First doll completed for the new year

 Jerusha Felton Walker is finished. It seems it is taking longer to get the dolls finished, maybe I am getting more particular, but no, that isn't true, I have always been very dedicated to each doll to give them their due time and all my attention, so it must just be me, making mistakes that call for re-do's, changing my mind at some mid point, although, I have learned to ( not do this ) once a style or decision is made, stick to it, as changing things in mid stream usually ends in ( a doll that cannot be fixed, or if she or he can be fixed, it might cause me to put them back to the end of the line for a long time to re think things. Happily, Jerusha has not suffered this fate. She has been patient and now is rewarded with a full outfit of soft cotton unders, a full chemise slip, a lovely dress and bonnet of Civil War Reproduction red fabric and a special pair of Martha shoes. ( Cloth which is doubled, sewn together, painted with acrylics, several times, sanded and polished repeatedly and topped off with  fine black ribbon rosettes, ( thanks to Miss Fashion, I can make these now ) and a warm soft pair of black socks.) Little Miss Walker is ready to face the new year. I am ready to face it too. Armed with a full years's experience ( 1013 ) under my belt, the new year brings the promise of endless days of making as many beauties as I can.  There are some new dolls to make this year that I am very excited about, one is the Alabama babies, just can't wait to get one made. It still surprises me that something so beautiful and special can be made with just a few bits and pieces of cloth, glue, paint and some elbow grease. I took the opportunity to show off little Myrtle Mae Junior as well. She wanted to be in the picture too. She is a sweetie of 11 1/2" tall and deserves a minute or two in front of the camera ( as she says, she is just as grand as her bigger sister.) My new year wish for everyone is that you have and enjoy this new year. Do all you can to make yourself and those around you happy and if you do that, the time will pass, but oh what a wonderful time it will be.

New Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll finished.

This little doll who is about 22" Tall and weighs 1 3/4 pounds is all finished and so I thought since she was one of the dolls who was made using the 3 step ageing method, I would show you how she finally turned out. I copied the antique doll Patience to make this doll, who I did not name. I will put the antique's picture up here so you can see the likeness. Making this doll has sparked  a desire to see how close I can come to re creating different Izannah dolls. I know that those of us who are making the Izannah dolls already do this, but for me, it is different. I would like to make some really true reproductions, just for the sake of seeing how close I can come to them. It's the challenge and the reward of having these dolls when I finish.  The new year should be fun and I am looking forward to making these reproductions, as well as the Alabama babies and a few other kinds of dolls. I am still working on the painted head rag dolls. I would like to step up to another level on these type dolls too. I think the most challenging thing on making reproductions is to go by the book ( so to speak ) doing what is right in front of you, not deviating, or ( falling off the wagon ) during the process, and going in another direction which is so easy to do. My respect and admiration for the master forger is tremendous, because of the discipline, focus, and attention to every detail that they adhere to when creating an exact copy of any object. Years ago when I was learning to paint, I read books, studied art courses, watched painting shows and followed along with TV artist, but my most important learning tool was by copying other paintings. If you want to learn how a thing is done, then set about to copy it, this will teach you by trial and error what works, what absolutely not to do and techniques to get the look of different images such as hair, clouds, realistic rocks, water, tear drops, glass, distance, perspective, and all this adds up to being able to make a copy of something or to make an original. So, off into the new year with a brain full of ideas and a plan to make some of Izannah's beauties all over again. Can't wait.

Good bye Josette

Josette is leaving me to travel to the Ozarks. She will have a lovely home, lots of attention and some new pretty clothes, actually she has sisters there already. I wish I could take a trip to the beautiful mountain country too, but I will just have to be happy to see the pictures others take and share. Today I had a wonderful surprise from Sherri Farley. She sent me a box of fabulous Christmas presents. Fine straw bonnets, three brown bag molds, a big bear, and two snowflakes. also some special linen paper to make the molds with. I am looking forward to that. In the box with all the other things, was Rufus, a small bear. I made some pictures of him so you can see how sweet , tiny and perfect he is. Not only did I get Rufus, but Sherri provided a beautiful chair for him. What a lovely and thoughtful thing for her to do for me. Thank you Sherri, I will always love Rufus and have fun with all the other presents. The straw hats will look wonderful on some of the other dolls, who otherwise would have to settle for one of my plain bonnets. The pictures of Josette are made with a flash camera and show some shadows and darkening of her skin, which isn't actually there. These pictures I made for myself to remember her by. Now,  I have to go and play with my new toy bear and hats, and molds, what a good time I am going to have with all these special things.

Looking at some old paintings and remembering the fun we had, Mama and me.

My husband told me he had some pictures of paintings on a disc that I didn't remember we had. I have a scrapbook with lots of pictures of paintings me and mama have painted over the years. We painted so many Noah's Arks, I don't know if I can remember them all. I think I'll go through the pictures we have and see if I can find them all. One of these pictures is the last painting of Noah's Ark I painted. We sell a few things on Café Press and this year, apparently this painting has been popular, as a tree ornament. One of my Christmas presents I am getting is a box of note cards of this particular painting. I have never ordered anything from them, but I wanted to see the product they send out, to see if the color and quality of the picture is as good as it should be. I gave this painting to my sister's oldest son and hope he will keep it to remember me by. A few of the other paintings are favorites as well. Painting pictures, is like making dolls in that each one is your favorite at the moment, but I have liked most all we did. I bought some of my mothers paintings to keep her from selling them all, as they are the sweetest memories of us working so hard, but having a good time too. Why did we paint what we painted and in the primitive style, it's hard to say, except I do love primitive things. I hope you enjoy looking at them.