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The Art of Self-Care

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  • CLASSES
  • COMMUNITY
  • SHOP
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • HOME
  • CLASSES
  • COMMUNITY
  • SHOP
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT

Recent Posts

  • Art paperclip created using handmade paper and hand drawn images by Nadine MiltonTired of Boring Paperclips? Make These Instead!
    In Projects, Techniques
  • How to make a perfect laser image transferThe Ultimate Guide to Perfect Image Transfers
    In Projects, Techniques
  • 3 Ways to Make Your Mixed Media Pages POP!3 Techniques to Make Your Mixed Media Pages POP!
    In Art Journal, Techniques
  • Beautiful Mixed Media Holiday Tag Designs for Last Minute Gifts
    Projects,  Techniques

    In A Rush? 3 Beautiful Holiday Tag Designs for Last Minute Gifts

    December 22, 2022 /

    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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    Nadine Milton

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    My first mixed media page in the Dina Wakley Ledger Journal

    My First Impressions of the Dina Wakley Ledger Journal

    March 14, 2025
    Mixed Media Found Object Art Panel

    Mixed Media Found Object Art Panel

    May 28, 2021
    Collage with Dried Leaves in Your Art Journal

    How to Collage with Dried Leaves in Your Journal

    October 21, 2022
  • Techniques for Creating Beautiful Layers with Alcohol Ink
    Art Journal,  Techniques

    Techniques for Creating Beautiful Layers with Alcohol Inks

    December 16, 2022 /

    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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    Nadine Milton

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    Abstract Holiday Cards Made with Paper Scraps from Simply Stated Design Golden Evergreen Papers

    Use Your Scraps to Make Stunning Holiday Cards

    December 8, 2025
    tissue paper collage with chipboard and gems

    The Secret to Stunning Collages…use Tissue Paper!

    March 7, 2025
    Do You have Ruined Paint Brushes? How to Fix Acrylic Paint Brushes

    Do You Have Ruined Paint Brushes? How to Fix Acrylic Paint Brushes in 3 Easy Steps!

    February 17, 2023
  • Beautiful Smudge Free Pan Pastel Christmas Cards
    Projects,  Techniques

    Beautiful Smudge Free Pan Pastel Christmas Cards

    December 2, 2022 /

    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…

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    Nadine Milton

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    Festive and Fabulous Gel Print Holiday Cards

    The Best DIY Gel Print Holiday Cards

    December 5, 2025
    Art Journal Backgrounds with Spray Paints and Inks

    Easy Art Journal Backgrounds with Spray Paints and Inks

    April 21, 2023
    Amazing Ink Techniques for Your Art Journal Using Archival and Dye Inks

    Amazing Ink Techniques for Your Art Journal

    January 13, 2023
  • Amazing Alcohol Ink Cards Using Hardware Store Foil
    Projects,  Techniques

    Amazing Alcohol Ink Cards Using Hardware Store Foil

    November 25, 2022 /

    Are you looking for alternative surfaces to use alcohol inks on? Yupo isn’t the only surface that you can use for alcohol inks. There are so many ways to create beautiful alcohol ink cards using hardware store foil and other household items. 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. Using Foil Tape and Aluminum Foil for Cards If you haven’t seen last week’s post, I shared how you can make beautiful card bases using aluminum foil and metal ducting tape. To see how to make these foil backgrounds, visit this article. Once you…

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    Nadine Milton

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    How to Use Watercolor Backgrounds in an Art Journal Page

    How to Use Watercolor Backgrounds in an Art Journal

    September 2, 2022
    Gelli Printing with Die Cuts

    Gelli Printing with Die Cuts

    February 26, 2021
    Watercolor Landscape Paint Along with Gouache

    Watercolor Landscape Paint Along

    June 11, 2021
  • Easy Foil Alternatives for Cards and Art Journal Pages
    Art Journal,  Techniques

    Easy Foil Alternatives for Cards and Art Journal Pages

    November 18, 2022 /

    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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    Nadine Milton

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    Holiday Collage Cards Designed by Nadine Milton

    Make Amazing Holiday Collage Cards in Minutes!

    December 19, 2025
    Building Meaningful Connection During COVID-19

    Building Meaningful Connection During COVID-19

    April 3, 2020
    Techniques for Creating Beautiful Layers with Alcohol Ink

    Techniques for Creating Beautiful Layers with Alcohol Inks

    December 16, 2022
  • 3 Christmas Card Ideas Using One Die Cut Design with Brusho Crystal Colours and Nuvo Shimmer Powders
    Projects,  Techniques

    3 Christmas Card Ideas Using One Die Cut Design

    November 11, 2022 /

    If you’re new to making Christmas cards or are looking for a simple and easy holiday cards, today I’m sharing 3 Christmas card ideas using only one die cut. I love choosing beautiful and intricate dies for my cards. If you choose the right die, it can be used for so many different designs! 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 Colorful Backgrounds One of the keys to a beautiful and unique Christmas card designs is creating a beautiful, colorful background. There are many patterned papers and colorful cardstocks that will give…

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    Nadine Milton

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    Stamping Tips and Techniques Stamping with Ink and Paint

