Balzer Designs

Kraftex Bowl

I recently participated in Cloth Paper Scissors "Road Test" section, where they ask artists to make something with a particular product.  They sent me a roll of red Kraft-Tex. 

I had experimented with Kraft-Tex a few times before.  It's a fascinating product.  It's paper, but you can wash it and sew it like fabric.  It has some similarities to leather in appearance.  It doesn't tear and it takes paint easily.  A lot of people use it for bags and journal covers. 

If you know me, you know that I always want to do something different.  I wanted to make something that took advantage of all of Kraft-Tex's unusual qualities.  After sitting and thinking for a while, I decided to make a decorative bowl -- creating the bowl shape by stitching.

I used my Dramatic Floral stencil to create a pattern inside the bowl, but I left the outside plain.

I love the way it turned out!  You can find step-by-step instructions as well as other artist's experiments with Kraft-Tex in the current (and final) issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Art Journal Every Day: 5 Reasons I Art Journal

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, there is a short introduction here.  All of the previous posts can be found archived here.  Remember, it's just ten minutes of nourishing your creative self every day!  No need to finish anything or even like it. If you've done some art journaling this week, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday so that we can all take a peek.  Even if you're not on social media, you can see everything (from twitter, pinterest, instagram, and facebook) that uses that hashtag here. 

I think it's highly probable that I will keep an art journal my whole life.  There are many other artistic endeavors that I've abandoned over the years, but my art journal remains a constant.  Why is that?  Well, I thought we could discuss that topic today.

Here are five reasons that I keep an art journal:

ONE: It's a place to put everything.

This might be a silly reason to some people, but I *hate* throwing things away.  A palette covered in leftover paint must be used up!  A scrap of paper or an abandoned collage.  Some tags stamped and doodled on.  All of these things must find a home and my art journal is that home.  Since I started creating Junque Journals, I never feel that anything is wasted.  It's a wonderful feeling to glue all of those random art leftovers into my art journal.  I know that I've found a safe space for them!

TWO: It's a space for practice.

I use my art journal as a place to practice.

2012

2014

2018

Most days it doesn't feel like I'm making any progress, but when I flip through the years, I can see it.  It's one of the many reasons I believe in the "Art Journal Every Day" philosophy.  Progress comes from practice.  And even though ten minutes of art a day doesn't seem like it can change your life, it has unequivocally changed mine.  I am better at drawing faces because of my daily art journal practice.  Period.

THREE: It's therapeutic.

People often ask me about all of the writing in my art journal. The truth is, I write a lot of absolutely nothing. It's a brain dump of all of my worries, random thoughts, and the things that I'm currently obsessing about.  Sometimes it's just a stream of consciousness about what I need to get done later in the day.  Committing all of that crap to paper is super helpful to me.  I find that getting it into my journal means that it's not pinging around in my brain.  I write it down, close the book, and move on.

FOUR: It's pleasurable.

Why do people do things they don't enjoy?  It's so difficult to keep going when you don't enjoy the process.  I'm not sure if I believe in exercise endorphins, but I have experienced art making endorphins!  I enjoy the process of art journaling.  I like working on my pages.  I love walking into my studio and opening up my journal.  I look forward to it.  I find the process relaxing and pleasurable.

FIVE: It's an incredibly flexible art form.

You want to draw?  You want to stamp? You want to paint?  You want to use watercolor?  You want to use spray ink?  You want to cut?  You want to tear?  Whatever you want to do, you can do it in an art journal.  The fact is, I get bored really easily.  I don't like to do the same thing over and over and over again.  I'm always looking for what's new and what's exciting to me right now.  My art journal is so flexible.  I can work with a wide variety of mediums and subjects and never get bored.  I love it!

Why do you art journal?  I'd love to know!

Thanks for stopping by!

Two ScanNCut Classes at Sewing Machines Plus in California

As promised, here is some more info on those ScanNCut classes in California December 14-16.

• Friday, December 14 is a one-day class for ScanNCut users who want to bring their machines to class.
• Saturday & Sunday -- December 15 & 16 -- is a two-day class and the class fee INCLUDES the purchase of a brand new ScanNCut DX 225.

In the two-day class we are making six projects.

In the one-day class we will be making the first three projects:

A paper lamp:

A card with drawing and an envelope:

A notebook with layered vinyl:

A tote bag featuring scanned handwriting:

A no-sew fabric pillow cover with a design created by you:

And a stamped gift box:

Not only will you walk away with an amazing collection of finished projects, but each project is designed to teach you ScanNCut skills -- from blade depth to scanning to on screen editing, I will cover it all.

I hope you'll join me in California!