Balzer Designs

ScanNCut: Videos for Sewers

I have a super fun project for you today! We are going to take advantage of the fact that the ScanNCut makes cutting shapes from stiff felt quick and easy. We are making this booklet-style felt needle case: These needle cases make great gifts and can be customized for the recipient with a variety of motifs and even their name! Watch the video for the how-to: Here's a peek at some of the details of that gorgeous needle case! And here's what it looks like inside: It's beautiful and functional. Can't beat that! I love to create "technique" videos for... Read more →

Sun-Printed Shamrock "Galaxy" Fabric

What can you do with these little shamrocks? Well, let me tell you! As I mentioned yesterday, I made a stencil... ...and I was about to throw away all of the cut-out shamrocks when I had an idea: Why not use them to sun print some fabric?! And so I did! To me, the colors I chose and the way I laid out the shamrocks ended up making this piece of fabric take on a quasi-galaxy-like appearance. It isn't until you take a closer look that you really see the shamrocks: I love how some of them are crisp and... Read more →

St. Patrick's Day Cookies

Some people love to watch dog videos. Personally, I'm always up for a food video -- especially cookie and cake decorating! There were two things that intrigued me in some recent videos and I wanted to give them a try: royal icing transfers and tipless piping. I figured St. Patrick's Day was as good an excuse as any to make some cookies and do some experimenting! (Although, do you really need an excuse to make cookies?!) What are royal icing transfers? Royal Icing is the most commonly used sugar cookie icing. A royal icing "transfer" is basically where you create... Read more →

ScanNCut DX Calligraphy Kit

Introducing (drum roll please) the ScanNCut DX Calligraphy Kit! With your ScanNCut DX you can now beautifully label envelopes, create unique signs, and add custom calligraphy to all of your projects! Choose from pre-made designs and sayings or use the alphabet -- included in the Calligraphy Starter Kit -- to write whatever you'd like! Please note that the Calligraphy Kit only works with ScanNCut DX machines. Watch the video to see how easy it is: 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... Read more →

ScanNCut: Dip Dyed Football Onesies

I'm super excited about today's project. It's just so darn cute! Or is it the model that makes it so cute?! Either way, this is a fun and quick project. In the first part of the video I show you how to dip dye your baby clothes. In the second part of the video we add heat transfer vinyl or HTV sayings with the help of the ScanNCut. Check it out: I'm making baby clothes in this video, but you could absolutely use these techniques for grown-up clothes or even accessories like tote bags! Check out the full collection of... Read more →

Two ScanNCut Tutorials: Cutting HTV & New Disney Roll Feeder Designs

Today I've got two ScanNCut video tutorials for you! First up: HTV or Heat Transfer Vinyl is one of the most popular things to cut with your ScanNCut. Today I'm sharing 7 tips on cutting HTV with your ScanNCut DX. Here are the tips I go over in the video: How to place HTV on the mat. Mirroring or flipping your design. Consider drawing your cut file first. Setting the Half Cut. Do a Test Cut. Every. Single. Time. Weeding tips. Ironing & Peeling Tips. And here is the shirt I made in the video: If you've never used HTV,... Read more →

One Little Word Necklace

One of the New Years traditions that I've adopted is Ali Edwards' "One Little Word" challenge. The idea is that instead of a list of New Years Resolutions, you choose one little word to represent your goal(s) for the new year. This year I have chosen the word: "enjoy." With a new baby in the house, I want to focus on enjoying my life rather than pushing and hustling and trying to get stuff done. As a simple reminder of my resolution, I decided to make a necklace featuring the word, "enjoy." In this video tutorial, I show you how... Read more →

ScanNCut: Last Minute Christmas Stocking

Looking for a last minute holiday gift? Christmas stockings are quick and easy to make and completely gender neutral. You can customize it to the recipient simply by the fabric you choose! You can even put a bottle of wine inside your custom stocking to create the perfect holiday hostess gift! Watch the video for the full how-to: I also think you could make super cute mini stockings with people's names on them to use a place cards for a holiday table! How cute would that be?! Hmmmm...time to get crafting! I hope you'll give this project a try. Thanks... Read more →

Foiled Place Cards for Thanksgiving

Knowing that we were moving into a new house this year, Steve and I originally invited lots of friends and family to come to our house for the holiday. However, with baby boy due right around Thanksgiving, our plans have changed and we are going to my Mom's house for a small family Thanksgiving. But, I still wanted to contribute something to the festivities. Place cards are a fun and easy way to add something special to the table, and so that's what I'm bringing with me! These place cards are particularly fun because they're shiny! Two layers of foiling... 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 →