Balzer Designs

Around Here: February 2021

Hello, friends! Here is a little bit about life around here right now: What are you working on? I am working on a tutorial for the paper birds I shared last week (using either a cut file or a PDF for hand cutting). It takes about four times as long to make the tutorial as it does to make the project. So hopefully I will have that finished by next week. What are you loving? Steve shoveled out a tiny snow maze for the baby in our driveway. He loved it and so did I! Of course, it's nothing compared... Read more →

A Formula for Making Art Quickly

If you want to make art quickly, you need to have all the supplies on hand. I'm not talking about paint and brushes...although those are useful to have. I'm talking about pre-made "art parts." What are "art parts?" Well, it's a term I made up. But in essentials, it's substrates and bits and pieces that are ready to go into your art without any work. It's the kind of stuff you make when you have a bit of free time, without any end result in mind. If you've bought a scrap pack from me, you know what I'm talking about.... Read more →

I Made an Ugly Monster Doll!

Check out how cute this fleece ugly monster doll is! This is a project that Michaels hired me to do and by their request I have the full tutorial in my instagram stories (follow the link and click on my face). I hope you'll check it out! Thanks for stopping by! --- P.S. The Member Livestream is tomorrow (Wednesday) night and ScanNCut: CanvasWorkspace for Mac is on Thursday night. Read more →

100 Days of Art Botanical: Days 11-22

We are 22 days into The 100 Day Project. Just 78 more to go! You may recall from my previous 100 Day Project post that I have been smushing together my #100DaysofArtBotanical with #februllage. I gave it a good try... ...but I was really struggling with the mashup. I wasn't enjoying the process or liking the results, so I gave it up and tried some new things. And then I floundered some more. And then I found my way! Yay! I decided to commit to creating the next 30 days of my 100 Day Project in this small junk journal... Read more →

Art Journal Every Day: From Sketchbook to Art Journal

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, the concept is simple: It's a commitment to take ten minutes each day to do something in your art journal. No need to finish anything or even like it. It's about making the time to nourish your creativity every day! If you have the time to flip through your phone, you have the time to Art Journal Every Day. If you'd like to share what you make, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday so that we can all take a peek. You can find new Art Journal Every Day posts here on the blog... Read more →

Currently Prototyping Paper Birds

I spent a big chunk of yesterday prototyping some three-dimensional paper birds. I am planning to cut some out of white paper and experiment with different surface design techniques on them. Then once I have a menagerie of lovely birds, I'm going to climb a ladder and hang them from my ceiling! I really enjoy this kind of contemplative making. Experimenting. Trying new things. Learning what works and what doesn't. Problem solving is my happy place. And that's a lucky thing since most art making is just solving problem after problem! Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

Mixed Media Page Marker/Bookmark

I stumbled across these fabric bookmarks that looked cool and super simple to make: source But I didn't feel like dragging out my sewing machine and ironing board. So, I made one out of paper! I cut a 3"x3" square and then cut another 3"x3" square into a little bit more than half. Because I'm using adhesive and not stitching it, I knew that I would need a bigger corner area, which you can see on the piece on the right side. And then I decorated the papers and simply glued them together on the top and left side. This... Read more →

Exploring Stencil Butters

The folks at The Crafter's Workshop sent me some of their new stencil butters to try out. And so I did! You can watch my explorations in the video below: Links: Stencil Butter Shimmery Goodness Palette Paper Palette Knife Black Tags Manila Tags Stencils: Cut Outs, Shape Landscape, Fantasy Tile Stencil 101 free e-mail course And here is another peek at the tags from the video: Let me know if you've tried out the stencil butters or the shimmery goodness. Any thoughts on using them? I'm kind of tempted to try the stencil butters on my gelatin plate next! Thanks... Read more →

Chicken T-Shirt

Andrea Clement taught a wonderful unit in the Carve December Class all about designing animals with folk-style doodles inside of them. You may recall that I carved this chicken stamp... ...and this squirrel stamp... ...based on her lesson. Well, I got sooooo super obsessed with designing these folk style animals and I decided they didn't have to "just" be stamps. So, I made a t-shirt: And here's my little guy doing his very best model poses: Standing still was more of a priority for me than for him. But he did pause briefly: I know I'm biased, but what a... Read more →

Art Journal Every Day: A Peek into my Sketchbook

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, the concept is simple: It's a commitment to take ten minutes each day to do something in your art journal. No need to finish anything or even like it. It's about making the time to nourish your creativity every day! If you have the time to flip through your phone, you have the time to Art Journal Every Day. If you'd like to share what you make, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday so that we can all take a peek. You can find new Art Journal Every Day posts here on the blog... Read more →