Hello Friends! I'm so pleased to share that I have six new stencil designs with The Crafter's Workshop. Stencil links if you wish to buy them: TCW956: Viney Flowers 12x12: https://shrsl.com/3clb8 6x6: http://shrsl.com/3clbe TCW957: Quartered Blocked 12x12: http://shrsl.com/3clbg 6x6: http://shrsl.com/3clbh TCW958: Splash Whoosh 12x12: http://shrsl.com/3clbj 6x6: http://shrsl.com/3clbm TCW959: Rainbow Branch Circle 12x12: http://shrsl.com/3clbq 6x6: http://shrsl.com/3clbu TCW960: Cosmic Music 12x12: http://shrsl.com/3clbw 6x6: http://shrsl.com/3clc2 TCW961: Basketweave 12x12: http://shrsl.com/3clc5 6x6: http://shrsl.com/3clc9 I put together a short unboxing video where I show off each of the designs and chat a little bit about my inspiration for each one and how I think I'm going... Read more →

I recently finished a series of three 5x7 mixed media collages. (You can grab one in my shop, if you're interested.) You can watch this overview video to see them come together: As I mention in the video, I started them for January's Book Club. This is what they looked like at the time of the Book Club recording: And here they are now: A few tips to take with you: Don't be afraid to cover things up. The layers and the texture are still there -- just in a more subtle way. Learn what things make your artwork "feel... Read more →

Great news! My nine new stencil designs... ...are now available to purchase! Here are the links to buy: TCW935: Secret Garden: 6x6 and 12x12 TCW936: Messy Writing: 6x6 and 12x12 TCW937: Rows of Lines: 6x6 and 12x12 TCW938: Mystical Doodles: 6x6 and 12x12 TCW939: Scattered Branches: 6x6 and 12x12 TCW940: X-Trail: 6x6 and 12x12 TCW 941: Rainbow Montage: 6x6 and 12x12 TCW942: Tulip Hexagons: 6x6 and 12x12 TCW943: Garden Tile: 6x6 and 12x12 I had a wonky scrap of leftover tar paper, so I rolled it up to create a little book showcasing all nine stencil designs: Because it's soooooo... Read more →

In case you missed out on all of the stencil fun, here is the replay of Monday's live stencil event: And just to recap, here are the nine designs, which will be available on September 1: And here are links to all of the stencil posts I've done this month: Unboxing Embossing Paste & Embossing Powder Stencil Rubbing Using a Gelatin Plate with a Stencil to Fix Ugly Papers Baby Wipe Removal Understanding Different Mediums Using a Stencil Brush Distress Spray + Stencils 2 Ways to Foil How to Use Watercolor with Stencils Stencil Storage Whew. That's a lot of... Read more →

I have hundreds of stencils and in this video I'm sharing how I've stored and organized them for over a decade. Page protectors and book rings are such a simple and inexpensive solution. No tangling, no getting lost -- this system keeps all of my stencils 100% contained! SUPPLIES: 12x12 Page Protectors 12x12 Cardstock 8.5x11 Page Protectors 8.5x11 Cardstock Book Rings Permanent Marker How do you store your stencils? I'd love to know! And if you still want more stencil know-how, you can check out my free email course: Stencil 101. Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

One of my favorite uses for stencils and the gelatin plate is to make ugly things pretty. In this video I'm sharing how you can quickly print an overall pattern and magically make things look so much better! Check it out: SUPPLIES: Gelatin Plate Speedball Brayer Liquitex Basics Acrylic Paint "A Year of Gelatin Printing" Online Class I used TCW935 aka "Secret Garden" for this video and it made me fall head over heels in love with this stencil. Even after a decade of designing stencils, I still get surprised when I actually start to play with them. I knew... Read more →

Did you know that you can stencil an entire sheet of paper in less than 30 seconds? The trick to this technique is using thin papers -- copy paper, tracing paper, deli paper, washi paper, book pages, etc. To get a great rubbing you want to make sure that you're using a paper you can feel the stencil through. In the second half of the video, I share how you can use a water based colorant, such as spray ink or watercolor, to add a background color to your paper. The oil pastel (and a crayon would do the same)... Read more →

If you're a texture junkie, you're going to want to try out this technique: Heat embossing with modeling paste and stencils creates the coolest dimensional designs! Watch the video for the how-to: SUPPLIES: Light & Fluffy Modeling Paste Embossing Powder Embossing Heat Gun And the stencil I used is TCW939: There are lots of different mediums that you can use for heat embossing. Embossing powder will stick to anything that's wet. Have you ever tried heat embossing with paint or spray ink or another non-traditional medium? I'd love to know! Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

I don't know about you, but I am LAZY. And the easiest way to quickly stencil a large area is with a baby wipe. As you can see the results are fantastic! Here are some detail photos: In this tutorial video I share two different examples of media you can use with this technique: water soluble crayons and acrylic paint. In the video I'm using a stencil I designed for The Crafter's Workshop called "Tulip Hexagons." It's designed to seamlessly repeat. I show you how in the video above. It's so easy! I hope you'll give this technique a try.... Read more →

Yes, you 100% can use watercolor with stencils. In this video I share several different techniques for applying the watercolor as well as cleaning up your stencils. SUPPLIES: QoR Watercolors Palette Watercolor Paper The stencil in the video is one of my (Balzer Designs) designs for The Crafter's Workshop. It's called "Garden Tile." The holes are small on this stencil and you may have to knock out a few of the "hanging chads" as I demonstrate in this video: Here are a few of the examples from the video: Have you tried using watercolor with your stencils? How did it... Read more →