Bubbles, bubbles, and more bubbles

I've been having a great time adding bubbles, sparkles, stars and swirls to my images. These prints look dreamy now. This is great art to add to a child's room.

If you are interested you can go to my etsy account where I am having a 20% sale. The coupon code is G1234.

Here are some images you will find...

Flowers and bubbles!

Yes, these are happy little peeps.



Doesn't this house look sweet and dreamy?

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.

New Product From Polyform

About a year ago someone from Polyform Products contacted me and asked me to make three Bobble head clay babies from a new product they were developing. I love being approached by them so I jumped on this assignment. Within 24 hours of accepting it, I received a box of their new clay, called Pluffy. They sent me about 5 different colors. Pluffy clay reminds me of marshmallows and after it bakes it is very light weight. It is geared towards children but I think it would work well on larger items. I used some of the left over clay to make some doll bodies. It worked out nicely.

Some negative reviews...The Pluffy clay did not seem to adhere to itself very well though. Parts of it seemed to dry out. I don't know if they've gotten all of the "bugs" out of it yet; however, it is reasonably priced and should be a hit.

I wasn't allowed to blog about this project or this clay until it was available. I discovered it at Michaels yesterday and almost bought the kit that I designed. However, I didn't have my coupon with me. It was priced at $9.99 and I'd rather not spend that much..:)

My compensation for doing this project was wonderful for doing about 4 hours of work. If I could do two projects a week and get paid for it, I would be well off! But, alas, that doesn't happen, so I'm grateful when it does. I just recently made some cute little clay babies for another project for them, but it hasn't gone retail yet.

Check out your Michaels new clay department. You will really be amazed at the different clays, tools, books, textures, etc. that you will find. And buy the Bobble Buddies!

Posters!

Along with my clay I've been working on a website that features my motivational and inspirational posters. I would love some critiques. I have a lot to do on this site, for instance, I need to make categories of pages..like motivational, art work, photographs, whimsical..etc.

Please let me know if you think that the pricing is fair. I am charging $10.00 per 11 by 17 poster with free shipping. However, I'm going to have a sale starting next week to kick off the site.

I also am very interested in doing special orders for birthdays, graduations, weddings, anniversaries and professions. I will be posting more information in the future.

Please take a look and leave a comment!

Garrity Graphics

What I've been up to lately.

Hello Friends, I've been super busy with school. This semester has been the most difficult for me since I've been at Madonna. I'm even debating on whether or not to drop a class, something I seriously would hate to do. But, if my grade doesn't improve, I will.

I was the chairperson of a fundraiser at Madonna recently. I made over 50 different posters using my photography, my art and some public domain images. The posters are motivational and inspirational. I sold 45 of them and that will go towards two scholarships, somethings I'm very proud of. A lot of people showed up to help me and we had a great time. I can't wait to do one in the fall, as I have lots of ideas for Halloween, sweetest day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I've been taking better care of myself and as of today have lost 45 pounds since last year. I exercise daily and have been eating well. I am working hard to get this weight off and I feel so much better already.

Finally, I have been working on clay. I accomplished a lot yesterday, putting 15 auctions on ebay. Here's a link if you'd like to see. I've made several birthday toppers which are adorable and a few cake toppers (generic).. I plan on doing more clay and posters. I'm also thinking of a giveaway, maybe a cute Easter pin. Stay tuned!

Craft show update

I did a craft show last Saturday at a local elementary school. I did about average for a school like that. I had a lot of snowmen and angels and people seemed to enjoy looking at them. Due to the economic nightmare in my area, I lowered my prices to $5 and $6 for a 3 inch clay baby.
This is the same price I was charging $20 years ago!! However, three older women commented that they didn't think they were worth $5.00 each. (true, people are that ignorant and rude)..99% of those that said anything were complimentary and nice.



I'm working on a few new things this week. Mostly pins to wear on jackets and coats. I also am trying out a new idea for personalized posters. I'll be posting those pictures soon. In the meantime, here are some things I've made recently and a picture of my display.

Polymer Clay Tutorial

Here's a quick tutorial on making a clay frog. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pin Giveaway

Don't forget, you have 4 more days to post comments in order to win the three pumpkin pin. No one has made any comments yet, but there are three new followers, so they are in the running.

There's nothing much you have to do but become a new follower, or leave a comment or blog about me at your blog and let me know about it.

This contest is open to anyone, anywhere! I will ship it to you, free of charge.

Don't be shy!

Only a few days left!

My giveaway ends on July 11, so if you haven't left a comment yet, you still have a few more days.

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!

Polymer Clay Hearts

Bowl of hearts waiting to be finished...

I've been enjoying making polymer clay hearts these last few days. It's like an addiction. I am getting ready to do a craft show on June 7 at Kerrytown in Ann Arbor and wanted to offer some items that are different than what I normally do. I tried a making some polymer clay canes this weekend and that was fun too. I need a lot of work there, but I can see the potential. There are a lot of lessons out there on the web, so I started printing some out. I did a rose cane and it doesn't look like a rose, but it's interesting. I'll try again until I get it right.

I used the rose can on this heart and the incense burner below. It is not quite right, but I'll get there.
I made several blue and gold hearts (U of M is in Ann Arbor)..These look nicer in person. Also, I need to sand and buff them and add a jewelry hoop to all of them. So I still have a big job ahead.

Once I'm finished, I'll post those pictures.

Any criticism will be appreciated, and remember, even though I've been doing clay forever, I haven't done canes before and I'm still working on the shape of the hearts. I want to make fatter hearts but haven't gotten the right look yet. Practice, practice, practice...

Early Morning Art

I had a pleasant morning sitting out in my garden painting today. I'm going to two cook outs today and wanted to take something as a little gift.

