Balzer Designs

Doodled Planters on Make It Artsy TV

Hey you guys!  Remember that epic dresser re-do I did last year?

A lot of people thought that the floral pattern was stenciled.  But, it was not.  I hand painted every inch of that dresser, including the edges of the drawers!

So many people asked me about the pattern that I decided to put together a quick tutorial for season 6 of Make It Artsy.  Instead of a dresser (which would have been awkward to bring on the plane and far too time consuming) I used succulent pots!

They're super cute and very easy to make.  You can watch the video for the how to:

I'm using the Pen-Touch Gold by Sakura, which comes in multiple tip sizes.  And the succulents are really good looking fakes that even I can't kill with my black thumb!

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial!  Thanks for stopping by!

Art Foamies + Balzer Designs: Stamp Buddy Basics

Today's tutorial video is an oldie but a goodie.  I often get asked about the mysterious "Stamp Buddy" included with many of the Art Foamies stamps.  What is it?  Packaging?  Why on earth do I need it?  Watch the video for all the answers:

You can purchase Art Foamies direct from their website.  

Big Numbers Floral Polka Dot Make Art Leaf Vine Eyes: Triangle Lashes Me-O-My Pair of Eyes Spot On Happy Edge Ring Fling Ring Fling Large Love Candy Mind Track Writers Block Triangle Staircase Water Lilly Holiday Tree Ring Tic Tac Flowery Tree Gone Dotty Tripsy Triangle Ring Hopscotch Tree Brigade

InLinkz.com

Let me know if you have Art Foamies questions!

Thanks for stopping by!

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P.S. There's an Art Foamies coupon that's good for this Labor Day weekend ONLY: Maple2019.

Art Journal Every Day: 2018 September into October

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. 

Hello!  I'm sharing some art journal pages from the end of September 2018 into the beginning of October 2018.  It's hard to believe that these pages are almost a year old.  Have I changed the way I create art in the last year?  It's hard for me to tell....

This is a series of pages where the edges have been cut away, so you can see the edges of the pages before and after.  It makes every spread look kind of busy.

I love the detail in the forehead.  It's a gel print that I created the face on top of.

I can see the clear influence of my Gelli Journals class on this next spread!

You may remember this next spread from a video I shared back in August 2018 (almost exactly a year ago to the day!):

And here's the spread once I completed it:

I have to confess that I feel that I mangled this spread a bit. I wish I had simply left it at silhouettes.  This cutesy lettering just doesn't vibe with the figures at all.

So there you have it!  Lots of painting, stamping, collage, drawing, doodling, and messing around in my art journal!

Thanks for stopping by!

Flying Geese Tutorial: Four at a Time

The two quilts I shared this week both contain one of my favorite classic quilting patterns: flying geese.  Flying geese are super easy to make, especially using the classic no-waste technique of four geese at a time.  Consult this chart to see what size to cut your fabric and then here's the how to:

And once you have a pile of these rectangle blocks, you can stitch them together to create magic!

It's an easy technique, even for a beginning sewer!  I hope you'll give it a try!

Thanks for stopping by!

ScanNCut Technique Tutorials

This month I've got two very useful ScanNCut technique tutorials for you!

First up, I often get asked about the "Direct Connection" method.  As you know, the ScanNCut is a stand-alone machine. It requires no computer or internet to operate.  However, you can use it with either a computer or the internet, if you wish.  If you have a PC, you can directly connect your ScanNCut to your PC and skip the internet entirely.  It's easy to do.  All you need is a USB AB cable (i.e. a printer cable). 

Watch the video for the how-to:

This method will only work with a PC.  It does not work with a Mac. 

Your ScanNCut is a precision machine. I love the magic of Direct Cut because, among other things, it allows me to quickly and easily cut around my stamped images using the machine's built-in-scanner.

If, for some reason, you notice that your ScanNCut is not behaving in the expected precision manner, you can re-calibrate your machine.  Don't be nervous about doing it, it's easy and simply requires a sheet of white paper and a little bit of time.  Watch the video for the how-to:

One quick tip: If you don't have any white paper on hand, try flipping a piece of patterned paper over.  Many patterned papers are white on the back!

I hope you will give these techniques a try!

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/
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