Raise your hand if you're an art supply hoarder. I hope you find this post from November 21, 2018 useful. ---- I took a class this past weekend. The instructor had us do an exercise that focused on speed. When we were done she said, "Even if you don't like it, what have you lost? 5 minutes?!" The woman in front of me turned to her friend and said, "And wasted your fabric." That comment hit me like a silver bullet. I am an unabashed hoarder. I get how hard it is to let go of supplies you paid lots... Read more →

This is a re-post of a blog from October 14, 2020. It's two years old, but these are absolutely my ride-or-die go-to supplies still. Enjoy! ---- Here is a quick guide to some of my favorite art supplies. I limited myself to just a few choices in each category. My true "can't live withouts." You can find a much longer list HERE. Art Journaling No string China Marker/Grease Pencil Catalyst Brushes Liquitex Gesso Pilot Multiball Pen Stamp Carving Speedy Carve Speedball Carving Tools Permapaque Markers (for marking the block) Black Archival Ink Pad & Reinker Carve Stamp Play Book Mixed... Read more →

Hey friends! I'm taking the rest of the week off from the blog. Steve is out of town and I've got my hands full. While I'm busy chasing down a toddler whose main ambition in life seems to be to run away from me, I thought I'd share some great content from the archives. This post originally appeared on the blog on May 13, 2016. ------- I often post art journal pages that I've created or that other people have created and say something like, "I hope you see something that inspires you." But today it occurred to me: What... Read more →

The Artful Holiday class is off to a fabulous start! On Monday, I shared how to make these super fun fabric earrings: Sharyn said, "Easy to follow and thorough instructions. I BELIEVE I can do this. I like that I can use my own stuff or paint a new design. Beautiful result! Great start to this series. Thanks." And I was thrilled when Laura posted her version of the earrings in the Balzer Designs Students Facebook Group: And Marybeth posted hers on instagram: As a teacher, there's nothing better than seeing the work you inspire! On Tuesday, Carolyn Dube taught... Read more →

Today's episode of The Adventures in Arting podcast was fueled by an email I get almost every single day: "I can't access my class." It's a statement that makes me crazy because there's no way for me to help the emailer. The questions I usually write back with are: What's the class? What's the specific issue with accessing the class? Is there an error message you're seeing? My frustration with this unspecific way of asking for help, led me to think about WHY asking specific questions is so important -- not only in getting technical support, but also in helping... Read more →

Today's topic was prompted by a member question. Each month members ask questions and request demos for that month's livestream. In July a member asked for what to do with dried out markers. Do you have any dried out markers in your collection? Instead of tossing them, why not try reviving them? Watch the video for the how-to: This video is part of an ongoing series of videos I'm doing all about basic art techniques you should know. If there's anything in particular you'd like to know, do let me know in the comments section. Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

I loooooooove big earrings. But I don't love my earlobes hurting. So I finally came up with a solution: I would make lots of HUGE but totally featherweight earrings. True story: I have been an earring factory for the past few months. Since March, I've been very disciplined about making gorgeous lightweight and totally unique earrings each and every week. And now I have a treasure trove of earrings to sell. Hooray! Believe it or not, this is actually just a small selection of the earrings I've made thus far: These fabulous one-of-a-kind earrings are not necessarily for everyone, but... Read more →

Hey friends! Time is flying around here. My little guy is two-and-a-half and about to move up to a new pre-school class and I'm nervous about the whole thing. He seems unfazed...of course. Here's the rest of the round-up for July 2022: What's happening at home? My Brother and his family are visiting! Yay! It has been a year since I've seen them (they live across the country) and it has been such fun to hang out. My son and his son are just six weeks apart in age and it's lovely to see them together. What's on your desk... Read more →

On Friday, I taught a live online class called, "Mixed Media Collage: Embellishing a Basic Design." We had a great time and I made three demo collages during the two-and-a-half hour class. When you're working from a formula, you can get a lot done really quickly! Would you like to see the three mixed media collages I made? In class we discussed how to get started with a basic design and then embellish it... ...how to fix a collage gone wrong... ...and how to work from a plan... Of course, you can't tell from looking at them which process was... Read more →

The Artful Holiday Class begins on Monday and I'm so excited to share all of the super cool projects with you, like this mixed media book made from recycled materials and featuring a no sew binding: The Artful Holiday class is packed with projects and each project encompasses lots of different techniques that you can use and repurpose. I've brought back some teachers that were student favorites before, like Susana McDonnell from the Carve December class. Watch this short interview and chat with Susana: And I'm introducing you to some new and exciting teachers -- some of whom are teaching... Read more →