Balzer Designs

Rolled Paper Rose Garland with Suzanne

Suzanne (Julie's assistant) here again to share another tutorial with you fine folks. The internet is full of all sorts of paper flower tutorials and projects. Julie recently shared a fabulous one using her ScanNCut to make Rolled Paper Flowers. But today I'm sharing one that features everyday art materials; cardstock, paint, ArtFoamies, TCW Stencils, and a string of led lights.

First I layered pastel colored hues of ArtFoamies and stencils randomly on a few sheets of cardstock.  Not overlooking that you will see both sides of the paper, so flip the pages as they dry. Cut a spiral out of the paper - leaving a strip of excess for the leaves.

Roll the paper spiral from the outside in - the center of the spiral is a good landing spot to add hot glue to hold the 'petals' in place. Cut leaves from the remaining paper bits. After some experimenting, I found that cutting a line in the center of the leaves as well as a small hole made for good stringing for the lights.

And here you can see some glamour shots of them all strung up! The mirror gave a nice doubled effect for the garland and added sparkle.

They were a perfect fit for the top of a door. And you can see they look fabulous with the lights on or off.

Who says you need to hang up a garland? I have use the led string lights in vases, and when I saw Julie's beautiful wooden bowl, I couldn't resist.  Plus, it looked great next to the marquee ampersand on the table.

There you have it! Some super easy, artful, handmade roses that anyone can do.  Have you ever tried making something similar? We'd love to see your versions! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Easter Egg Techniques with Suzanne

Hey you guys! My assistant Suzanne Sicuranza is guest posting today with some fantastic artsy Easter Eggs!

Feast your eyes on some Julie-inspired Suzanne-made Easter Eggs.  I'll share some photos captured along the way, as well as a few short videos (and if you couldn't already tell, Suzanne written).  Let's begin!

Here is our starting point, store bought "chalkboard" eggs from Target:

And here are the finished products artfully waiting to dry in a red solo cup:

First I'll show you a bit of the drawn eggs. The surface was nonporous and black, which made it a nice starting point for Soufflé pens! It also meant that there were some extended drying periods, so I worked on a few at a time (you'll notice I didn't get as many progress shots as Julie does, but hey, I'm learning).

On this side I drew a mini mandala and filled in a bit of color.  Great choice because Soufflé pens have just the right spring pastel colors!

For a second doodle driven egg design, I went to a standby favorite - swirls!

In the photo above you can see how the pens transform from a cloudy translucent white to a fully opaque white once they dry. 

There's one other egg I made with the Soufflé pens as an homage to Julie's favorite thing ever.  See if you can spot it in the group pictures below. ;)

I had a semi-brilliant idea for a few others.  What if I were to load up an ArtFoamie with paint, and roll the egg over it? The key is to use paint that won't take forever to dry, and a bamboo skewer as an aid.  These eggs luckily already had holes in the bottom. Or top? Is there any real direction to an egg? Moving on...

For this one I layered different colors and different ArtFoamies on top for some cool texture. 

This is a short 30-second video that demonstrates the stamping process:

I didn't go too crazy and still let some of the black stay visible.  It was quick and easy and made for a good-looking outcome, if I do say so myself. 

Next I chose an ArtFoamie with a spring feel and wanted it to be seen as the main focus.

I later add a touch of copper with a Permapaque marker, because metallics are always a good idea.

I had to make one egg just a little different and I wanted to try to make a golden egg, and used black with the stained glass ArtFoamie:

Lastly, if you know me online @concernedowl or in real life, you know my love for purple and owls runs deep.  So, I couldn't resist making an owl, but to make it Easter ready I drew on bunny ears using Permapaque markers. 

Here they are, all pretty and in a row ready for Easter, or even just for a fun decoration for your home.

In a few of the pictures you can see the other side of the mandala egg, where I wrote Happy Spring.  Did you spot the egg I (or should I say eye?...ha) made for Julie?  As you can see you can easily take a few of the art supplies you may already have and decorate, or personalize store bought eggs. Think outside the box, or egg carton as the case may be.

I hope you liked my first (and hopefully not last) post here for the Balzer Designs blog. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Four Art Foamies Projects

Today I wanted to share a few Art Foamies projects that I put together for the Creativation Show.

This is a mixture of black paint on white paper and white paint on black paper -- not always easy to tell which is which:

This colorful collage didn't quite turn out the way I intended.  I'm still not sure how I feel about it, but I'm trying to let go of my expectations and let it be whatever it is:

Lots of fun details of stitching and layering!

This next project is my favorite!  I used paper clay to create some pretty cool grunged up tiles.

Believe me when I say that they are 100% better in person!  They really look like tile thanks to the glossy coat they got!

This final project is a little mini quilt embellished with beads and buttons.

I wanted each of my projects to reflect the possibilities of what Art Foamies can do: be used with paint, be used with clay, be used on fabric, be used for craft, be used for art, be used as background images, be used as strong motifs, be used as templates for embellishment, and so on and so forth!

