Balzer Designs

Thank You Card Inspiration

My baby shower is this weekend.  (Yay!)  Knowing that I'll have lots of thank you cards to write, I've been looking for inspiration.  I think handmade thank you cards are always a really nice gesture, but I'm also short on time (we move in less than a week) and need to make a whole bunch ASAP.  I thought I'd share some of my favorite cards I found online. There are a couple of styles I clearly like.

STYLE ONE: Watercolor

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STYLE TWO: Cut Outs

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STYLE THREE: Text Based Design

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STYLE FOUR: Clusters of Little Things

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For the sake of time, I'm inclined to think that either some simple watercolor cards or some simple text-based cards would be the best choice.  Mostly, I think I need a "thank you" stamp to make things go quickly and smoothly.  What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Sewing Curves Class

This weekend I took a class at the Cambridge Quilt Shop called, "Sewing Curves."  We learned four curvy techniques:

Improv Curves

Drunkard's Path

Inset Circles

Machine Appliqué without raw edges

And here are the samples I made in class, all together.

I've been trying to figure out if I can actually make something from all this random pieces, or if I should just let it go and leave these as samples?

It doesn't feel like they belong together, so I'm thinking they may just all get shoved into my scrap bag.

In any case, curves are something that has always intimidated me, but our instructor was super easy going and I learned a ton.  I'm looking forward to creating some curvy fabric creations!

Thanks for stopping by!

#PrintInktober: Days 1-7

We're about a week into #Printinktober! 

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been printing on fabric.  Most of what I've been printing on is fat-quarter sized fabric. I've managed to post a process video every day so far.  Yay!  What you'll see is the process video, embedded from instagram (if you get this blog via e-mail you may need to click on the title of the post to view the videos online) and a photo of the finished fabric:

I love that I'm beefing up my collection of hand printed fabric.  I don't have any specific plans for any of this fabric.  I plan to just incorporate it into the fabric projects I make over time.

It's not too late to join in on all the fun!  Remember, it's easy to participate using what you already have on hand:

• Use the hashtag #printinktober when you post.
• Any stamp can be used – foam, wood, silicone, rubber, hand carved, lino, whatever you want!  (And you don't even have to use a stamp.)
• Any ink can be used – screenprinting ink, marker ink, stamping ink, printing ink, etc.
• You can use the official inktober prompts, if you'd like.  Or not.
• Have fun and don’t worry if you miss a day (or more). The point of the challenge is to get those stamps out of storage and into use!!

Thanks for stopping by!

New Online Class: Indoor Sun Printing

I've got a great new 4-part class for sale!

Watch this quick video about the class:

You get:

• Lifetime access to class.  Once you purchase, you never lose access.
• 4 Instructional Videos.
• Written tips & tricks to take away from each video lesson.
• Complete supply list with links to purchase.
• Private classroom where you can ask questions and share your ideas.

Class is just $25.  Get immediate access to the classroom and all lessons as soon as you purchase the class!  Learn more & sign-up HERE.

I hope to see you in the online classroom!

Thanks for stopping by!

Art Journal Every Day: End of November 2018

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. 

Today I'm sharing three pages from my art journal at the end of November 2018.  This first page was a demo I did in my "Painted Paper Collage" class.  It's a class I've been teaching for years and years and a technique I use all the time!

I believe that I will never tire of painted deli paper.  It's just so luscious! 

There are some complicated layers in this next spread.  Can you see where this page actually ends?

It's right at the edge of that big heart.  The eye is actually on the next page.

I love cutting up my journals so that the pages relate to each other!

Here are a few more details from that spread:

This next spread is actually teeny tiny.

You can see that the entire spread is this girl's face. The right edge goes to the edge of her hair.  And the left edge is the same way:

If you've never tried cutting up your journal pages, I hope you'll give it a try!  It's really satisfying and transforms the plainest of journals into something magical!

Thanks for stopping by!