Hello, friends! I suppose everybody's life is a little bit weird at the moment. But, I'll take safe at home over the alternative. Here's a little bit about life right now: What are you wearing? I get dressed in a kind of uniform every single day: sweatpants or leggings, nursing tank, sweatshirt or sweater. Hair up (the baby is in the hair grabbing phase) and if I'm lucky, my contacts go in. Final accessory: baby. I haven't worn any "real" clothes in ages. And makeup...ha ha ha. We are all about the basics around here! What have you bought? I... Read more →

I made cupcakes! Here are the two techniques I used: Multi-Colored Frosting Russian Piping Tips This video has an easy to understand break down of how to pipe multi-colored frosting: And this video shows Russian Piping Tips in action, along with a different method for filling a piping bag with multiple colors: I love how my cupcakes turned out (and eating them was pretty nice too)! Thanks for stopping by! 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. 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. If you've ever looked at my art journal pages, you know that I... Read more →

On today's podcast I'm talking to Susana McDonnell aka @linocaveprints about her relationship with Speedball Art Supplies, her previous life as a glass blower, creating with a kid, the instagram challenge #printersolstice, and her beautiful geometric art prints! If you do not see the podcast player above, please click on this link. You can listen to a podcast anywhere and at any time. It is a recording that is available to you whenever you'd like to listen. You can stream and subscribe through Apple Music or wherever you get your podcasts. I like to listen to podcasts while I'm making... Read more →

I have four art carts in my studio. Cart #1 is for sewing items. I use it to hold my fabric scraps and sewing notions. Cart #2 is for art journaling. I use it to hold my favorite pens, markers, stamps, deli paper, and collage fodder. Cart #3 is for memory keeping and ScanNCut. I use it to hold my most used Project Life supplies and some ScanNCut accessories. Cart #4 is for painting. I use it to hold my most used mediums, brushes, tools, and favorite paints. This system works for me because my studio is a big open... Read more →

I have a super fun project for you today! We are going to take advantage of the fact that the ScanNCut makes cutting shapes from stiff felt quick and easy. We are making this booklet-style felt needle case: These needle cases make great gifts and can be customized for the recipient with a variety of motifs and even their name! Watch the video for the how-to: Here's a peek at some of the details of that gorgeous needle case! And here's what it looks like inside: It's beautiful and functional. Can't beat that! I love to create "technique" videos for... Read more →

I hope you are all home and healthy at the moment. Some quick updates from me: ONE: The monthly newsletter went out on Friday. If you didn't receive it (a) check your SPAM folder, or (b) sign up for the monthly mailing list HERE. (It is a different list from subscribing to this blog.) TWO: The Balzer Designs member livestream is tonight (Monday) at 7pm EST. Here is a photo of my worktable after the last livestream: The link to watch live is in the forum section of the online classroom. If you miss the live version, you can watch... 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. 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. On Wednesday, I mentioned at the end of my blog post that I... Read more →

I loooved the process of creating this face. I think it might be the beginning of a series. I might never make anything else. It's simple and yet graphic. It has movement and interest. It's colorful but not crazy. Best of all, you can hang it on your wall with two pushpins. I'm excited to explore some variations! It feels like what all the faces in my art journal have been leading towards. Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

Chances are pretty good that you're stuck at home right now. No worries. There are plenty of art-related things that you can do! Make art. Stupid and obvious, but it can be hard to get going. Go do it! Check out YouTube tutorials. Watch them. Binge them. And do it guilt free. The Frugal Crafter has hundreds of crafty videos to watch on her channel! Take out that new tool, new paint, new thing you got and never used. Use it. I am guilty of this. I suspect we all are. Read an art book. It could be a biography... Read more →