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!

Art Journal Every Day: August into September 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. 

I'm delighted to be sharing some pages from August & September of last year.  It has been long enough since I created them, that I don't really remember creating them.  The main question in my mind is: Have I grown and changed in the (almost) year since I created them or am I in the same creative space?

This page was created using a technique I use all the time: reductive painting. It's a technique I demonstrate extensively in my Gelli Journals class.

I love to use pattern stamps to fill empty space in my journal.  It's like a super easy version of doodling!

One of the things that I've realized in a decade or so of art journaling, is that I really like knowing the date.  I used to be subtle about what month it was, but looking back through my journals, I much prefer seeing the bold month titles!

This face was also created using that reductive painting method.

However, instead of stamping...

...I filled the empty space on the page with pieces of washi tape!

Another face created by reductive painting!



I recycle all of my old prints, messed up art projects, samples, mistakes, and experiments into my Junque Journals -- all of that "garbage" gets bound into an art journal.  Sometimes I cover the old artwork completely.  Or sometimes, as in the case of this page, I let just a little bit shine through.  That purple daisy is from an early Balzer Designs release with The Crafter's Workshop (probably 5 years ago at least).  And now I've incorporated it into this face in my art journal!  For me, my Junque Journals are a perfect solution for (a) never facing a blank page, (b) creating layered art work with less work, and (c) neither throwing away nor hoarding old art projects, but rather putting them to good use!

I used a marker to color portions of this stamped design and I think it really makes it pop off the page!

So, let's get back to my question from the beginning of this post.  Looking at these pages, I am slightly sad to say that I feel like I'm in the same creative space.  And that's disappointing.  I like these pages.  I like these techniques.  But I hope that I am always growing and evolving and improving.  Staying stagnant feels like a little bit of a failure.  On the other hand, moments of reflection -- like this one -- are motivation to push towards change.  I think I'll take out my journal today and see what I can do to push myself!

I hope you will too!

Thanks for stopping by!

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P.S. Don't forget! The YouTube Livestream for Channel Members is tonight at 7:30pm EST!  If you're not a member, you can learn more here.

ScanNCut 4th of July Card

I'm super excited about today's project because it turned out even better than I imagined!  Here's a lovely way to celebrate 4th of July:

And the best part is that this card was made by slightly altering a free file for a New Year's Eve Card!  Watch the video for the how to:

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/

Project Life Update

Did you know that I still scrapbook?  It's true.  I no longer make the big 12x12 scrapbook pages, but I do try my best to keep up with Project Life aka pocket scrapbooking.  I've been a Project Life participant since 2012!  (You can read my very first Project Life post here.)

After 7 years, I still love my Project Life albums.  They're super fun to flip through because they're packed full of memories.  It will not surprise you to know that I approach my Project Life albums slightly differently than other people do.  Today I thought I'd share some recent pages and how they align with my personal memory keeping philosophy.

These albums are about me.  100% unapologetically about me and my life.

This means the pages are filled with photos of me.  Yes, there are photos of other people, but I don't really tell their stories.  I think sometimes -- women in particular -- end up trying to be the memory keepers for everyone.  Not me.  This is my album, from my perspective, about my life.

I make no effort to coordinate anything -- colors, patterns, style, etc.

For me, these albums are about recording memories with ease.  Part of what makes pocket scrapbooking appealing to me is that it consists of lots of little separate canvases.  I don't have to coordinate a big overall canvas.  That would make this project way too stressful for me.

Related: I make no effort to make the pages "pretty." If they look good, that's great, but it's not my goal.

I often choose odd or ugly photos because they represent a memory or story I want to tell.

I write all over my photos. 

I use two Sakura pens which work on slick surfaces to do this: (white) (black).

Or I use a label:

I do about 80% of the work in Photoshop and then 20% in my craft room. 

I outlined my process in this video and blog post from 2015 and it's the process I still use today!

Sometimes I print the journaling right onto the photo and then just add stickers/embellishments...

...and sometimes I just add the journaling by hand after it's all been printed.

I include bits and pieces from my digital life -- screenshots of texts and instagram posts and everything in between.

I fill my album with pictures of the art I've made.

Making art is such a big part of my life. I can't imagine telling my story without the art.

I do one two-page spread for every week.  If I have more photos than will fit in two-pages, I use an insert.

Sometimes the inserts are little.

Sometimes the inserts are major.

It's the journaling that makes this better than a photo album.  So, I tend to say something about most photos.

It doesn't matter if you don't have a photo.  There's still a way to capture that memory! 

Download it from the internet -- as in this movie poster.

Write a card.  Who says your album has to be all about the photos?

I'm still working my way through my 2017 and 2018 albums, and while the completist in me says that I should finish these albums in chronological order, I've decided not to.  Memory keeping is so different when you do it close to the memory vs. far.  In that vein, I am almost up to date in my 2019 album and will continue to slowly back slog through 2017 and 2018 while keeping up to date on 2019.

Are you a scrapbooker/memory keeper?  Would you like to see more posts about Project Life?  Let me know!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wine Bottle Flower

Here's a super quick and fun crafty idea for you.  I made a paper flower with a wired stem:

I wrapped it around a bottle of wine that we brought a friend's house.  A fun and easy way to "wrap" the gift.

The hostess was mightily impressed.  And I never admitted that it took me just a few minutes to whip up this wired flower!  If you don't drink, you could bring a nice bottle of balsamic vinegar wrapped the same way.

I do have a tutorial on making paper flowers, if you'd like it.  Otherwise, the internet is packed with ideas!

Thanks for stopping by!