Balzer Designs

Art Journal Every Day: Tags, Tags, Tags!

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. I love to use tags for experimenting and exploring. They're hardy and they're... Read more →

Watercolor Flower Cookies for Mother's Day

Hey guys! I made some more watercolor-style cookies! I put together a short video about the process: Supplies: sugar cookies - I used this recipe. royal icing - I used this recipe. shallow bowl gel food coloring lemon extract - Your cookies will taste like the flavor of your extract so use a flavor you like (almond extract, peppermint extract, coffee extract, etc.). edible marker palette for your "paints" - I used a mini muffin tin. food dedicated paintbrushes - Any paintbrush that has never touched paint is okay. piping bag pick I am not an expert cookie maker/decorator but... Read more →

Easy Watercolor Prints with Foam Stamps (Art Foamies by Balzer Designs)

Today I've got a quick and easy step-by-step tutorial for you. It's all about creating beautiful watercolor prints using foam stamps. As I shared in Friday's weekly newsletter, I have two new Art Foamies designs. There's a 3-inch and a 6-inch version of each. These are the 3-inch ones: In the video I'm using one of the larger 6-inch stamps: Aren't these prints gorgeous? Links: Art Foamies Inktense Blocks Live Online Tag Class This is a quick and easy technique and I love that Inktense blocks are permanent when dry! It's the look of watercolor but it allows me to... Read more →

ScanNCut: Vinyl Auto Blade Kit

The ScanNCut Vinyl Auto Blade Kit is a great buy if you own a ScanNCut DX machine and like to cut vinyl -- adhesive-backed or heat-transfer. You can “just” use the Vinyl Auto Blade for cutting your intricate vinyl designs or you can take advantage of a number of exciting new possibilities that come with kit activation: New Vinyl Designs – There are 21 detailed designs for you to resize as you wish and cut out with your ScanNCut machine. With the Vinyl Auto Blade kit you can choose to make a design as small as a piece of paper... Read more →

Don't Miss Friday's FREE Webinar!

My friend Nathalie Kalbach hosts monthly FREE webinars on a variety of art-related topics. I will be part of the panel this Friday, April 30th, at 12PM EST. Here's the official description: Join artists Nat Kalbach, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, Iris Fritschi-Cussens, and Jimmy Leslie as they discuss the ups and downs, ins and outs, and the good, bad, and ugly of using social media as artists. We'll talk about balancing privacy and sharing, potential benefits and downsides, and how participating can change your practice. Metrics, negative comments, and thoughts on how to get started will also be touched on. Let's... Read more →

ScanNCut: Temporary Tattoos You Design

I got a tattoo! I'm scared of needles and commitment, so the good news is that this one will wash right off. I have always loved temporary tattoos, but I don't always love wearing someone else's design. Well, did you know that you can buy printable temporary tattoo paper? Yes, you can! You simply design your tattoo and print the design onto the paper. Now, one of the important notes on using temporary tattoo paper is that you need to cut close to the edges of the design. So, I decided to use my ScanNCut to do just that! As... 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 →

Upcycled Easter Candy Jars

About a month ago, I started saving all the glass jars that we otherwise would have put in the recycling bin in order to create a slightly different take on the traditional Easter basket: an Easter candy Jar! Fill it with your treat of choice -- jellybeans, chocolate, Peeps, etc. Besides being super cute, it's actually a great way to keep the candy fresh in an infinitely resealable container! Here's the how-to: Supplies: clean empty jars stickers (or digital cutter, removable vinyl, & transfer grid) primer acrylic paint (plus paintbrush) candy optional: tweezers If you don't like the chalky finish... Read more →

Paper Birds Now Available For You To Make!

If you'd like to make these super cute paper birds, you can visit my online shop to grab BOTH the SVG cutting file AND a printable PDF to cut by hand. Here's a video on how to put them together: I love how quick and easy these birds are to make! Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

Paint Palette Beads

I'm sure you know all about making rolled paper beads. I've posted paper bead projects before - here & here. Well, I was cleaning off my paint palette this weekend and I suddenly thought: why not make some beads out of all of this paint? Watch the video for the how-to: Supplies: non-stick palette covered with dried acrylic paint Matte Medium something round scissors And here's the necklace I made from the paint palette beads: The main reason to make the beads from paint instead of paper is that you don't have to seal them! There are lots of different... Read more →