Balzer Designs

Scrapbook Trends Now Online

Scrapbook Trends is a funky little scrapbooking magazine that I think most people are familiar with.  It has a cool square format and almost no advertisements.  Each layout gets an individual page and the photography is really beautiful!  Of course, it can be hard to come by.  But, no longer!  They're going with the swing of things and offering a digital version of the magazine.  If you'd like to check it out, just click on the button.

You'll be able to see their free "mini album" edition, which has some really cool projects.  There's one album that has me lusting after it.  It's by Debbie vanMarter, who unfortunately doesn't seem to have a blog (I googled her).

But the best part, is that there's a big section on bookbinding.  If you've ever wanted to give it a try, check out the article.  Lots of great information, step-by-step directions and photos!

I think it's $4.99/month to subscribe digitally (the newstand price is like $14 or something) and for $9.99 you can get an "all access pass" to all their publications: Bead Trends, Cards, etc.

And some other good news:

• Donna Downey recently featured my canvas album on her blog.  It was so very nice of her!  You can see it here.
• I had a page I submitted at least a year ago (whoa!) picked up Creating Keepsakes!  Yay!  This was especially nice because I haven't submitted anything in months and months.  I've been too busy.  So, it was a lovely surprise!
• I've got some exciting and fun news to share about a new gig, but I have to stay silent for just a little while longer!  Eek!
• I was asked to stay on for another term at Right at Home Scrapbooking.  Such a treat!
• I will have a brand new tutorial (video and pictoral) on Ali Edwards' blog, as part of her Tuesday Tutorials series, in September!  Really looking forward to that one!

Finally, a friend of mine had a birthday recently.  I wanted to make her something special, so I sat down and put together this simple, but chic, necklace:

Sorry that these photos are so terrible.  I've never quite figured out how to photograph jewelry.  Any tips?

Thanks for stopping by!

Coolest Thing Ever!

Oh.  My.  God.

Seriously, this is the coolest craft project EVER!  I found the tutorial here on how to turn a t-shirt into a cooler than cool necklace!  And literally ten minutes later, I had this necklace:

Well, there was still some t-shirt left, so I decided to make a variation:

So fun and easy!  I can't wait to experiment with different colors and styles.  I'm thinking about ways to add beads to them.  They're so soft and lovely to wear.  Sort of like a scarf.

Have a great day!  And thanks for stopping by!

So Excited!

I know this is totally geeky, but I'm way excited!  One of my all time favorite jewelry artists (and a stellar teacher) is Susan Lenart Kazmer.  I own a few pieces of her work and I've taken some classes from her as well.  This is a bracelet I made in one of her classes about two years ago:

Her stuff is so fabulous and interesting, you must go and check it out.  

But, let me get to the part that I'm excited about! 

I've been reading Deryn Mentock's blog for the last few months (go and visit, it's wonderful).  She makes fabulous, fabulous jewelry too.  And I just found out that Deryn is going to be on the design team for Susan's *new collection* of components and tools.  AND that they're starting a blog for the online store!  Yay!  Lots of wonderful inspiration will be found, I'm sure.

Totally makes my day.  *grin*

Thanks for stopping by!

Avalon Fix is Awesome!

This is a review I wrote for Craft Critique.  It appeared on that website a few weeks ago.

I first became acquainted with Avalon Fix about a year ago when I took a class with Jan Beaney. Jan is a fiber artist from the U.K. and you should check out her wonderfully textural embroidery if you get a chance.

Avalon Fix is a water-soluble stabilizer. In case you don’t know what stabilizers are, here’s a great article from Threads Magazine. Essentially, a water-soluble stabilizer allows you to stitch into it like fabric and then it disappears or melts away in water. It’s an easy way to make your own lace or free standing embroidered embellishments.

Avalon Fix has two unique characteristics that I love:

1. You don’t need a hoop.
Most of the water-soluble stabilizers I’ve worked with resemble a thin plastic film. In order to work with them, you need to stretch them in a hoop. Avalon Fix is more like a woven fabric. You don’t need to use a hoop. This opens up many issues of size and shape. And, there’s less waste. (Always an important consideration for the budget minded.) Further, it’s still thin enough to see through, so you can place a pattern underneath your Avalon Fix.

