I've been meaning to do this tutorial for a while. I am not a seamstress, but I like to do my little DIY projects every now and then. People really liked the apron I made a few months ago... ...so I thought I'd share how to go about making your own custom fit apron. It's very easy and only requires the very basics of sewing machine knowledge. STEP ONE: Pick your fabric. Beyond the look of the fabric, there are some practical considerations. The first apron I ever made (and still a favorite of mine) was made from regular quilter's... Read more →

Okay, so it's definitely not my normal thing. Wait until you see all the pink and glitter on this layout! Here's the Pencil Lines sketch: And here's my interpretation: I wandered away from the sketch for the most part. However I kept several of the elements: the large mat behind the photo, the layered embellishment, and the paper strip across the bottom. The more I work on sketches the more I discover that I *need* to wander away. It always feels very tight and confined if I don't. Check out the details: I made a paper bow and then used... Read more →

On July 12, I'll be showing you how to make a beautiful acrylic album to capture all those summer memories! You can capture an entire summer’s worth of memories in this two-hour class! Whether you want to put together an album celebrating summer 2009 or get a head start on creating summer 2010’s album, this class is sure to delight! You’ll learn how to decorate an acrylic album with patterned paper, paint, and a little bit of imagination! Even if you think you can’t draw, learn how easy it is to make a dramatic artistic statement with this lovely album!... Read more →

Today I'll be sharing how to make this spectacular "Basket Full of Stories" and the mini album that goes with it: Join me for this FREE live class at 2pm EST today! Buy a kit HERE. Watch live HERE. Here's the time conversion chart: Hope to see you there! Read more →

Hope everyone is having a fab Sunday! My DVD... ...is currently available for pre-sale! Yipee! It's $19.95 and you can purchase it here. Grow your technique repertoire! Learn numerous quick and reliable techniques to use when creating mixed-media art. There’s no need to buy special equipment—use what you have on hand (junk mail, cardboard toilet paper tubes, plastic forks, etc.) and mix it up with your art supplies. Artist Julie Fei-Fan Balzer shares a compendium of techniques to use anywhere, even in a small apartment—no ventilation issues, no space-hog issues. Make a mess, have some fun, use your stash, get... Read more →

Last week we worked with some My Little Shoebox products over at Pencil Lines. Here's the sketch: And my layout: You can definitely see the sketch if you look at this shot of how the layout started: I had just one sheet of patterned paper to work with, so this was definitely a make-it-work-the-first-time situation! As you can see, I cut that piece of paper up and used the flowers as embellishments. I used a lot of foam adhesive: I painted the title and cut it out. The journaling is printed on vellum and secured with washi tape: Not my... Read more →

Well you probably don't remember because it was before I started blogging. In the not-too-long-ago, I used to only make two-page layouts. I couldn't imagine how it would look to have two different and uncoordinated one-page layouts facing each other in my album. Here are some circa 2005/2006/2007 two-pagers (and note that almost none of them are every day layouts, they're mostly all event layouts): So you may be wondering, why am I sharing these two-pagers? I'm sharing them as a simple reminder to worry less. Worry less about the product I'm using. Worry less about showing off the coolest... Read more →

I save all of the comments that people leave on my blog. And then when I get a free block of time I answer the questions that need answering, and I take a wander through all the blog urls that have been left by the commenters. I usually try to leave a comment on the blogs I visit, though sometimes I get shy and just poke around and leave. Bad form, I know. But it was on such a wander that I discovered all of these awesome ideas: Sherri P's 52 Lists A blogger named Sherri, who blogs at "Just... Read more →

On Sunday a group of brave ladies spent their afternoon with me watching paint dry. Seriously. 75% of this class was about sitting there with a Ranger Heat It Craft Tool in one hand and a paintbrush in the other! You can see the heat guns in action below: All the students brought in their quilted bases from the first class... ...and we got ready to start painting the face that would get appliqued on top of those lovely backgrounds! We worked in layers. Not everyone made a face. And at least one student already was a portrait expert! I... Read more →

This is one of my very favorite mini quilts that I've made. It's called "In My Heart" and features six needle felted hearts decorated with book page words. I'm a big fan of the heart as a symbol. A lot of my work has hearts in it. And almost everything I make is memory or personal journey based. This quilt is about all the different things I was feeling in my heart on the day that I made it. In that sense, it's kind of a scrapbook page. A moment in time captured. Take a closer look: The background of... Read more →