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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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Do You Have Ruined Paint Brushes? How to Fix Acrylic Paint Brushes in 3 Easy Steps!
Do you have ruined paint brushes that are rock hard from mediums and paint? Even when you’re careful cleaning them, it’s very easy to run into problems with brushes getting rock hard. You might think that these bushes are destined for the garbage, but you may be able to revive them using there 3 easy steps. 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 Revive Ruined Paint Brushes Start with Dish Soap I like to use my favorite dish soap, Cucina Lime Zest and Cypress, and rub the soap into the bristles…
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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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How to get the Best Results with Acrylic Pastes and Stencils
Do you ever use acrylic pastes with your stencils? Acrylic pastes can create beautiful dimension and crisp images in your art journal, if you know how to apply them. Here are some tips and techniques for how to get fantastic results with acrylic pastes and stencils. 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. Types of Acrylic Pastes Acrylic pastes are beautiful, but they can be a little overwhelming at first. There’s so many brands and types of pastes to choose from. As I’ve been teaching online and in-person, I’ve realized that most of…
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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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In A Rush? 3 Beautiful Holiday Tag Designs for Last Minute Gifts
Do you ever forget that you need holiday tags for your gifts? Often a few days before Christmas when I’m wrapping presents, I realize that I need to make holiday tags. These holiday tag designs can be very complex or extremely simple depending on how many layers you add to your holiday tags. Today I’m sharing 3 holiday tag designs with different amounts of layering. This way you can make a tag in a few minutes or add a few more layers to make a more complex but beautiful holiday tag. Holiday tags can also make fantastic Christmas cards. You can mount them onto a card back or you…
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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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Beautiful Smudge Free Pan Pastel Christmas Cards
Looking for smudge free results with your Pan Pastel Christmas cards? These easy Christmas cards take advantage of the beautiful blends you get with Pan Pastels without the smudging that sometimes occurs with this medium. 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. Blending with Pan Pastels I love the beautiful blends that we can get with Pan Pastels. This is what makes Pan Pastels so forgiving and fun to use. If you are new to Pan Pastels, check out my How to Use Pan Pastels video where I walk you through the basics…
The Art of Self-Care