2. It’s adhesive backed.

A popular lace technique is to sandwich loose fibers between two layers of water-soluble stabilizers and stitch a grid. When you melt away the stabilizer, you are left with a wonderful lacy fabric. The downside is that you can’t really control where the fibers end up all that accurately. Because Avalon Fix is sticky, you can accurately place whatever material you want onto the stabilizer. Love that!

I like to use Avalon Fix to make these bracelets:

Here’s a step-by-step demonstration of how I use Avalon Fix:

1. Adhere it to your work surface (I’m working on a piece of glass) over your pattern, with the sticky side up.
2. Begin placing your fiber where you want it.
3. Continue to fill your shape – you can see that I used felt to create some circles.
4. Place another water-soluble stabilizer (I used Sulky Solvy) over your creation so that your needle doesn’t get caught. It will stick to the adhesive of the Avalon Fix.
5. Machine stitch to secure all the disparate items together.
6. Place the stitched item into a bowl of water – warm or cold it doesn’t matter.

The stabilizer will melt away and you will be left with your finished shape. You can now embellish and use it as you wish. You can see that I used it as the centerpiece of my necklace. I also made a matching pair of earrings.

I couldn’t find either prices or product info on the manufacturer’s website, however a web search revealed that you can purchase Avalon Fix for as low as $15 a roll. I buy mine at my local quilt shop for $20.

I haven't found another water-soluble stabilizer that performs in quite the way that Avalon Fix does.  I highly recommend it.

Day Seven of Sultane Week!

As promised, since Monday, I have featured  a project using Sultane every single day on this blog.  It's day seven and the official end of the unofficial Sultane week.  Today I'm sharing three layouts that were published in Histoires de Pages in February.

 

 

I hope you've enjoyed Sultane week as much as I have.  The Sultane papers are double-sided, thick, excellent quality papers.  And here's the best news: Portrait Bug is going to be the only place in U.S. that you can buy them!!!  The online store should be up this week...so let the shopping begin! 

In other Portrait Bug news: On Thursday, I went to the New York International Gift Fair.  Holy inspiration, Batman!  It was so cool!  We went looking for unique products to sell at the store.  And we found some *great* stuff!  I'm super excited for the boxes to start arriving!  At one of the children's clothing booths, I was struck by an adorable necklace featuring crocheted flowers.  Then, it suddenly occurred to me that Maya Road makes little crocheted flowers as page embellishments, and that I happened to have a package of them sitting on my desk at home!  Well, I ran home and an hour later, I had this beautiful necklace:

I stitched the flowers to a rubber tube (one of my favorite necklace supports) using embroidery floss.  So easy and so chic!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tim Holtz Sent Me An E-mail...

I've been accepted to Ranger U!  Here's the deal:

We will be hosting a full 3-day program that has so much to offer - Tim Holtz, Ranger Senior Designer and Education Director will be teaching Ink, Paints and Embossing and Suze Weinberg, licensed designer of the Melt Art® line will show how to use UTEE™ and the Melting Pot™ for your papercrafting and jewelry-making customers. Talented mixed-media collage artist Claudine Hellmuth will provide creative insight and instruction with paints, Beeswax, and fine art mediums.

The previous Ranger U program was separated into three distinct certification courses. The updated format will incorporate education of the most important aspects of Ranger’s essential product lines and will still include hands-on education of product knowledge, advanced techniques and answers to frequently asked questions from the top designers and educators in the field at Ranger’s home base in Tinton Falls, NJ. We will show you how to demonstrate, teach and sell Ranger products. You will become a “Recognized Ranger Educator” and be able to promote this achievement in a number of ways. Attendees will receive a complete curriculum filled with reference material, techniques and class instructions, a teacher’s kit of product and more! We will be opening the two sessions to 25 students per session, allowing for one-on-one assistance and attention. Make new friends, network and have fun creating at Ranger.