I have several 4" by 4" canvases so I thought it would be nice to sit outside and paint them (they dry faster that way too).

4 x 4 is a sweet little size to work on and everyone can usually find a little spot to hang it. Or it can be placed on an easel. While I painted I could hear squirrels scampering around in the trees.
Something small was splashing down in the river and of course, the song birds were serenading me. Other than a few specks of fuzz that floated through the air landing on my wet paint, and a sneaky snake that was watching me from afar, it was rather pleasant.

Can you see the snakes tail? He was hiding in my oregano plant. I can't go outside without seeing a snake.

Here's the completed canvases. I chose these colors because those are the schemes of the two houses where I am going. (These look so much nicer in person,,but the picture gives you an idea.)


Painting outdoors can be fun if the project is small, the weather is pleasant and there isn't a lot of wind. It's even more fun if there are no snakes!

Leprechaun tutorial

With St. Patrick's day less than a week away, I thought I would show you a quick tutorial for making a Leprechaun. If you have children, make a Leprechaun trap with them (How to trap a Leprechaun) While they are sleeping you can make this little elf and in the morning, when the children wake up, they will have caught a Leprechaun.

I have done this project in my class room; usually it takes a few days. We decorate a box with green shamrocks and prop it up a little on the floor. We put gold coin (chocolate is fun) on the floor under the box.

The first day I leave glitter on the floor before the children arrive. I tell them that the Leprechaun must have been nearby the night before. There are a few gold coins missing (They tasted pretty good!)

Then the next day, when the children arrive, they find the Leprechaun. However, sometimes they are disappointed that it is made out of clay. They were expecting a real Leprechaun. Once I told them that the Leprechaun turned to clay but at night would turn back to a real Leprechaun. That was fine till someone dropped him and both of his legs fell off. One child was so distraught it took me a while to convince her that I really made the clay Leprechaun and that we were just having fun.

Now for the tutorial..

You will need Sculpey III Green, pottery, black and beige.

Click on the pictures to read the tutorial

You can add more details to your Leprechaun, like boot buckles or a pot of gold.

When you are finished, bake for 20 minutes at 270 degrees.. I suggest testing your oven first though. If you don't have an accurate oven temp..the clay could burn.

Let it cool before you touch it, as it will still feel soft (and will be very hot).. As it cools, it hardens.

Have fun! If you have any problems or questions, feel free to email me at garritygal@yahoo.com.

P. S. My internet provider has been having problems in my area (possibly due to high winds and a lot of rain, so I haven't been able to blog for a few days.)

Polymer Clay on Sale

If you've always wanted to try Polymer clay, now is the time. It's on sale at Michaels Crafts. Premo, sculpey and I believe, fimo are all on sale for $1.00 a package. Premo normally runs around $2.59 or more, so this is the time to stock up. I used to go to a wholesaler and buy $200.00 worth at a time, but in the last few years Michaels has been running these incredible sales. Sometimes the clay is $.99, sometimes, $.89. I personally will load up on as much as I can afford right now.

In 1982, I was at a craft show and saw someone who made things from white polymer clay. I was very interested in it and she was wonderful to tell me the name of it. I then did some research, got a sales tax number and sent away for a big box of clay. I think I got 8 each of 12 colors. I don't think I moved away from the table for days (just enough to take care of the family) . Later on, in 1987, I opened a small shop and sold crafts and packages of clay. My customers used to wait for the UPS man to deliver it. Then they would wipe out the order in minutes. The availability of polymer clay sure has come a long way since then.

While you are buying some for yourself, I suggest getting some for the kids in your family. They can make Halloween and Christmas ornaments, their own designer beads, clay tiles to use in mosaics, book markers, jewelry and more. They can even make game pieces (every house in America probably has a game with pieces missing). (You would think that I'm a spokeswoman for the clay industry....I'm not, I just love it so much!)

Happy Claying!

New Topper

I recently made this polymer clay wedding cake topper. It is a bride and groom sitting in a bathtub toasting with champagne. This was fun to make; however, I had to order a complete bathroom set in order to get the tub, so now I have a toilet and a sink. Maybe I can sell them on Ebay.

I finally got my video camera and am in the process of trying to learn how to video tape myself making clay, so that I can do tutorials. It's a trial and error process and I'm not doing too well. In the meantime, I've been making lots of clay figurines and toppers, so I need to figure it out because I could be video taping all this work I've been doing.

One final thought, I sold this crazy looking witch on ebay. My buyer is from
Australia. It's very exciting to ship my clay babies around the world.
I just sent a topper to Denmark! Hooray for the internet.

New toppers

I haven't blogged in awhile due to some health concerns and a busy schedule. I really want to make this work and fortunately, summer is coming, and I'll have more time.

I just bought a camcorder and will be doing quickie tutorials. I'm expecting it to arrive in a few days and can't wait to sit down and video tape myself making something.


Until then, here are a few toppers I recently finished.

Quicky Tutorial

Here is a very quick tutorial on how to make a gingerbread girl holding a cupcake. If you have any experience working with clay this will be very easy. If you have any questions, please email me. I'll be happy to help you out.


Gingerbread Girl...

Form the body and the legs first...




Drape with pink clay....

Form two apron
straps and attach to front of body...



Flatter darker pink



and then pleat it....

Attach apron to front of body...flattened gently....make two tubes for arms and attach to body....
Roll a brown ball and attach to top for the head. Make two small brown balls for the hands....











Add light brown for the base of the cupcake and top it off with frosting. Add white clay to feet and head to give appearance of the gingerbread girl being frosted. Top cupcake with cherry...bake at 275 for 30 minutes..let cool.