Balzer Designs

Holiday Cards 2020: Double Stenciled Stars

Stenciling once is fine. But stenciling twice is super cool! These cards feature a mixture of hand cut masks and stencil, along with a Crafter's Workshop stencil I designed several years ago. Watch the video for the how-to: Supplies: white cardstock transfer tape Identi-Pen craft knife & cutting mat Distress Ink Ink Blending Tools scrap of paper for extra masking optional: release paper The stencil is called "Christmas Words." Sadly, it's discontinued, but you might like THIS or THIS. painter's tape tape runner paper trimmer blank black card I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. This is a technique that you... Read more →

Holiday Cards 2020: Hand Stamped Trees

This is such a simple idea and super duper addictive. Once I started making these trees, I just did not want to stop! In essentials, I just stamped a whole bunch of hand carved stamps on top of each other. Watch the video for the how-to: Supplies: white cardstock tissue tape stamping ink hand carved stamps craft foam scrap paper for masking tape runner paper trimmer gold cardstock optional: paper punch and wet adhesive I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you're interested in learning more about carving and printing your own stamps, I offer several online classes. I'm currently... Read more →

Holiday Cards 2020: Paper Strips

You guys, it's not too late to make holiday cards to send out to friends and family! Especially when everyone is housebound, I think mailing a little handmade something sounds extra lovely. Therefore, every day this week I'm going to be sharing a tutorial for artsy holiday cards you can make and mail! Here we go: Today's cards are a great way to use up all of the hand painted paper scraps you have sitting around. I used gelatin prints, but you could use any painted/printed/doodled paper bits. Watch the video for the how-to: Supplies: paper scraps tape runner scrap... Read more →

ScanNCut Leather & Cork Earrings

Check out these super cool earrings... ...that are super duper easy to make. You can watch the video tutorial below: Every time I've worn them, and I've worn them a lot, I get tons and tons of compliments from strangers. They look okay on the stands... ...but they simply sing when you put them on! They're lightweight and unique and I love them. I hope you'll make some for yourself! Thanks for stopping by! --- 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... Read more →

ScanNCut: Curving Text

Several months ago, I created a video all about how to curve text in CanvasWorkspace for Mac. You may remember it. After I posted that video, I got one question over and over again: But how do I make the text on the bottom face the other way? Good news! It's easy to do and I show you exactly how to do it in this video: Here's the original project, where the date is upside down: And here is some text using the technique I share in today's video: You can see that all the text is "right-side-up." One quick... Read more →

Pom Pom Earring Tutorial

I finally put together the pom pom earring tutorial that I've been promising you! This video shares the basics of how to make a pom pom using the Clover pom pom maker: And then this video shares how to make the earrings: If you don't want to make pom poms, you can buy them pre-made. These are the little gold bars I used in the video. I think they really elevate the earrings and make them feel super polished. I'm off to try to find my needle nose pliers! Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

ScanNCut: Custom Box File

There are new ScanNCut products from Brother! Yay! I'll be sharing some of them in two live events with Sewing Machines Plus tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday. You can see the full schedule and register (for free) to watch the events HERE. I hope to see you online! In the meantime, you've been asking for some more advanced ScanNCut tutorials, so here it is! In this video I'm going to show you how to make your own custom box file using CanvasWorkspace for Mac. Watch the video for the how-to: As I mentioned, this is a project to tackle once you're... Read more →

Direct Cut Around a Stamped Sentiment

One of the most crazy cool features of the ScanNCut is its ability to cut around stamped images. However, the ScanNCut isn't able to distinguish between a word and a shape. So when you have a stamped sentiment like this one: The scanner wants to cut around each individual letter (aka shape)... ...instead of creating a block, like this: In this video I show you how to create that block: It's quick and easy to do and makes fussy cutting sentiments so very easy! Thanks for stopping by! --- P.S. I am a paid spokesperson for the Brother ScanNCut. It... Read more →

Two Bookbinding Tutorials

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. You can find new Art Journal Every Day posts here on the blog... Read more →

ScanNCut: So Many Techniques to Try

I'm always thinking about how to help you get the most out of your ScanNCut. Today I'm sharing lots of videos with techniques for you to try. First up, a fabulous new feature that you've been asking for for years: the ability to curve text in CanvasWorkspace. This function has been added to CanvasWorkspace for PC and CanvasWorkspace for Mac. Find the instructions for CanvasWorkspace for Mac in this video: And here is the clear place card I shared in the video: I also like it with a line of acrylic paint across the back: And now, did you know... Read more →