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Easy Art Journal Backgrounds with Spray Paints and Inks
Looking for a fast and easy art journal background? Try using acrylic spray paints and inks to create beautiful art journal backgrounds with ease. A blank page can feel so intimidating. By breaking up the art journal background this can be a great way to get your creative juices flowing. Today I’m sharing my favorite acrylic spray paints and inks and how I use them to create layered art journal backgrounds. Hop-A-Long Studio is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more. Adding Color with Spray Inks An easy way to add variety to your art journal…
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Unique Techniques using Pan Pastels with Watermark Ink
Looking for ways to create beautiful details with Pan Pastels? Using Pan Pastels with watermark ink is a very simple way to add in interesting textures and details to your Pan Pastel creations. You can use this technique with both black and white paper to create a variety of unique effects. Hop-A-Long Studio is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more. What is Watermark Ink? Watermark ink is a translucent ink used to make watermarks on papers or creative projects. When the ink is stamped onto the surface, it creates a mark slightly darker than the…
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Looking for an Easy Painting Exercise? How to Paint a Tree with Ink
Do you ever find yourself unsure of how to improve your painting skills? You may not know where to start and it may feel overwhelming. If that’s you, here’s a very simple project on how to paint a tree with ink that will help you improve your painting skills. As a creator, I sometimes go through times where I’m not feeling inspired. I can feel like I’m out of ideas or am uncertain on where to start with a project. When this happens, I tend to simplify my process as this can help get the creative juices flowing. For this project, you’ll need a piece of watercolor paper, ink and…
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How to Get Comfortable with Your Watercolors
Are you new to watercolor paints or have recently purchased a new set of watercolors? Watercolors are a wonderful medium but every new color or set of colors can take time to get used to. The colors may act differently than what you’re accustomed to, which can cause frustration. So how do you get comfortable with a new set of watercolors? I recently purchased a new set of Russian watercolor paints called White Nights at my local art store. I wanted to share with you my process and the exercises I use to get familiar with the paints and color combinations. We’ll be creating a simple watercolor painting in our…
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New to Art Journaling? Basic Techniques using Paints and Napkins
Are you new to art journaling? Or do you have a pristine art journal that you’re afraid to start creating in? The first few pages in an art journal can be hard. You may not feel like you know what you’re doing, or perhaps you’re struggling with what to create in your journal. Today we’re starting with a simple prompt and basic art journal techniques to get you started. Hop-A-Long Studio is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more. Starting with a Thought or Question Usually most of my art journal pages start with a thought…
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Amazing Ink Techniques for Your Art Journal
Looking for creative ways to use ink techniques in your art journal? So often when we’re working in our art journal, we like to use acrylic mediums. But inks can also create amazing results in an art journal. The benefits of dye and archival inks is they are easily available, aren’t super messy, and have so much versatility as an art journal medium. Earlier this week I was asked the question by a reader, “Can you use ink in a journal?” Yes, you absolutely can. Today we’ll look at several creative ink techniques for your art journal. Hop-A-Long Studio is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site,…
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Techniques for Creating Beautiful Layers with Alcohol Inks
Alcohol inks are a beautiful and fun art medium, but how do you create layers and dimension with alcohol inks? This may seem difficult and complicated, but alcohol ink layering techniques are easy to do if you understand the right methods. I’ll be working on a page for my art journal, but these techniques can easily be adapted for card projects or tags too. Hop-A-Long Studio is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more. Creating Layers with Ink Blending For this project, start by choosing your favorite alcohol ink surface. My recommended surfaces for alcohol inks…
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Easy Foil Alternatives for Cards and Art Journal Pages
Looking for foil alternatives for cards and art journal pages? There are household products that can work amazing on your art journal and card projects, at a fraction of the cost of craft foiling sheets. These techniques are a must know for any creative. Today we’ll go over a few different materials, the positive and negatives of each, and how you can add them to your creative projects. Hop-A-Long Studio is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more. Alternatives to Foil Cardstock Foil cardstock is an amazing option for creating mirrored surfaces, beautiful sentiments, and details…
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How to Collage with Dried Leaves in Your Journal
Have you ever tried collage with dried leaves in your art journal? Dried leaves can be a hard medium to use because they can crack and disintegrate in your project. But by using a few simple techniques, you can preserve your leaves and create a beautiful, layered autumn art journal project. Hop-A-Long Studio is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more. How to Prevent Dried Leaves from Falling Apart The hardest thing about using dried leaves in your art journal is preventing them from falling apart. Especially with collage, if you use a thick gel medium…
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How to Use Layering Stencils to Create Dimensional Images
Have you ever tried using layering stencils to make dimensional images for your projects? Layering stencils are extremely popular but understanding a few key techniques can help you get consistent results. If you don’t own any multi-layered stencils, today I’ll show you how you to create layered images using any stencil in your collection. Hop-A-Long Studio is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more. How to Use Layering Stencils Recently, there has been a trend toward layering stencils that use several stencils to make one image. This means ink, paint and other mediums can be added…
The Art of Self-Care
