Balzer Designs

Art Journal Every Day: Cut Pages

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. 

As you know, I go through phases in my art journal. I was clearly in a hand cutting frenzy last Spring and these pages reflect that.  (PS: If you want to know more about my hand cutting process, I do have a video all about it on my YouTube channel.)

I don't draw or plan the designs before I cut them.  I think of it as doodling with a craft knife.  One of the things that made me much more confident about freehand cutting was doing daily Notan/Expanded Square exercises.

I think that I might have shown this next page with the "knee art" on the blog before.  This is a page from an old Life Magazine and it made me smile. 

You can see that the right side of the page is cut around the Life Magazine page:

The backside of the Life Magazine page is piece of red cardstock printed with my Snow Branch stencil.

This is another Life Magazine page. This time it's an ad for a refrigerator and freezer. 

I cut around the ad, experimenting with leaving some uncut space on the left side.

I often like to leave the page behind a cut out page blank, because it helps the cut out look its best.

In this case, I cut the area on the facing page that was hidden by the solid part of the previous page.

You can see that the right side of the page features another Life Magazine page.  It's mounted on a file folder.  I cut the collaged page right around that file folder's tab.


So there you have it!  A series of pages featuring lots and lots of hand cutting.  I find the process fun and relaxing!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Source of Creativity

I listen to a lot of podcasts.  In the past few years I've converted over from watching TV to listening to podcasts. They're great for listening to in the car, on a plane or a train, in the studio, in the kitchen, while breastfeeding, or while walking down the street.  After listening to a podcast, I almost always feel like I've gained something: knowledge, a laugh, an insight, etc.  I also often need to share what I've gotten from a podcast with the people in my life.  After listening to this recent ted radio hour podcast, I knew that I had to share the whole thing here on the blog.  Give it a listen:

I often meet people -- in classes, at events, on airplanes -- who tell me that they are not creative.  It is one of my most hated statements.  I believe that *everyone is* creative.  This podcast deals with that question from several different perspectives.  I think you'll enjoy it and find it illuminating!

Thanks for stopping by!

ScanNCut: Dip Dyed Football Onesies

I'm super excited about today's project.  It's just so darn cute! 

Or is it the model that makes it so cute?! 

Either way, this is a fun and quick project.  In the first part of the video I show you how to dip dye your baby clothes.  In the second part of the video we add heat transfer vinyl or HTV sayings with the help of the ScanNCut.  Check it out:

I'm making baby clothes in this video, but you could absolutely use these techniques for grown-up clothes or even accessories like tote bags!  Check out the full collection of dip dyed baby onesies and jackets:

Thanks for stopping by!

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P.S. I am a paid spokesperson for the Brother ScanNCut.  It is a machine that I love and use.  All projects and opinions are my own.

Product Registration: https://www.brother-usa.com/registermybrother/
Brother Customer Support: https://www.brother-usa.com/support/

Creative Dog Grooming

I was at my Mom's house last week and we watched a documentary that introduced me to a world I didn't know existed.  Have you heard of "Creative Dog Grooming?"  It is the art of creating art in a dog's fur with products such as: dye, hair chalk, nail polish, glue-on rhinestones, etc. For example:

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The documentary we watched is called Well Groomed.  You can watch it on HBO.  Here's a trailer for the film:

Obviously, this is a hobby that requires skill, patience, and artistry.  The documentary follows three groomers and covers some of the debate over whether this is okay or animal cruelty.  From what I could see, all the dogs seemed happy with tails wagging.  The owners seemed to love their dogs and the grooming felt like an extension of that love.  In some ways, it reminded me of baby beauty pageants.  The dogs and the little children have the same amount of choice in the matter. 

Regardless of the cruelty debate, it's pretty impressive trimming and coloring, don't you think?  Art has many forms.

Thanks for stopping by!

The First Thirty Days of Motherhood

Just before the baby was born, I was hired by The Washington Post and The Lilly to journal about my first 30 days of motherhood.  You can read my raw, real, and absolutely honest account of those first thirty days on the Washington Post's website and in the Lilly newsletter. 

I think the illustrations they put in the article are weird and don't really match, but perhaps that's the artist in me?  Here's a link to the article. I would say, "enjoy," but people have told me they cried while reading it, so instead I'll say, "I hope you take something away from it."

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!