Balzer Designs

Fabric Tray

I want to show you what I made out of my original piece of hand printed black and white floral fabric!

After cutting off some pieces to overdye, I was left with a 12x12 square.  I couldn't figure out what it was big enough for.  And then I found a cute project on CanvasWorkspace:

I figured that I could make mine out of fabric instead of felt and it would jut be a little bit floppier.  No biggie.  I followed the instructions in the pdf and I love how my little tray turned out!

I used some hand painted fabric on the inside as well as now I have this tray that feels 100% me!  In fact, I filled it with napkins and put it on the table that I painted, next to a plant pot that I made in pottery class...kind of a Julie-style overload!

I love it! 

Some things I might try with my next tray (and there will be a next one because this was such a quick and easy project):

• Adding stabilizer between the layers to make it even more rigid.
• One side as fabric and one side as felt (or cork fabric).
• Making it out of paper.
• Adding decorative stitching to the edges.

Because this is a collapsible tray, it feels like it would be a good thing to bring along to a hotel room to corral all that loose stuff that accumulates.  Or maybe to an art class to hold supplies?  How would you use a tray like this?

Thanks for stopping by!

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P.S. I will be demonstrating sewing machines and sergers on HSN tomorrow during the 10am and 6pm hours.  You can watch the demos online or on your TV!

ScanNCut 4th of July Card

I'm super excited about today's project because it turned out even better than I imagined!  Here's a lovely way to celebrate 4th of July:

And the best part is that this card was made by slightly altering a free file for a New Year's Eve Card!  Watch the video for the how to:

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/
Brother Customer Support: https://www.brother-usa.com/support/

Palm Leaf Quilt In Progress (Part Two)

Last week I posted about my Palm Leaf quilt in progress.  I had made the blocks, but couldn't decide on an arrangement.  I appreciate all of the advice I received on how to set up a design wall and tools to use to help make the decision easier.  In the end, I picked this arrangement:

I surprised even myself with this choice.  It wasn't anything I had in mind when I made the blocks, but looking at the photos I decided that it was the most pleasing to my eye.

In putting the quilt top together, I made another shocking -- even to myself -- decision.  I added sashing and a border! 

I don't think I've ever made a quilt before that had sashing...but that's the wonderful thing about making things -- you can always make a new choice!

My new problem is that this quilt top is a lot larger than the small art quilts I tend to make.  I need to figure out how to pin baste it now that it's wider than any table in my house.  I did some googling, and I found this suggestion.  I think I'm going to give it a try.  Then I just have to face the next hurdle: quilting this beast on my little domestic machine...eeek!

Thanks for stopping by!

ScanNCut: Layered Monoprint for Summer

Creating wall art for your home is so easy when you’ve got a ScanNCut. In this tutorial I show you how to create two different stencils – one in CanvasWorkspace Online and one in CanvasWorkspace for Mac. We then use the two stencils in conjunction with a gelatin plate to create a sunny piece of art for your home!

Watch the video for the how-to:

Here's the brief version in photos:

I hope you'll give this project a try.  Cutting stencils is one of my favorite things to do with my ScanNCut!

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/
Brother Customer Support: https://www.brother-usa.com/support/

ScanNCut Techniques to Try

I will be on HSN during tomorrow's Craft Day to demonstrate the ScanNCut, a Brother Sewing Machine, and the PTouch Embellish.  I hope you'll tune in online or on your TV!

Recently, I spent a few hours answering accumulated YouTube questions and I realized that while I've done project videos involving cutting vinyl on the ScanNCut DX, I've never done a video solely on how to cut vinyl with the DX.  And so that is what I give you now:

Some tips to take away:

• Use a Low Tack Mat or a well used Standard Tack Mat.
• Use the Half Cut Function.
• Do a Test Cut.
• Adjust the Half Cut Pressure until the cut is just as you want it!

Here are a few of my favorite recent ScanNCut vinyl projects:

Next up: CanvasWorkspace is a wonderful FREE resource.  Today I want to show you how easy it is to use the program to design a unique one-of-a-kind quilt block!  Absolutely no design experience is required!

I stitched together one block...

...but I digitally played with the one block I made to imagine what a quilt might look like:

What do you think?  Not bad for a simple block!  Looks like I might have to make a few more blocks!

There seems to be some confusion about which ScanNCut accessories work with the ScanNCut DX.  Other than blades and mats, the accessories that you may have used with your ScanNCut 1 or 2 are also compatible with the ScanNCut DX.  In this video, I show you how to use the Rhinestone Kit with the ScanNCut DX:

Doesn't it make you want to bling absolutely everything?  My all time favorite ScanNCut rhinestone project I've ever made is this apron:

You can see more photos of it HERE.

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/
Brother Customer Support: https://www.brother-usa.com/support/