Happy New Year

Some of my art doll creations

I'm having a great time creating this art dolls from polymer clay, wire, beads, fabric, glitter and yarn. I find myself getting lost in the process, which is nice for a change.

I don't really know what category to put these under on ebay. They aren't really primitive, they are kind of folk art and they are definitely art dolls.



If you would like to see my auctions on ebay, here is the link....EBAY AUCTIONS


I'll be posting more on ebay and etsy tomorrow, but for now, I'm tired and am going to bed.

Thank goodness it's over

I don't know if anyone else feels the same way that I do when it comes to the Holidays, but I, for one, am glad to see Christmas over with. I spent a pleasant evening in church on Christmas eve, made a few cookies and visited with my family. The rest of the time I was making ornaments and snowmen. Now, I'm not complaining, but with finals at school, shopping for presents, decorating and filling orders, it is overwhelming for me. I don't even do that much and it still is exasperating. Can you believe I've already taken down my decorations! I'm not a scrooge, I just want a simple celebration.

New Year's Eve will probably be a quiet dinner and snacks here with a friend, watch a movie and hunker down when the fireworks and shots start firing.

I do enjoy this time of year for another reason though. It's that time of year to reflect on what worked, what didn't, what I need to change, what I need to repeat, and what risks I need to take to step up my plan. This is all in regard to my art. It is always an exciting time, when new ideas start formulating. My mind is busy with ideas and soon I'll be sharing some of my work with you!
I haven't had a giveaway in a few months and am going to start the new year off with one. Just haven't figured it out yet.
Till then, have a safe and Happy New year.

The Winner is!!!!

The winner of my creepy doll contest is Nicole Beauchamp.. All Nicole has to do now is send me her address and I'll mail this tomorrow.

Thanks to all for playing. Remember to check out all of my creepy dolls at my etsy shop. I also have a lot of cute dolls there too!

I will be having another giveaway in November..so stay tuned.

Creepy Clay Giveaway

It's almost October so I thought I would have a creepy, scary giveaway! Well, maybe not so scary, but fun at least.

The object of this giveaway is easy. Just leave a comment and tell me your favorite scary movie.

On October 7th I will randomly pick a winner from all of the comments and mail you the creepy clay doll.

The only disclaimer I have is you have to live in the continental United States due to shipping.



This is an original one of a kind doll made
from polymer clay, wire, fur and beads.

New Blog I'm working on

Although I'm still doing clay and will be promoting a giveaway soon, I've also started a FREE poster blog. The posters are 8.5 by 11 so you can print them out yourself.

They are high resolution, just download and print.

If you are looking for a little inspiration, motivation, goal posters, affirmations or quotes, I'll be designing those types of posters and offering them for free.

Free Poster Blog

I still have my regular poster website, where I design and sell 11 by 17 posters. Check out my sites and follow my blog. You might find something you've been looking for.

I also will do custom orders and designs, so contact me if you need anything.

I'll be back tomorrow with a Halloween giveaway!

Shadow boxes and Halloween Potions

A few weeks ago my friend, Mary Ann and I had a little art weekend. We each made a Halloween Shadow box. We found these two boxes at a resale shop.

My shadow box is to the left and Mary Ann's is to the right.

I saw the idea to make a Halloween shadow box in a magazine and loved the idea. So for the past few months the two of us have been gathering Halloween items from around our homes.

I made clay pumpkins and grave markers and Mary Ann found some skeletons and skulls at the dollar store. We began by painting the interior of our boxes and once they were dry, we began gluing our "spooky finds" to the shelves. Mary Ann's method of designing her shadow box was much more organized than mine. She sketched out her idea beforehand. I just jumped right in and started building the idea. In the end, I think we each designed some wonderfully scary shadow boxes.

I especially love the blue theme of her project.

This is my shadow box. It is not finished yet and I've added a few more details. This gives you a pretty good idea though. When it is complete, I will post pictures. I thought it might inspire you to make your own.

I also thought it would be fun to make labels for jars and bottles. Feel free to print out these labels below. Reduce them if you need them smaller. If you are having a party, you can cut these out and attach to beverage bottles. Glue them to your kid's snacks in their lunch box. There are lots of ideas and I plan on making more and posting them here.