Yay!  I have wanted to take a class from Tim Holtz for a very long time.   His stuff is so fun and inky (and full of techniques - my favorite!)  You know that I'm obsessed with my Melting Pot, so getting to take classes with Suze Weinberg, who designed it, is going to be fantastic!  And Claudine Hellmuth is another lady who I think is so cool!  Love her work with beeswax, but I haven't been adventurous enough to try it.  She has a new line of tinted gesso out with Ranger and I'm curious to see how they differ from my beloved Golden brand gesso...

Okay, enough gushing.

For today's Sultane project-of-the-day, I thought I'd share something that uses the Ranger melting pot!  Appropriate, no?

Using the fabulous double-sided papers from the Art Quarelle collection...

and the Ranger Melting Pot, I made this ring and these earrings...

People seem to think they're stone until they touch them.  Then they think they're plastic.  You should see the shock when I tell them that they're paper!  I love wearing them!

And finally, a sale...

Spend 40 Earn 10
Earn Gift Certificates just for shopping!   

With all the new goodies arriving daily, it couldn't be a more fun time to stop by for a little retail therapy! But to add earning gift certificates while you shop...This is just pure BLISS!
 
Just spend $40 and you'll receive a $10 gift certificate towards your next purchase! Even better... you'll earn $10 gift certificates for EACH and EVERY $40 amount you spend now through Saturday! 
 
To start shopping, go to www.justletmescrapbook.com.

Thanks for stopping by!

Upcoming Classes this month!

7 DAYS • 7 PRINCIPLES
Online Class, August 18-24 • $15**

Join me August 18-24 as I take you through the seven principles of design (contrast, emphasis, balance, unity, pattern, movement, and rhythm) as they apply to scrapbooking. These seven principles are the things you should consider when creating a layout to ensure a great result! 

The seven principles of design are often confused with the seven elements of design (color, value, texture, shape, form, space, and line). The two are definitely linked, but the elements are more concerned with the artist's hand, whereas the principles are about the design itself. If you're interested in exploring the elements of design as well, I'll be offering a week long class in September.

Each of the seven days, we will explore a new principle and I will offer you tips on how to incorporate it into your scrapbooking.  You will be able to leave your questions and comments in the classroom and get feedback on your own work!

If you'd like to register, you can do so here.

**I'm offering a $3 discount to anyone who orders a kit from My Kits&Pieces!

RIBBON CUFF

Saturday, August 30: 11am-5pm at The City Quilter • $65

Learn multiple techniques while creating a piece of wearable art. Using water-soluble fabric, students will create this gorgeous cuff from ordinary ribbon and fiber.  We will embellish the cuff with felt, fabric, machine stitching, hand stitching and lots and lots of beads!  We will explore color and design along the way.  Instruction in thread painting, basic embroidery, and bead embellishment will be given.  Basic knowledge of sewing machine required.

If you'd like to register, please call The City Quilter at 212-807-0390.

To review other classes I'm teaching, you can click on the "Take A Class From Me" album in the left hand navigation panel of this blog.

Finally, I had to share a photo of all those silly Milk Can girls wearing the bottle cap necklaces I made (see the previous post below):

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Bottle Cap Necklaces

For the past few years my theatre company has held a weekend retreat.  And each year I make everybody in the company a Milk Can (we're The Milk Can Theatre Company) themed gift.  The first year I made t-shirts.  Then I made coffee mugs.  This year they're all getting jewelry.  I made necklaces out of bottle caps, UTEE, shrink plastic, paper, leather, and aluminum wire.  Check them out:

They were quick and easy to make.  I drew the milk can on a piece of shrink plastic and then placed it in my melting pot with some UTEE.  Once it had shrunk, I pulled it out and placed it into the empty bottle cap.  I poured in some UTEE and let it harden up.  Then, I added the little paper words and another layer of UTEE.  I used a heat gun to smooth out the surface and I was done!

So save your bottle caps!  You never know when you might need them!

Wednesday's Monster Post

Today, I've got a monster post for you with a lot of stuff to share!

