Balzer Designs

I {Heart} Surface Design: Collaged Flower

This one is a little bit sweeter than I normally go for in style. I think it's because I chose a relatively soft palette. I've been feeling like I'm in a color rut and trying to mix things up. This soft pink is the result! I have to confess that I don't think this 100% counts under the "surface design" headline, but I put together a quick two-minute tutorial for you nonetheless: I hope you'll give this project a try! Personally, I might just have to fill an art journal page or two with collaged flowers! Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

Guest Post: Abstract Winged Creatures

Today's guest post is from the talented Mystele! I have long adored Mystele's folk art-style paintings. And having met her in person, I can say that she is just as lovely a human being in person as she appears to be in her videos. Such a delight! The process I’m sharing with you via video is one of my favorites- creating abstract winged creatures with textured collage. You don’t need a lot of supplies for this, either- woot!, and you can, of course, adapt the supply list to suit your collage and creative aesthetic. There are NO hard and fast... Read more →

Stamped Christmas Cards

This has not been a crafty holiday season for me. However, I did manage to put together two very last minute Christmas cards. It was a Christmas Eve miracle! I followed an easy 1-2-3 card-making formula that you can use for any occasion: Background Paper Sentiment Detailed Embellishment For my cards: The background paper was stamped using a hand carved stamp and a custom ink pad, but you could grab a sheet of pretty scrapbook paper to make the process quicker. For my sentiment, I used my ScanNCut to create exactly what I wanted. However, you could just as easily... Read more →

Dimensional Paper Snowflakes

I found a super cute and easy tutorial that I just *have* to share! It's from a blog called, "The Other Side of Neutral" and it's a step-by-step photo tutorial on how to make these really cute dimensional snowflakes: Here's the link to the tutorial. The blog writer made hers with book pages, but I can imagine they would be super cool made from hand painted papers too! Every year I decorate our Christmas tree with handmade ornaments, like these: That said, we couldn't get our act together this year to decorate the tree. (The fact that we managed to... Read more →

Art Journal Every Day: More February 2019 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. Today I am sharing some more art journal pages from February 2019. These... Read more →

Guest Post: Warm Winter Wishes

Today's guest post is from Gwen Lafleur. I first met Gwen many years ago when she was a student in a class I taught in Connecticut. I was blown away by her talent and I have followed her on social media since then. I think you'll love her tutorial! Hi all, this is Gwen Lafleur and today I’m sharing a fun seasonal project and tutorial that I put together along with Eileen Hull and Emerald Creek. The theme for my project was "Warm Winter Wishes" – I thought this was a great way to start getting in the mood for... Read more →

Art Journal Every Day: Some February 2019 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. Today I am sharing some art journal pages from February 2019. You'll notice... Read more →

Guest Post: No-Sew Craft Plastic Pen/Pencil Case

Today's guest post is from the super talented Cat Kerr. Cat is a frequent guest on Make It Artsy and always shares super fun projects with lots of layers! Are you always losing your favorite pens, pencils and markers? If you're anything like me you want to pull your hair out every time you go reach for your favorite writing tool and guess what...it's not where it's supposed to be! So I decided I wanted to make my own case and I would attach to directly to my journal so I could never lose my favorite writing tools again. Now... Read more →

A Pop-Up Birthday Card!

I made Steve a pop-up birthday card! It's better in video because you really get to see how it works: And here are some photos: I used hand carved stamps to decorate the inside of my card. This is a "Twist and Pop Up" card. I found a tutorial on YouTube that was comprehensive and super easy to follow: If you enjoy papercrafting, this is a fun one! I hope you'll give it a try! Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

Two ScanNCut Cards

I haven't bought a card to give someone in years. I like to make the cards. It's a mini gift to the recipient! A few months ago I was invited to a family member's baby shower. I immediately knew that I wanted to make the card and so I went looking for inspiration! I was poking through some of the premium ScanNCut cut files and I found one called "SVG Cutting Files Baby, Steampunk and Skulls Pattern Collection." I immediately loved the elephant card (I have long had a thing for elephants): I decided to make it with a few... Read more →