Have fun!

Ebay

I have a few Halloween items on Ebay. I'll be adding more as this week goes by. If you like what you see but you don't have an ebay account, just email me and we will work something out!

My Ebay

I'm dreaming up a Halloween contest giveaway and will be posting it soon, so check back for details.

Walk N Roll for Ataxia

I thought I would use my blog to let my family, friends and followers know about an event that is happening on September 25, 2010. It is the second annual Walk 'N' Roll for Ataxia at Tri-Centennial State Park in Detroit. (1900 Atwater between Orleans and St. Aubin).

Ataxia is a lack of muscle coordination which may affect speech, eye movements, the ability to swallow, walking, picking up objects and other voluntary movements. Coordination affects both arms and legs. Walking becomes difficult. A wheelchair often becomes necessary as the Ataxia progresses.

Walk 'N' Roll for ataxia is a fundraising event and all proceeds will benefit the National Ataxia Foundation. The National Ataxia Foundation's website says, "The goal of IAAD is for every individual to participate in some activity, creating awareness about ataxia. You could share something you know about ataxia with one other person who has never heard of it, educate a group of people by speaking at a school or civic group, contact the media, or raise financial support. International Ataxia Awareness Day has grown over the years, and more ideas keep coming in."

Until I personally met someone with Ataxia, I had never heard of it. Of course, we've all known about muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis. These disorders get a lot of funding and research, yet ataxia research is neglected and left far behind. However, the disorder is just as serious. So that is why it is important for people to be made aware of this brain disease of the cerebellum.

So, on September 25 the Detroit Area Ataxia Support Group will be meeting at Tri-Centennial State Park for the second annual event. There will be a raffle, a walk around the park, face painting and a picnic.
How can you help?

1. Make a donation
2. Walk with the support group ($15.00 registration fee)
   
3. Tell a friend about this organization
4. Solicit a company as a sponsor
5. Become a member of the National Ataxia Foundation.

I have made up some inspirational and motivational posters to sell at the event and 1/2 of the proceeds from the sale of the posters will go to benefit the National Ataxia Foundation.



If you would like more information, please contact Tanya Tunstull at tinyt48221@yahoo.com

Back to school sale.

To get my poster/print business off to a start, I'm having a "back to school" sale on my website. My posters and prints, which I normally sell on etsy and the site for $9.99 are now on sale for $3.50 ($5.00 for personalized).

I have been working diligently on my garritygraphics website and now have over 100 posters to chose from and I will continue to add more posters in the coming weeks.

These prints are motivational and inspirational and are perfect for a classroom, office, dorm room, child care center, or any wall or cubicle that needs a positive expression. Shipping is $3.00 for up to three posters; $4.90 for up to ten posters.

I will be on vacation from August 9 through the 13, so I will be unable to ship anything till the 14th, but please feel free to check out the posters and email me if you see anything you'd like to order. I have a shopping cart for your convenience.



Thanks and enjoy the rest of your summer.

Summer's in full swing!

Another beautiful evening.

It's always fun to get away, get inspired and get refreshed. That's what I did last week for 4 days. I went up to my friend's cabin to relax and do art. The cabin is on Diamond Lake and during the week it is quiet and void of people.

It was rare to see a boat go by or to even hear a car door slam. It's not that I dislike people, but the peace, quiet and tranquility were exactly what I needed. There is something so beautiful about the cry of a loon off in the distance or the sound of water lapping against the wooden pilings.

There were three of us at the cabin and when we weren't swimming or painting, we were eating or lounging. It was a great get away!

I enhanced this picture in photoshop. I was going for a retro look. I like it!



These are oils. I left them there to dry because I'm not finished with them. I'll be going
back after labor day to do more art!

I'm getting ready to have another give away. It will be a Halloween clay baby. So check back soon for that announcement.

Fun in Photoshop

When I went on my vacation I had fun collecting rocks on the beach of Lake Michigan. This is one of my favorite past times. I had an idea to do the alphabet in rocks, so I picked out the prettiest stones and started photographing them, A through Z.