What's your favorite way to use Art Foamies?

Thanks for stopping by!

Blogiversary Story & Giveaway: Art Foamies + Me

Foam stamps have been around forever.  Well, maybe not since the dinosaurs.  But they have been kicking around craft land for a very long time because they're relatively inexpensive, easy to use, and work well with paint.  Because they're relatively inexpensive (as compared to rubber), you can make some super giant foam stamps.  That's why you often find foam stamps in the home decor section of the craft store along with oversized stencils for wall stenciling.  

I did a quick search on my blog to try and find the first time I ever mentioned foam stamps.  Back in the beginning of my scrapbooking life, Making Memories and Heidi Swapp had lots of cute foam stamps -- alphabets and flourishes and shapes.  I loved them and bought them all!  But I can't seem to find anything in my archives about them.  There's a little bit of chatter about foam stamps on the blog in 2010 when both Claudine Hellmuth and Donna Downey released foam stamps (I used one in this 2011 post).  But I only really started to talk about them when I started making my own foam stamps!

• Here is a 2011 tutorial where I share how to make your own foam stamps from a Sizzix die.
• This extensive 2011 post contains a video that shows how to use a stencil to create a foam stamp.
• Check out this 2012 post (and spectacularly dark process video) where I incorporate home made foam stamps into a painting.  There are some thoughts on using foam stamps in the post, which I read with some interest -- apparently I'm still the same person in 2017 that I was in 2012.  ;)
•  In 2012 I came out with an hour-long DVD called Stamp Making Adventures.  This video workshop includes instructions on making all kinds of stamps -- foam and rubber -- using lots of different kinds of tools.  You can buy it HERE.
• There are a couple of art journaling posts where I mention having used foam stamps -- 2012, 2013.
• Here is a 2015 tutorial where I share how to make foam stamps using your ScanNCut.

In 2015 I taught some classes at Scrapbook Centrale in Quebec (I'll be teaching there again April 7-9, 2017, btw).  They had a wall of gorgeous foam stamps for sale.  These were unlike other foam stamps I had seen -- the designs were so intricate and they were all foam -- not mounted on plastic.  I bought a whole bunch and posted a video review of them.

A week or so after the video review the owner of the company, Emmie, randomly reached out to me to say thank you for the video.   They saw a spike in sales and figured out that it was coming from my video.  After getting her email, I decided to take a risk.  They say that you can't get things you don't ask for, right?  So I asked if she'd be interested in having me design a few stamps for Art Foamies?  I was overjoyed when the answer came back as a yes!  In November 2015, I shared my first Art Foamies designs with you!

And it has been a love affair ever since!  Art Foamies is a small husband and wife company based in Canada.  They are very kind and generous people and I am delighted to be working with genuinely nice people who make a wonderful and unique product.  Here are some notable Art Foamies posts for you to explore:

• Exploring Art Foamies
• Stamp Buddy Basics
• Three Art Journal Backgrounds using Art Foamies
• Two Art Foamies Printing Tips
• Stencil & Stamp Bumping
• NEW 2016 Art Foamies designs

 Although I may not shout it from the rooftops, Art Foamies make it into my artwork all the time.  Here are some recent examples:

To celebrate my partnership with Art Foamies -- and the fact that it was this blog that generated that partnership -- I am offering two things to you today. The first is a giveaway.  The winner will receive the Shadow Alphabet, Dinoskin and Inner Struggle stamps:

To win: Leave an answer to the following question in the comments section of this blog (it must be posted on the blog itself, not on Facebook and not in an email reply):

What do you like about Art Foamies?

This contest will remain open until Tuesday, January 17 at 11:59 EST.

In addition: This entire month (January 2017) you can place an order at artfoamies.com and if you mention my blogiversary celebration in the comments section, you will receive a FREE surprise stamp with your order!  This promotion only applies to new orders.  And remember, the prices on the Art Foamies website are in Canadian dollars.

Thanks for being part of the blogiversary celebration!!

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P.S. The winner of last week's stencil giveaway (ALL of the new release 12x12 stencils) is...

E-mail balzerdesigns2@gmail.com with your contact information and I'll get that prize right out to you!

NEW Balzer Designs Art Foamies Foam Stamps!

I am super duper excited to share that I have brand new Art Foamies designs available for sale!  Watch the video to see them in action:

My personal favorite is the Shadowed Alphabet:

Watch the quick video to see them in action:

If you'd like to win a Shadowed Alphabet set of your own, leave an answer to the following question in the comments section of this blog post:

What is your favorite new Balzer Designs Art Foamie and why?

I will announce a winner on Monday, December 5, 2016.

Three chances to win: I'm giving away THREE different Art Foamies.  One Shadowed Alphabet set of stamps, here on the blog, one Stained Glass stamp to newsletter subscribers (sign up now, newsletter goes out Friday), and one Tulip Doily on instagram (giveaway post will be live by 6pm EST)!  Enter to win all three.  Winners will be selected using random.org.

Thanks for letting me share my excitement!