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!