Wishing You All a Very Happy Twixmas!

December 28, 2022December 28, 2022 paulawaltonLeave a comment

Twixmas! Isn’t that a grand word? I read it the other day and thought that it was an incredibly apt way to describe these days in between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

The dolls and I had been planning a particularly special post for Christmas, but unfortunately we woke on December 24th to incredibly low temperatures and ice! The ice was actually on the inside of the studio windows!!! It was that cold! So regretfully our lovely Christmas greeting has been postponed until next Christmas…. Instead we are wishing you a happy, joyous, peaceful, wonderful Twixmas and sharing images of the infant pincushions that I made for my article in the December 2022 issue of Early American Life! https://www.ealonline.com/subscriptions/single_issue.php?id=2212

STUDIO HAPPENINGS ~
I realize that new releases of my reproduction Izannah Walker dolls have been few and far between lately. I have somehow fallen back into an unexpected spate of writing commitments. I used to write magazine articles rather frequently, but haven’t written any for a few years until recently. I’m currently in the midst of writing a fascinating two part article about a very special doll that I think you will love! The other exciting thing here in my studios is that I am part way through a rather challenging doll restoration. With all of these interesting projects happening at once, there hasn’t been much time left over to make dolls, but that will certainly change in the coming months, and I will get back to creating some very special reproduction Izzys. ❤

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I hope you enjoy looking through these images of my reproduction infant pincushion designs ❤ If you would like to try making some for yourself, directions and patterns are included in my Early American Life article Welcome Little Stranger.

Merry Twixmas!

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September Newsletter

September 11, 2017 paulawaltonLeave a comment

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It’s That time again… my Autumn Newsletter is going out today ❤

A Sweet Remembrance September 2017 Newsletter

Greetings All!

I have lots of exciting news to share in this newsletter! So I’m just going to jump right in…

In just 2 weeks I’ll be having my annual online celebration of Izannah Walker’s birthday. This is an extra-special year because it marks the 200^th anniversary of the day she was born, September 25^th, 1817. I’ll be posting off and on all day on the 25^th at www.izannahwalker.com. There will be some new dolls available for sale that day, which will be posted at noon eastern time. Come visit the blog, join in the virtual party and celebrate with us!
Izannah Walker Birthday Greetings Project. As a fun way to celebrate Izannah Walker’s birthday I would like to invite you all to email me a short birthday message along with a photograph of your Izannah Walker doll, whether it is an antique original, a reproduction doll that I have made for you, or a doll that you have made yourself in tribute to Izannah’s dolls! Please send your photo and birthday greeting to paula@asweetremembrance.com no later than September 18th. I will post all of the photos and their accompanying messages on http://www.izannahwalker.com as part of my annual Izannah Walker birthday celebration. Everyone who sends in a birthday greeting will be entered in a drawing to win a special birthday surprise package!!!

https://izannahwalker.com/2017/09/06/remember-to-write-to-absent-friends-izannah-walker-birthday-greetings-project/

You may already know that I wrote a twelve page article about Izannah Walker for the September issue of Antique Doll Collector. The issue has sold out. The magazine has no more copies, and will not be printing any more. If you are looking for a copy, try Barnes & Nobel. Many of their stores still had some this past week, although in very limited quantities.
Another thing that you might be aware of is that I am the co-chairman for my doll club’s annual doll show, which is coming up on October 29^thin Southbury, CT. This is the 30^th year for the show, so in honor of both the club’s 30^th show and Izannah Walker’s 200^th birthday, I am curating a special educational exhibit of Izannah Walker dolls at the show. Admission to the exhibit is included with your paid entrance ($7) to the show. It is going to be a wonderful show and a fantastic exhibit, with a very large group of antique Izannah Walker dolls belonging to Jenny Lind Doll Club members and friends! To find out more about the show visit the show blog https://jennylinddollshow.wordpress.com/ and the show facebook page www.facebook.com/jennylinddollshow/ you can get discount admission coupons there too. If you are interested in selling at the show, I do still have a little space left!!! Email me ASAP at jennylinddollshow@gmail.com for a contract!!!
In case you missed them, my new Third Thursdays are going strong! Because of Izannah Walker’s birthday celebration there is no “3^rd Thursday” in September. There isn’t going to be one in October either, because any dolls I get finished in October will be going to the doll show with me. I want to have some there at the exhibit for people to hold and examine up close. Obviously all of the antique Izannah Walker dolls will be roped off, but I would like to make the exhibit a bit interactive, so I will have some of my reproduction dolls on hand for those who would like to give them a gentle hug and get a good sense of their size and weight. For more information on 3^rd Thursday’s click on this link: https://izannahwalker.com/2017/07/15/third-thursdays-start-this-month-mark-your-calendar-then-come-back-on-thursday-to-see-this-months-new-dolls-for-sale/ .
I have a new article in the upcoming Christmas issue of Early American Life magazine. It is a project article on how to make cotton batting candy containers. Also included in the Christmas issue is the Holiday Directory of Traditional American Craftsmen. I’m very honored to have been included in the Holiday Directory again this year. To see a bit more about my candy container article click here: https://spuncottonornaments.wordpress.com/2017/09/10/look-for-me-in-the-christmas-2017-issue-of-early-american-life/ .
The class support sites for both my Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll Making Class and my Spun Cotton Ornament Class have moved to private facebook pages. No one has been using the Ning sites, so I have switched over to facebook. Both Ning sites are still available at this time, so please go save whatever information you would like to keep from the Ning sites. I will NOT be moving all of the previously posted information over to facebook. We are starting out fresh! The spun cotton ornament how-to videos are posted on the facebook site. If you are already a member of either class and would like to come join us on facebook, please email me at paula@asweetremembrance.com and tell me the email address that you use for your facebook account. I will then check to make sure you are a class member, and send you an invitation to the class page. At this time I have NOT moved the Alabama Baby Class over to facebook, it is still only on Ning.
Sometimes when I post new dolls for sale, they sell very quickly. I do realize that ideally people would like to take their time looking at my latest doll offerings, and then if any of my dolls tugged at their heart, decide if they would like to welcome that special reproduction Izannah Walker doll into their home. I’m sorry that you do not always have the opportunity to do that. Because I am a doll maker, selling my dolls is different than selling antique dolls. If you are selling antique dolls you already have the doll in your possession, so it is possible for you to announce exactly what you are selling ahead of time in the case of doll auctions, or before shows. Which gives people time to make up their minds about a doll in advance. As a doll maker, I spend around 100 hours creating each doll I sell. This is 100 working hours, not elapsed time. I have to spend quite a bit of time waiting for paint to dry and washing and drying antique fabric… Generally my dolls are not finished until right before I post them. Even when I do shows, I have a tendency to be working on dolls right up until the very last second. In my world there is never enough time! So please forgive me for not being able to give you advance photos and lists of the dolls that I will have for sale on Izannah Walker’s birthday, at shows, or on Third Thursdays. Surprises and spontaneity can be good things! I’m always overly optimistic about how many dolls I want to make, so there is the perpetual question of exactly which dolls I will be able to get finished in time. 🙂

