth head – either one of two molds made directly from my antique Izannah Walker dolls or molds that I have made from heads I sculpted
– if you would like your doll to look well loved and worn, newly made, or somewhere in between
– skin tone
– girl or boy
– hair style
– bare feet or painted boots
– clothing style and particulars; reproduction or antique fabric, one petticoat or two – in either cotton or wool, lace or eyelet trim, whether you would like an apron or not
– if you would like multiple dresses or additional garments such as outerwear
The doll that I am currently making is a custom order. She is going to be very special. Her new owner went through her reference file of Izannahs that she loves and asked me to incorporate all of her favorite features into one doll. She has chosen fabric in her favorite colors and has asked me to do very elaborate trim work on the dress and underclothing.
I would be happy to do the same for you. You may email me at paula@asweetremembrance.com or call me at 860-355-5709 to discuss your ideas for a doll.
If you’ve been thinking about taking my Izannah Reproduction Doll Making Class, this would be a good time to buy. My Mid-Summer Sale ends at midnight on 7/28. If you order the class before the end of the sale you can save $37.50, and as always, I ship within the US for free.
One of my favorite things about summer is that my best friends and I usually manage to work in at least a day or two to get together and work on something “crafty”. This summer it looks like we’ll be spending a day rug hooking and maybe another day experimenting with pink Rockford red heel socks, making “girly” sock monkeys. I’d also like to find time for us to get together to make plant markers out of vintage silverware and concrete “fairy houses” for our gardens.
So I thought that I’d run a mid-summer sale on my Spun Cotton Ornament Class by Mail and my Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll Class by Mail to make your summer crafting more affordable. Take advantage of this 15% off sale to learn something new, either with a group of friends or on your own. Visit http://www.asweetremembrance.com/store/WsDefault.asp?One=40 to order my Spun Cotton Class and http://www.asweetremembrance.com/store/WsDefault.asp?One=273 to order my Izannah Class on sale through July 28.
If you would like to be notified of future sales and other news, please sign up for my mailing list, the form is located at the bottom of my website home page.
This is the reproduction Izannah that I’m currently working on. I thought you might enjoy seeing a sneak peak . As you can see she still needs ears, hair, arms and legs. Not to mention clothing.
Even though she’s not complete, she is now sold. I do have five more dolls started. I’ll be posting more photos as I get them finished, so please check back! 🙂 Or email me for details on available dolls – paula@asweetremembrance.com.
I have one new, historically accurate, 18-1/2 inch tall Izannah Reproduction Doll available.
This is an all cloth doll. Her head is made from layers of pressed stockinette and cotton. She has bare feet with individually stitched toes, applied thumbs, and is painted with artist oils. This doll and her clothes are based on one of the original antique Izannah Walker dolls that I own.
She is wearing a chemise, pantalettes, and dress made from antique fabrics. Her petticoat is an antique, and does have some imperfections, but is still a beautiful garment. Her second skin is made from antique glazed linen. If you would prefer, you may choose the brown dress made from a reproduction print fabric instead.
Her photo album is below. Please feel free to call (860-355-5709) or email (paula@asweetremembrance.com) me if you are interested in purchasing this doll and have any questions that you’d like answered, or would like to see any additional photos. I’d also be happy to chat with you about other available dolls.
Last Thursday my husband, Brian, and I went to Brimfield, MA for the day. We spent seven and a half hours walking through the fields that border the main street of the town, shopping for antiques.
We managed to unearth some fabulous ‘treasures”. Among our finds were a handful of the painted milk glass buttons that I use on my Izannah dresses. I was able to purchase both brown and purple rimmed buttons for $1 each, but I had to pay $2 for pink ones.
My other sewing and doll related goodies include a vintage velvet pincushion, two wonderful, very early, 19th century samplers, a sweet mid-19th century cloth doll, a small gray doll chair – just the right size for an Izannah , a mohair terrier, and a whole bag full of millinery flowers, ribbons and trims.
I rounded off my shopping by buying a tiny glass vase, a purple transferware plate, an extremely heavy concrete planter in the shape of a woman’s head, a surprise Christmas gift for a dear friend (no I can’t say what it is), and half a dozen vintage aprons.
Obviously if you have a chance you should go to one of Brimfield’s thrice annual antique sales, held in May, July and September each year. Some years I don’t buy much at all, and other times I fill up the van, but it is always enjoyable. Just be sure to wear comfortable shoes!
Izannah Walker Journal 