Balzer Designs

Mixed Media Canvas from April's Member Livestream

I finished up the piece I started during April's Member Livestream by adding a bit of hand stitching. I guess the stitching on my small quilt pieces is "catching." ;) In all seriousness, I think it makes sense that all the different projects I work on influence each other. Why wouldn't they?! You can see that I added both french knots and simple running stitches. I used one of my favorite stencils, Cut Outs... ...and you can see that it looks like a lovely botanical here: I also used my "Croquet" Art Foamie... ...for some subtle visual texture. In fact,... Read more →

Don't Miss Friday's FREE Webinar!

My friend Nathalie Kalbach hosts monthly FREE webinars on a variety of art-related topics. I will be part of the panel this Friday, April 30th, at 12PM EST. Here's the official description: Join artists Nat Kalbach, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, Iris Fritschi-Cussens, and Jimmy Leslie as they discuss the ups and downs, ins and outs, and the good, bad, and ugly of using social media as artists. We'll talk about balancing privacy and sharing, potential benefits and downsides, and how participating can change your practice. Metrics, negative comments, and thoughts on how to get started will also be touched on. Let's... Read more →

Art Journal Every Day: From Sketchbook to Art Journal

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, the concept is simple: It's a commitment to take ten minutes each day to do something in your art journal. No need to finish anything or even like it. It's about making the time to nourish your creativity every day! If you have the time to flip through your phone, you have the time to Art Journal Every Day. If you'd like to share what you make, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday so that we can all take a peek. You can find new Art Journal Every Day posts here on the blog... Read more →

A Busy Weekend of Teaching

I had a very busy weekend packed with people, which is certainly an amazing thing to be able to say in these days of quarantine. But, don't worry, it was all from the comfort of my own home. On Friday I taught my live online class "Friday Night Art Journaling: Let's Make Faces." Here are some of the demo faces I created as part of that class: My next Friday Night Art Journaling class is on March 5. It's all about hand cutting lace pages in your art journal, like this one: On Saturday I taught my "ScanNCut DX: Super... Read more →

How to Navigate Monthly Membership

I sometimes get asked about how to find certain things in the membership classroom, so I wanted to put together a video that shows you exactly how to navigate the monthly membership: I hope you found that video helpful! If you need to find it on a later date, it's on the membership page of my website. Here's a peek at a few items from recent monthly livestream demos: Honeycomb Christmas Ornaments: Water-Soluble Crayon Performance Comparison: Here is a screen shot of a demo I did in November on how to use watercolors with Art Foamies (all livestreams are recorded):... Read more →

Color Wheel Color Scheme Cut Files

I created a set of nine color wheel cut files to help make choosing colors a breeze. Watch the video to see how they work: These cut files are free to Maker Members this month and free to Super Learner Members forever. You can also purchase them in my shop. You get a blank color wheel and 8 corresponding color scheme overlays: monochromatic, analogous, complementary, split complementary, square, rectangle, triadic, and diad. You can use the overlays with your existing color wheels or make new ones using the included blank color wheel! Have a great day and thanks for stopping... Read more →

Art Journal Every Day: A Map Page

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, the concept is simple: It's a commitment to take ten minutes each day to do something in your art journal. No need to finish anything or even like it. It's about making the time to nourish your creativity every day! If you have the time to flip through your phone, you have the time to Art Journal Every Day. If you'd like to share what you make, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday so that we can all take a peek. You can find new Art Journal Every Day posts here on the blog... Read more →

Art Journal Every Day: A Teeny Tiny Art Journal

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, the concept is simple: It's a commitment to take ten minutes each day to do something in your art journal. No need to finish anything or even like it. It's about making the time to nourish your creativity every day! If you have the time to flip through your phone, you have the time to Art Journal Every Day. If you'd like to share what you make, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday so that we can all take a peek. You can find new Art Journal Every Day posts here on the blog... Read more →

A New Mixed Media Collage

If you've been following this blog for a while, you know that my interests are far and wide when it comes to art making. I tend to create in phases or bursts or binges or whatever you call it. At the moment, I'm in a mixed media collage phase. That's the thing that's holding my attention at the moment, and so here is a new one. This piece is 8x8. It's a long way from where it started. Take a peek at this fast forward video of the process: If you're a member, you can see the real time version... Read more →

Two Gelatin Printed Zines

On Friday, Jackie Jimerson and I did an instagram live together where we each made a simple zine using stencils and gelatin printing. They ended up being very different, which is one of my favorite things about art making: We can all use the same supplies and techniques and end up with wildly different results! Here is mine: Here is Jackie's: As you can see from the photo, Jackie is offering her zine as a free download! You can go HERE to get it. She even has included instructions on how to fold it. You can see that it becomes... Read more →