The first class I taught at CREATE: New Jersey was "Carving Stamps for Patterning." It was my first time teaching this class and we had a blast! It was a truly wonderful group of women with so much talent that I was simply blown away! I think you will be too! Take a peek: It's simply amazing what you can do with some rubber, a carving tool, and some creativity! If you're interested in learning more about stamp carving, may I suggest my online class and/or my DVD. I'll be back tomorow with more CREATE pictures! Thanks for stopping by! Read more →
July 2012 posts
It's time for our July Book Club! Just as a reminder, each month I choose a crafty book from my bookshelf and create something inspired by the book. I hope you'll be inspired to do the same. This month I chose More Fabric Art Collage by Rebekah Meier. I also own the first book in this series, Fabric Art Collage. And that book is the reason that Rebekah and I met. Come with me on a trip down memory lane: At one of my first CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) shows, I saw a woman in the ladies room with... Read more →
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. There is a flickr group for sharing right 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 and you've blogged about it, or put it on flickr, please leave a link in the linky list at the end of this post. Thanks! Today, Jordan Hill is going to share a step-by-step look at one of... Read more →
You may recall these silly pictures of me wearing the make & take that I designed for The Crafter's Workshop CHA booth. It's easy and fun to do and I thought today I'd share how to put a necklace of your own together! You will need: Sticky Back Canvas White 12x12 Cutterbee Scissors Gelli Plate Speedball 4" Acrylic Brayer Eco Green Paints: Primary Collection Liquitex Basics Acrylic Paint Lumiere Acrylic Paints Baby Wipes Deli Paper Cosmetic Sponges Black Sharpie Black Rubber Necklace InLinkz.com Note: I didn't include links to any of the stencils because they're not available yet. STEP ONE:... Read more →
At last I am safe and sound and back at home in NYC. This summer's CHA was a small show, but a lovely one. (If you're unfamiliar with CHA, please read this post where I explain all about it.) I headed off to Chicago a week ago, Sunday, on an early morning plane ride. I entertained myself on the flight and in the airplane waiting area by sketching and watercoloring. After a little while, I was joined in Chicago by a certain someone who I like to call "Julie's Little Helper." I love going to these events with my Mother.... Read more →
Back in March Ali Edwards asked me if I'd like to provide a tutorial for her blog. Ali is a blogger whom I admire very much. Her style and my style are a million miles apart, but I read her every day because of her articulate discussion of memory keeping. She manages to make memory keeping so very accessible for all and empowers her readers with her thoughts on why things work as well as how they work. A girl after my own heart. I was very happy to provide the following tutorial for her blog (appeared on her blog... Read more →
I'm so pleased to share that I'll be teaching two fabulous classes at Absolutely Everything in Topsfield, Massachusetts! I do hope that you'll join me for all the fun! Altered Book Workshop with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer Saturday, August 25, 2012, 9am – 4pm (with one hour for lunch) $85, call the store to register: 978-887-6397 Make an all day art date! We will spend the day transforming an ordinary old book into a fabulous piece of art. Come and learn techniques for layering, collaging, painting, patterning, and cutting. Whether you’re a mixed media artist, a scrapbooker, a stamper, a beginner,... Read more →
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. There is a flickr group for sharing right 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 and you've blogged about it, or put it on flickr, please leave a link in the linky list at the end of this post. Thanks! You may recall that I recently asked Art Journal Every Day participants to... Read more →
As I mentioned for the last three days, I am debuting fifteen new stencil designs with The Crafter's Workshop this summer. Here are the last four: These two tags use the "Numbers" stencil. I always like the play of hard agains soft, so it's nice to have a strongly ordered stencil in contrast with my own messy hand. I think it creates a lovely tension in what I create. I also used the numbers stencil on this layout: You can see that I used both the 6x6 and 12x12 sizes of the "Numbers" stencil along with the "Chevron Arrows" stencil:... Read more →
As I mentioned for the last two days, I am debuting fifteen new stencil designs with The Crafter's Workshop this summer. Today I thought I'd share a peek at three stencils that have something in common: This layout uses the "Mayan Calendar" stencil. I love circles. In fact, circles are what all three of today's stencils have in common! When you see them all, I think you'll agree that each one has its own personality. The Mayan Calendar is a wonderfully strong graphic, mixing hard lined squares and rectangles with soft and round circles. This layout uses the aptly named... Read more →