Balzer Designs

The Adventures in Arting Podcast: Bust the COVID Blahs

It has been several months since we've released a new podcast. There's a good reason and I'll bet that you can relate: the COVID blahs. But all hope is not lost, Mom and I have four solutions for you -- ways to bust those blahs and get back to being creative. Give it a listen: If you do not see the podcast player above, please click on this link. On the off chance that you've never listened to a podcast or don't get why anybody would want to, here are some facts: (1) Podcasts are convenient. It's a recording that... Read more →

Around Here: March 2021

Hello, friends! Here is a little bit about life around here right now: What are you working on? I have been trying to do a bit of outdoor sketching once a week. Just a quick scribble or two while on a brief neighborhood walk. Nothing finished or epic, but some gathering of new ideas/imagery. I'm using a black pen and a grey marker in a simple little book I stitched together. What are you loving? The relationship between him & his Grandma: Both sets of my grandparents lived far away and so my whole life I only saw my grandparents... Read more →

100 Days of Art Botanical: Days 53 - 57 & Art Journal Flip Thru

I love the work that I'm making for The 100 Day Project at this moment. It feels good to be so in love with my own work. I have definitely gone through phases where I feel apologetic about what I've created. Not right now. I love this work. And I'm so excited to explore where I might be headed with this style of work. Yay! Also: I don't know who needs to hear this, but here it is: no one else can tell you whether or not your work is good (or bad). You have to create for your own... Read more →

Easter Egg Cookies

This year, instead of dyeing Easter Eggs, I made Easter Egg Cookies! This was my first time diving into mixing painting cookies with piping and I really enjoyed it. I made A LOT of mistakes, and I learned some things too! Here's a peek at the process: Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

My Pandemic Art Journal Begins: March into May 2020

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 →

100 Days of Art Botanical: Days 44 - 52

I read something last week that strongly resonated with me: "New goals don't deliver new results. New lifestyles do. And a lifestyle is a process, not an outcome. For this reason, your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results." - James Clear I LOVE, love, love these mixed media collages. They combine so many of the things I love to do: gelatin printing, stamping, stenciling, drawing, painting, collage, patterns, and art journaling. But I don't think that I could have gotten to these without all of the years of working on each of those skills individually.... Read more →

Your Creativity Coach: My 3 Best Tips for Organizing Art Supplies

Today I'm back with another Creativity Coach video! Today's topic is organization. The key, I think, is developing an easy personalized system. Watch the video for more: If you've never looked at the personal coaching page on my website, I hope you'll check it out. Whether you're looking to start teaching online or discover your personal artistic style, there's a lot that working one-on-one with a personal coach can do to fast forward the process. Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

Artsy Easter Egg Inspiration

First, I want to thank all of you who took the time to comment and leave such kind and loving words on my Friday post. I'm delighted to know that you're still out there enjoying the blog. Thank you! Over the years I've made many different kinds of artsy Easter Eggs - some with real eggs and some with plastic eggs. Today I thought I'd share a few, with links to the original posts about them: Easter Eggs: Doodled & Painted Art Journal Easter Eggs Easy Dotted Easter Eggs Pysanky Inspired Easter Egg Place Cards Deli Paper Easter Eggs Paper... Read more →

New Blog Schedule

Hello! I've been blogging Monday-Friday for almost a decade now. As I'm sure you realize, it takes an enormous amount of time and energy to generate all the fresh content for this blog. But I've noticed a lack of comments, actions, and interactions lately. I'm not sure why? Perhaps social media is more of a draw these days? Perhaps I've gone stale? Whatever the reason, I've decided to stop posting on Fridays for a while and see how it goes. I will still be posting tons of great FREE content Monday-Thursday. "Art Journal Every Day" posts, which have traditionally been... Read more →

Finished Yard Art Mural

You may recall that at the beginning of the month, I shared my Yard Art mural in progress. I thought you might like to see the finished version: I wasn't kidding when I said the tree was BIG. This mural is a little more than 18-feet long and it doesn't look big at all on the tree. In fact, it looks tiny! To answer the most frequently asked questions: The substrate is tar paper, also called roofing felt. I used clear spray paint to seal the mural. I used glue to close the seam and the mural stays on the... Read more →