Christmas In July Giveaway

As promised, here's my Christmas in July giveaway. (One doll is Christmas themed, the other two are not..but, can be used as "Christmas" presents..so it's all good!)

I've made three different dolls and the winner gets to pick the doll of their choice.

The rules are simple.

• Leave a comment. For each comment you leave, you'll get a chance in the drawing.
  
• Become a follower and tell me about it and you'll get 5 chances in the drawing.
  
• Post this drawing on your blog with a picture and you'll get 10 chances in the drawing.
• Contest is open to anyone, anywhere. (Yes, any country.)

Each doll is signed and dated. They are approx. 4 inches tall. They are made from polymer clay and their hair is yarn. I've used buttons and fabric to embellish them. I think they turned out pretty cute! I've antiqued them to give them that prim look.


Pink Polly

Americana Annie

Ginger Belle

This contest will end on July 11. Have fun!

(If you are unable to leave a comment, please contact me at garritygal@yahoo.com and I'll leave it for you, in your name.)

Antiqued Clay and Michael's Sale

To give my clay creations a primitive or folk art look, I like to antique finished pieces.

I use Studio by Sculpey Antiquing medium, Chocolate brown, some old soft rags and a dry brush.

(I used to mix brown acrylic paint with hand lotion and it worked just as well...I just happened to receive the Studio by Sculpey medium, so I'm using it now. In a pinch though, remember the paint and hand lotion idea)..

Here's how to antique your clay.


Cover your clay piece with the antique medium. I cover mine completely.







Get the brown into every crevice.




After the piece is completely covered, begin to wipe it off as quickly as possible. If the phone rings, ignore it, as you don't want this medium to dry. The point is to wipe it on, wipe it off.

I use soft paper towels or old white tee shirts.

Doesn't the
antiqued girl look
better than the plain girl?

I added a little quilt, eyes and a button and she's finished!

99 cent Sale at Michael's

Michael's has sculpey III on sale this week till Saturday. That's a great price!

When mistakes happen

Here's a picture of the burned clay baby that I was going to fix. As I said before, I didn't test the oven and a whole batch of angels got a little toasted. Those wings on the angel are supposed to be a translucent color, a little off white. Instead, they look like wheat. I wasn't happy with it.

So, I used Polyform Products Brown Antiquing paint to antique the angels. It's really simple. I brush on the paint, covering the baked clay and then, with a soft rag, wipe it off. Here's a picture of the final outcome. It's kind of prim looking.

Plus, the letters on
the scroll really stand out. Luckily, I got to
save this batch of clay
babies and learned a valuable lesson
(once again)..Check your oven's temperature!

Polymer Clay Cards

I have been making cards with clay images on them. I just started putting the cards together, only have made a few, but
I think there is potential there. I've had
this idea for twenty years.
Sometimes I get so mad at myself
for not following through on my
ideas. It's a lot easier now, with programs and websites, to work on more of my ideas than ever before. Not all of them are good, but at least I can say I'm trying.

This card can be used as a thank you to a nurse or congratulations to a graduating nurse. As soon as I get more cards finished, I'll put a link on my blog where they can be
found. Right now, I only have about 7 cards on the site. My goal is to get 24 cards on there, then start promoting it. I get a whopping 42 cents per card. Have to start somewhere!