I taught two fantastic classes yesterday. Or rather, I should say, I taught two fantastic groups of women yesterday! My Journal Quilt Class has started a new semester over at The City Quilter. I teach one session of the class from 12-2 and another from 6-8pm. The two groups of students are very different and so each class has a different flavor! We meet once a month and do a journaling exercise and then learn a new mixed media technique. This month was monoprints. I thought I'd share some photos of my students and their journals and the monoprints they... Read more →

I have been promising a tutorial on how to make my ribbon flowers for a very long time. And today's the day, the tutorial is finally here! Here's what they look like: And here's the how-to video: And this is what I did with the flowers: The scanner kind of smushed the flowers. I think they look way better in person than they do on this layout. You can see the depth much more clearly in this photograph: Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

It has been a looooooooong time since I've played along with the "One Little Word" challenges, but I finally just *had* to give it a go! This week's word is "reflect" and this is the layout I made inspired by that word: The tape and the thread are Miss Crow's but everything else is Weeds & Wildflowers. Lately, I've been trying to get my digi layouts to "feel" the same as my paper layouts and I think this one comes close. I use so many art mediums when I paper scrap, and digi paints and pens don't always seem the... Read more →

I woke up with a big smile on my face. I feel happy. So I thought I'd share a quick list of ten things that are making me happy right now! So, in no particular order... 1. I love the blog, "A Girl & Her Journal" and this video she did is fantastic: 2. Visiting the DeCordova Sculpture Garden in Lincoln, MA. 3. This woman. She and I have been shopping, eating, laughing, and generally being silly for the past few days (also see #10). 4. Painted toenails. Hooray for summer and flip flops! 5. This challenge site. Every challenge,... Read more →

Well, we've wrapped. Everything in the studio was packed up and driven, carried or shipped to its final destination. But, let's start at the beginning of the day, rather than the end.... I started the day in the makeup room a little after 8:30am. Here's a photo of the lovely and talented makeup artist, Karen. The makeup room is so hot because all of those bulbs put out a ton of heat. After makeup, I hung out in the green room with the other guests. Here's a fun photo someone took of me: It's very much a "personality shot." A... Read more →

Day one of taping is over. I am tired, but happy. On Tuesday, when I arrived, I set up most of my Sakura projects: Each project has its own tray in the green room. I put the finished samples and all the necessary supplies onto the tray and then the tray gets taken into the studio. And because I was sharing supplies across several projects, I had to put post-its on each tray, noting which supplies needed to be traded around. Above is a fun photo of Beth Madland, one of the two hosts of Scrapbook Memories TV. She had... Read more →

I'm sitting in my hotel room in Cleveland. I was going to post some photos from my arrival at the airport and decided to make a quick digital layout instead. Back on the Project Fifty-Two wagon, here is the layout: Credits: Julia Makotinsky from Little Dreamer Designs (white journaling shapes), CD Muckosky from Little Dreamer Designs (heart), Ligia Orsati (brown paper background), Miss Crow (notebook strip), Balzer Designs (stars). Here are the paper airplane photos a bit larger: These are *huge* sculptures hanging in the Cleveland airport. They're made to look like paper airplanes and they are sooooooooooo cool! I'm... Read more →

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... Read more →

It's reveal day for Label Tulip! Check out what I did with this month's kit: The idea was to create “ghost” images from the past on this layout. So, I printed some old photos onto a transparency and used Glossy Accents to adhere them. Dig that 2 tone glitter glue from Sulyn. This might be one of my all time favorite layouts ever. And it uses an AMAZING splat stamp, which is the exclusive Label Tulip stamp this month. Definitely my favorite LT stamp ever. • To create the background, I lightly adhered several chipboard frames and shapes and then... Read more →

In about ten hours, I have to slip into teacher mode. I'm teaching two classes at Portrait Bug, here in NYC. Getting Started With Your Baby Book this Thursday! Save $15 if you mention Coupon Baby when you sign up! Thursday May 14th from 11am - 1pm $40.00 / $25 with your coupon Teacher | Julie Fei-Fan Balzer Baby photos. There's just something about those sweet photographs and wonderful (though sleepless) memories that deserve an album all their own. How do you get started on a baby album? Learn where to start with your baby book to actually finish. Julie... Read more →