I thought to myself, you never know when you might need a letter made out of stones.

It seems silly, but it's better for me to play on the beach than just lay there, so I find things to do!

Today I decided to put together my name with some of the pictures.

Here's my name in the natural look of the alphabet stones.




Here's my name when I changed the color in photoshop.

Here it is with several filters.

Finally, here it is made into a pattern.

It's nothing that spectacular, just an exercise in creativity. I never know where these little exercises might take me. But it's a great way to explore and be inspired!

What's cooking?

I've been working a lot on many projects, doing digital art, painting, making cake toppers, art dolls and even Christmas ornaments. I'm having a Christmas in July sale on etsy. If you buy one art print or one poster you get one free. Also, all of my Christmas ornaments are a low price of $6.00. After the sale the price will increase to $8.00, so now's the time to get a few gifts.

I have found out that the more I promote my etsy store and update it with new products and pictures, I have been getting orders. That has inspired me to stay busy!
My cake toppers are picking up speed again. I had vowed to stop doing them, but after a lot of consideration I decided that it was a dumb move to make, so my goal is to make the BEST cake toppers I can and enjoy each one I design. It helps to have a positive attitude about it.




I am having a creative surge with the art dolls too. This is something I've wanted to do for awhile and am making time to create these dolls. I'm trying to move in a direction of Halloween, gothic, creepy. This also a direction that some of my art prints are moving in too.

Although I like pretty and inspirational art, I do have an interest in the mysterious and strange!


My desire and dream is to live each day creating some kind of art. Naturally, I want to be able to sell it and make a living with my art. When I see others doing it, I'm inspired to work harder than ever so I can achieve that dream. It's my passion to create and design. It's what I think about most of the time. I'm forever planning the next project I'm going to work on. When my friends talk about purses or kids or cars, I'm daydreaming about paints and photoshop.

Till next time...

Sandy Shirley, you are a winner!

Congratulations to Sandy Shirley for winning the polymer clay birds. All Sandy needs to do in to contact me and I'll send the birds right away.

I'll be having another giveaway soon!

Blue Skies, even blue water

Tuesday was a perfect day. We drove to Mission Point, walked to the very tip, had a picnic on a long, lonely beach, where I gathered rocks and petoskey stones. Stayed on the beach for hours, fed the seagulls, was so happy I felt like running and leaping!!

Today we're off to shop, more beaching, and another trip to watch nature and hike.

If you've never been to Traverse City, my suggestion to you is to plan a trip. It's one of the most beautiful places in Michigan.

It was hard to leave this beach. My sister

and I were the only people on the

entire beach.

The only other life we saw

were three shy seagulls

who refused to get too close.

Don't forget to leave a comment on my polymer clay bird giveaway. Thanks!

Rest and Relaxation

I'm writing this post from up in Traverse City, where I'll be for a few more days with my sister.

We are staying in a beautiful new hotel called Cambria Suites. We've only been here two days and all ready we have gone to the casino, hiked,seen a coyote and an eagle, eaten in three different restaurants, shopped, eaten fudge and ice cream, played on the beach (going swimming tomorrow), found petosky stones, watched a couple sunsets, taken hundreds of pictures, had a picnic in the wilderness and worked out in the gym.

The cherry festival is a week away and visitors have started to roll into town, making the main drag a little crowded. But, my sister and I love the woods so much, that we left this morning at 10 am to go exploring and didn't get back into town till after 7 pm. It was perfect planning on her part to get out of town before the big festivities begin. I don't enjoy big crowds any more; wandering around the woods or beach combing is more interesting to me now.

Tomorrow we are going to mission point light house and are going to do some wine tasting. I'm hoping the weather will warm up a tad, so that I can go swimming. It was 62 degrees today and very windy.

I've wandered around a few stores and have gotten motivated by some of the artwork I've seen. This is a good reason to get away, I get rejuvenated! This area of Michigan is full of art galleries and my sister and I are planning to visit a few within the next few days.

When I get back to home and work, I'll be posting pictures of my trip, working on some new projects and picking the winner of my giveaway! Stay tuned.

