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.