1. Good News

I submitted a layout to a last minute call by Scrapbook News & Review.  It was my first time submitting to this ezine and they picked up a recent layout for their August issue.  Yay!

2. Craft Critique

I've said it before and I'll say it again, you *must* check out Craft Critique for their CHA photos and news. It's so great to have it all in one place!  The thing that interested me most was this post.  They're moving CHA-Summer to Florida and adding two days of consumer shopping!  Well, it might not be shopping, but two days that regular people (as opposed to retailers and designers) can walk the show floor.  Whoa!  That's a big change and I'm very curious to see how it all pans out.

3. Crop at K&P

This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday you should come and hang out at My Kits & Pieces.  We're having an online crop and there are a bajillion fabulous games, challenges (some of them are already up), and chats.  I'll be hosting a digi/hybrid chat on Saturday evening at 7pm Pacific/10pm Eastern, so be sure to stop by!  I'm also offering a FREE online class, so check the message board for that!

4. July Projects for Just Let Me Scrapbook

Just Let Me Scrapbook always had the greatest prices around!  Especially because she's always running an *amazing* sale!  She just got in a bunch of new Prima stuff and the Making Memories Noteworthy line, so I'm itching to let my fingers do some shopping!  In the meantime, here are my July projects for the store:

I made this layout at a crop I went to on Friday night with the Manhattan Scrapbookers.  One of the gals there gave me some lovely acrylic paints, so I had to try them out!  The paper is K&Co., the rubber buttons are from KI Memories, and those fabulous letters are from Doodlebug.  Lately, I am in love with all of Doodlebug's alpha stickers.  They're just fabulous!  The scan is kind of blown out, but the gist of it is that these photos were taken about 72 hours apart.  The top is my Mom (in CA with her sister) with her tongue out. The bottom is me (with my Mom in MA) with my tongue out.  Like mother like daughter.

 
After seeing the sneak peeks of Tinkering Ink's new Beadles, I had to make some of my own!  I've made lots of paper beads before, but I always coated them with Mod Podge or Diamond Glaze or something like that.  I tried using resin once, but it got messy and smelly.  So, when I read that Tinkering Ink was coating theirs with UTEE, I decided I'd try UTEE too!  Well, it's hard to see from the photo, but the finish is glossy and glass like and very, very hard.  I'm extremely pleased with the results.  I used K&Co. paper sprayed with a bit of Glimmer Mist for the bead base.

This one was inspired by the One Little Word Challenge.  This week's word is "if."  My page centers around an absolutely fabulous poem (one of my faves) by Rudyard Kipling entitled "If."  It's definitely worth a read!

5. July Projects for Amanda Dykan

Amanda has a fabulous mini kit for sale at her new site: AmandaDykan.com.  It's called Come What May.  Here's the preview...

And here are my layouts:

And she made some additions to her fabulous Pemberly Kit.  Here's the preview:

And two layouts from me:

I put a series of brushes at 28% opacity over the yellow paper (same as the top layout) to give it a very different look!

I think that's all for now!  (I know, it's a lot!)  Check back on Friday when I'll have a tutorial up for putting text on a photo using Microsoft Word!  Thanks for stopping by!

Woven Mariposa

You may recall that I posted a photo from The Bead and Button show of my class with Barb Switzer called Woven Mariposa.  Here's that photo again:

 

The class was all about wire work.  We learned to form the butterfly shape using several gauges of silver wire and a bit about how to make filagree (the curly sections you see in the wings).  Well, I finished up the necklace the other night:

I put it on a rubber necklace (one of my new favorite things) with the clasp in the front.  You can see it in the photo on the upper right.  I really like the way it turned out.  I've worn it for the past two days (and I'm really not much of a girly girl).

Finally, I have a whole bunch of stuff I have to keep under wraps: some exciting scrappy news (which I hope to share very soon), a fabulous quilt using a zillion fun new mixed media techniques (which I have to keep under wraps until I see whether or not it's accepted into an exhibit), and some fantastic new pages and projects (which have to stay quiet for a bit as well).  So, we'll have to leave it at that teaser for now.

Thanks for stopping by!