Little Birds Giveaway

Do you know someone who's getting married and would like two sweet little white birds to put on the cake? How about someone who's celebrating an anniversary?

From now till July 3 (three), I am having this giveaway. The contest is easy. You can have a chance to win these little birds just by commenting on my blog. Comment as many times as you want.

When I get back from my vacation, I'll randomly pick a winner.

These dainty little birds look sweet on top of a cake, or even cupcakes. They are about 1 1/2 inches tall and are made from polymer clay.

The boy has a white bow tie and the girl is holding white flowers. These are very simple yet pretty, especially if white petals are placed underneath and around the birds.

I will ship to anywhere in the WORLD, so feel free to comment on this giveaway! Thanks and good luck.

MORE TOPPERS

Do your walls need some color?

For the next few days (till Friday, June 25) I am having a sale on my website. Buy one print and get one print free. Your choice, even if it is personalized.

Here is a LINK.

I have inspirational and motivational posters, prints about art and nursing and social work.

I also have personalized posters that look nice in a child's room. Over 75 posters and prints to chose from.

If you are interested, please contact me through this blog or my site or my email, garritygal@yahoo.com

Oill Spill Poster

Feeling frustrated at what is going on in the gulf, I decided to make a poster and donate part of the proceeds to the National Wildlife Federation. I tried to make it whimsical so that you can share this with your child and explain what is happening with the oil spill.

Yet, there is the image of the skull. The skull does not represent evil as much as it represents death and that is a reality of what is happening in the gulf.

I feel so powerless. So this is my little way of trying to make a contribution to the Federation.

The poster is 11 by 17 and is professionally printed on glossy card stock paper. Each poster is $8.00. I will donate $3.00 for each poster I sell to the National Wildlife Federation. Shipping is $3.00 in the United States.

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing a poster.

Things I've been doing lately

Even though I made a big announcement 5 months ago that I wasn't going to do toppers anymore, it's hard to turn down the requests, so I've continued making them. Sometimes an artist just gets tired or burned out and I believe that was what happened to me.

Anyway, I've been making toppers again. I've been trying to build up a nice inventory of ready to ship toppers, that way, they are more economical for the bride and less stress on me. I just recently made some sweet little toppers for the bride who wants something lightweight and cute on top of her cake.

Art Dolls

I have also been making more art dolls. These are so much fun to make and really a great diversion for me. I can express myself totally with the creation of these dolls. I love the combination of beads, yarn and clay. Look for more posts on my art dolls and a contest soon!

Graphic Art

I've also been having a creative surge designing posters, altered art, atc backgrounds and photographic images. I don't know where all of this creativity is coming from but I'm thrilled. There are not enough hours in the day anymore for me to do everything I want. I'm in a very happy "artsy" place right now!

Collage

I've also found more time to paint and do collage. I then take pictures and change the images in photoshop. I'm trying to build up a portfolio of original collage and paintings and eventually seek out an art agent. This has been a dream of mine for years, but I've neglected it. Now it's time for me to really focus on that.

Sometimes an artist goes through dry spells and I believe that for the last few years I have been trying to claw my way out of mine. Suddenly, over the few months I have found new inspiration and am more driven than I've ever felt. I feel passionate again about my art and design and am grateful for every moment I spend creating!

ATC background cards for you

I've been having a great time designing ACEO and ATC backgrounds and thought I would share a sheet with you. You can print this out and use it for scrapbooking, cards, collage, etc. Add embellishments, stickers, yarn, clay etc.

Please don't sell the sheet, but you can use it to make art with and then sell the art.

Here's a link to my etsy account where I have several more for sale.

Let me know what you think.

(My advice would be to print this out on heavy card stock.)

Click here for Free background sheet

Winner of the poster contest

Dawn, who posted "GG69
My niece would love, love, love it!! It was hard to choose!!" is my winner. I went to Random.org, put 1 through 21 into the generator and #4 came up. Dawn was the fourth person to post a comment. Email me Dawn at garritygal@yahoo.com so I can get the name you'd like on it and your address and ship it to you right away!

I've been working on some interesting art work and will have another contest soon. Till then I look forward to posting more interesting art work and links to interesting websites.