Fondly,

Paula

post script: If you like to receive my newsletters in your inbox, email me at paula@asweetremembrance.com and let me know you’d like to be on my mailing list. You can be removed from the list whenever you choose, simply by asking…

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A Sneak Peek at the Isane I am Making for The Early American Folk Arts & Trades Marketplace on Facebook October 15 & 16

October 12, 2016 paulawaltonLeave a comment

On Saturday morning I will be participating in an online facebook only event. Fifty + amazing artists who belong to the Early American Folk Art and Trades group will be offering some of their work for sale. I will be selling this sweet 18 inch Isane, who will have bare feet, handmade pink leather shoes, with a matching bead necklace, antique white cotton dress trimmed in broderie anglaise, antique white cotton chemise & pantalettes, plus a broderie anglaise petticoat. If you use facebook, please consider dropping by to see all of the wonderful handmade folk art treasures https://www.facebook.com/events/1213533635380525/?active_tab=discussion

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Hooray! More Painting Space!!! My New Painting Studio Has Arrived

November 4, 2015November 5, 2015 paulawalton4 Comments

Delivery day back in September, 2010 for my first studio building.

Five years ago I finally got my own stand alone studio. It took me two more years to get the interior finished. I was ecstatic when it was completed! It has been a daily joy and has made working so much easier and more pleasurable 🙂 My studio is just 12′ x 20′, not a huge space, but a cozy little cottage tucked in between four giant maple trees that grew up at the corners of the chicken coop, which originally occupied the space in our farm yard.

My current studio nestled in between the trees.

The interior of my first studio. Admittedly it is not usually this tidy, as there are piles of antique quilts and drifts of frothy white petticoats on most of the surfaces... all waiting to have their best bits , cleaned, restored, salvaged and turned into tiny clothing for the dolls. — The interior of my first studio. Admittedly it is not usually this tidy, as there are piles of antique quilts and drifts of frothy white petticoats on most of the surfaces… all waiting to have their best bits cleaned, restored, salvaged and turned into tiny clothing for the dolls.

My long range plan has always been to have a second studio for painting and sculpting, which would allow me to use my snug little cottage strictly for sewing and textiles. That dream is finally coming true! My second studio was recently delivered and I am looking forward, to the not too distant future, when it too will be finished and I will be able to move into it ❤ There is still a lot of work to do before that can happen, but I am one giant step closer to finally having ample space to paint, not only dolls, but lager projects like canvases, floor cloths and carousel horses!

Waiting up the street to pull into our field.

Snaking the truck in between the quince trees.

Headed across the field... — Headed across the field…

Backing the new studio into place... — Backing the new studio into place…

The roof is going up. — The roof is going up!

The new painting studio and the new garage are up! Now imagine a garden with brick paths, flowers in raised beds, a white picket fence and espaliered apple trees along the back wall of the garage.

This is going to be a wonderful place to create :) — This is going to be a wonderful place to create 🙂

If you’d like to see a bit more about my original studio click on these previous posts:

https://izannahwalker.wordpress.com/2010/09/30/today-is-studio-delivery-day-or-yeah-im-finally-geting-more-work-space/

https://izannahwalker.wordpress.com/2012/10/25/a-look-back-at-part-1-of-my-2012-izannah-walker-doll-making-retreat/

https://izannahwalker.wordpress.com/2012/10/25/the-way-it-was-my-2012-izannah-retreat-part-2/

Looking back through these posts gave me the chance to relive my 2012 Izannah retreat and remember all the fun I had with a great group of wonderful ladies, who I am happy to say started as students but have become very good friends ❤