Today I've got a fun and quick way to make a big batch of Valentine's Day cards!
Watch the video for the how to:
And here are individual photos of the cards I made:
Supplies Used:
I hope you'll give this technique a try! Thanks for stopping by!
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I recently attended Creativation -- the annual trade show for the craft industry. It used to be called CHA (craft and hobby association) and now it's called Creativation. And the organization, which also used to be called CHA, is now called AFCI. Learn all about it on the podcast:
If you do not see the podcast player above, please click on this link. You can listen to a podcast anywhere and at any time. It is a recording that is available to you whenever you'd like to listen. If you'd like to download it to your iTunes library, click here. You can also pause and rewind or fast forward as you desire. I like to listen to podcasts while I'm making art. It's a little like hanging out with friends while you art. Please subscribe to our podcast in iTunes or wherever you listen and be sure to leave us a review! Thanks so much!
Here are a few photos from booth set-up:
Creativation was a whirlwind of interviews...
...friends...
...and demos! New stencils:
And new Art Foamies (they weren't at the show, but I demo-ed my new stamps in the Pin It Canada booth):
And then all the fun stuff to see on the show floor:
I think you can see the trends in these photos:
As I mention in the podcast, I did some poking around for Make It Artsy, and handed out these silly postcards about the show:
Tomorrow I'll be sharing an in-depth look at the wall I made for Brother using the ScanNCut and DesignNCut!
Next week some projects made with the PTouch Embellish, plus lots of stencil and stamp info. **AND** I'm going to be doing TWO livestreams on YouTube with stencil and stamp giveaways!
Saturday, February 3 at 2pm EST I will be sharing all of my new Art Foamies as well as some Art Foamies techniques. I'll also be answering Art Foamies questions and giving Art Foamies away! It's going to be a super fun Art Foamies party!
Monday, February 5 at 9pm EST I will be sharing all of my new stencil designs! Of course there will also be stencil techniques, a huge stencil giveaway, and I'll be answering your stencil questions!
Livestreams are 100% free and can be found on my YouTube channel.
Side Note: I was delighted to be a "Creativation VIP" this year. You can see the page about me here.
Thanks for stopping by!
All podcasts are archived here. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here. And if you like the podcast, please leave a review on iTunes!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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