Balzer Designs

Pencil Lines: Sketch 189

Hello, hello, hello! Check out this week's adorable sketch for Pencil Lines: And here is my interpretation of it: This is one of those layouts that just got worked to death, you know? So I ended up cutting up the original layout and putting the bits and pieces of it back to together. And I'm rather pleased with the outcome. By the way, this is not something I often do, but it's very therapeutic to hack into your layout. Try it sometime! Here are the details: I cut out the borders of two journaling cards, and then stitched them together... Read more →

Different is Good

This struck a chord with me today (from Wyanne): And then she turned to me and said, "Mom, why are we so different?" I was a little shocked and asked her what she meant. She said, "Well, we don't look alike, and we don't really like the same things." It hit me....she was comparing her art to mine. And in her mind, it would never be as good as Mom's. I told her, that we really do look alike. It's just my funky hair that throws it off a bit. And that we were both highly creative. I got to... Read more →

Retail Therapy

I've been a bad, bad girl. I bought doilies from Sweet Vintage 78: I bought washi tape from Pretty Tape (Although, when it arrived, it had stickers from Cute Tape on it, so they may simply be resellers - however it did arrive like 2 days after I ordered which was so great!): That tape in the center is way cool. It's "frame tape" and it makes frames like the ones below: (image from here) I bought some Copic markers and the whole airbush system: I've been playing around with the airbrush and it is tons of fun, though I'll... Read more →

scrapbooking m.m.

I recently did my very first "assignment" layouts for a magazine. Swedish scrapbooking magazine, Scrapbooking m.m. asked me to do two layouts. Both layouts recently appeared in an issue of the magazine (which is beautiful, I'm only sad I don't read Swedish!) The first one is based on this sketch: Some details: I inked the edges of the star with Distress Ink and an ink blending tool for the two-tone look you see here. Stitching down chipboard letters is a sure way to make certain they stay put. I found some paint that matches the color of these Hambly transparencies... Read more →

8.5x11

What? An 8.5x11" layout? Seriously? It's true! Take a peek: This page just sort of came together magically. It's bits and pieces - a book page, a leftover photo, some transparency scraps, a stamped image I had cut out and not used - that simply gelled. And that too cute photo? We took it with the camera in my computer! We used "Photo Booth," which gives you a count down before it snaps the photo. I'm surprised by how much I loved doing an 8.5x11. I was very inspired by two lovely scrappers who do 8.5x11 all the time: Jill... Read more →

Canvas Apron: Pretty vs. Gritty

I made something pretty and then I decided to destroy it. That's sometimes how it goes for me. This is sort of a before and after and then after again story. Here's how it goes... I had a chance to play with the canvas apron that Donna Downey designed for Prima. It's a plain off-white apron made from canvas. There's a pocket in the center and a ruffle at the bottom. It's pretty stiff and resists water quite a bit. I decided I wanted to give my apron a pattern. So, I used a black Permapaque marker from Sakura to... Read more →

Randomly....

This is what the inside of my shower looks like right now. It has become a drying rack. It's the only place I can put wet stuff and know that I won't step on it. Plus, if the paint gets everywhere, it's easier to clean the shower than anything else, right? I've been playing around with the beta version of ACDSee for Mac (you can download it for free). And I'm pretty impressed. There are a lot more whistles and bells they need to add (and are planning on adding), but it's an easy way to sort my digital tools.... Read more →

Paintstiks Exploration at The City Quilter

I had a grand time teaching my "Paintstiks Exploration" class on Sunday at The City Quilter. The class was full of creative women and we laughed and played and generally got messy with Paintstiks! Paintstiks are oil paint in crayon form. They're permanent on fabric once they're heat set and come in both matte and metallic/iridescent. Take a peek at all of the colorful fun we had: And The City Quilter has a small slideshow of photos here. Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

Love These Ideas!

So many fantastic ideas around the blog-o-sphere! Take a peek at these amazing lovelies: From the Rifle Paper Co. via "Feeling Stitchy," these are stitched and painted wedding invitations. They're so glorious. I really love the map. The maker stitched the originals and then prints went out to each of the guests. Wouldn't you love getting an invite like that in the mail? Now here's a fun (and inexpensive) way to decorate: You could fill the cups with little tiny gifts! I found it over on "Design is Mine." Genius idea on how to create cardstock leaves use the scoring... Read more →

My Sakura Glaze Ad

I headed into a bit of new territory recently: graphic design. Sakura of America is a wonderful company that I work with a lot and they asked me if I'd be interested in creating an ad for them -- something that would run in magazines like Cloth Paper Scissors and Rubber Stamp Madness. They gave me some parameters and a few ideas and here's what I came up with: I created the artwork in the ad, photographed it, and then added the rest in Photoshop. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. (And the good folks at Sakura were... Read more →