    Stamping Tips and Techniques

    April 30, 2021
    GAMENOTE Paint Brush Cleaner and Accessories

    How to Choose the Best Paint Brush Cleaner

    March 17, 2023
    Living in Transition: How to thrive in change

    Living in Transition: How to Thrive in Change

    August 7, 2020
  • Gift Ideas for Artists
    Artist's Journey,  Techniques

    The Best Gifts for Artists that Love Watercolor and Acrylic Paint

    November 5, 2022 /

    It can be hard to know how to choose a gift for the artist in your life. Choosing the best gifts for artists can be challenging, especially if you don’t know much about art supplies. In this guide I’ll share with you some fantastic gifts for artists and how to decide which gift is the best for the artist in your life. 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. Choosing the Best Gifts for Artists Part of choosing the best gifts for the artist in your life is to answer the following questions.…

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    Nadine Milton

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    How to get the most textured collage in your art journal

    Create the Ultimate Textured Collage with this Technique

    August 23, 2025
    Fold Up Book Instax Mini Album Using Wild Whisper Designs paper and Local King Rubber Stamps

    One Page Fold Up Book: Instax Mini Album

    July 2, 2021
    Urban Sketching for Self-Care

    Urban Sketching for Self-Care

    September 18, 2020
  • wet-on-wet watercolor techniques mixing colors
    Techniques

    Easy Wet-on-Wet Watercolor Techniques for Beginners

    October 28, 2022 /

    If you are new to watercolor and learning wet-on-wet watercolor techniques, watercolor can sometimes feel challenging. You may feel like you have no control over your brush or your watercolor paint. Today we’ll cover the basics of wet-on-wet watercolor techniques for beginners to help you get great results every time! 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. The Problem The problem with wet-on-wet watercolor is how do we control the water? When I was new to watercolor painting, a lot of my projects ended up looking like colored blobs instead of landscapes, clouds,…

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    Nadine Milton

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    Collage with Dried Leaves in Your Art Journal

    How to Collage with Dried Leaves in Your Journal

    October 21, 2022
    Hoppy Christmas from Hop-A-Long Studio

    Hoppy Christmas from Hop-A-Long Studio

    December 24, 2021
    Mixed Media Collage Using Paper, Acetate and Fabric Tape

    Mixed Media Collage Techniques You Need to Try!

    March 21, 2025
  • Collage with Dried Leaves in Your Art Journal
    Art Journal,  Techniques

    How to Collage with Dried Leaves in Your Journal

    October 21, 2022 /

    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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    Nadine Milton

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    How to Create Stunning Image Transfers with Isolation Layers

    How to Create Stunning Image Transfers with Isolation Layers

    September 30, 2023
    Detail of Leaf Rubbings Art Journal Page using Caran d'Ache Neocolor 1 Wax Pastels and Tombow Fudenosuke Pen

    Using Leaf Rubbings and Ink for Drawing Practice

    October 15, 2021
    How to use Resist Techniques with Alcohol Inks

    How to use Resist Techniques with Alcohol Inks

    May 20, 2022
  • Using Liquitex Matte Medium to seal pressed autumn leaves
    Techniques

    How to Press and Preserve Fall Leaves

    October 14, 2022 /

    Fall is one of my favorite times of year. It’s the perfect time for pressing and preserving fall leaves to add to your journal and creative projects. There are so many beautiful colors and shapes from fall leaves, they add a beautiful, organic touch to any project! The Problem The problem with fall leaves is how to prevent them from cracking, crumbling, and disintegrating on your project. It’s discouraging to create a beautiful project with leaves and have the leaves crumble and crack off your page. Using these simple techniques below will help you press and preserve your fall leaves. These techniques are easy, require very little materials and will…

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    Nadine Milton

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    In Time It's Going to be Okay

    In Time It’s Going to be Okay

    May 9, 2020
    Art Tag using Scribble Stick Watercolor Technique and Brene Brown Quote on Vellum

    Scribble Sticks Watercolor Technique

    September 17, 2021
    How to get the best results with napkin decoupage

    New to Napkin Decoupage? Start HERE!

    June 28, 2024
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Nadine Milton

Visual Storyteller & Mixed Media Artist

Welcome to Hop-A-Long Studio! I would love for you to join me in the journey of self-care through artistic expression.

Categories

  • Art Classes
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  • Artist's Journey
  • Projects
  • Techniques

Tags

Acceptance (10) acrylic paint (16) Acrylic Painting (17) Applying Art Mediums (14) Applying Brusho Powders (10) Art Ideas (22) art journal (20) Art Journaling (62) Art Tutorials (156) Art Videos (164) Awareness (19) Blending Color (22) Card Making (16) Card Tutorials (11) Christmas (9) collage (20) Creative Foundations (24) Creativity (29) Drawing (12) Embossing (11) Gelli Plate (10) Gelli Printing (21) Goal Setting (9) Ink Blending (13) Inking (42) Inks (11) Making Good Choices (12) Mental Health (32) Mindfulness (24) Mixed Media (15) Mixed Media Art (16) napkins (9) Pan Pastels (9) Self-Care (47) Self-Care Activities (16) Self-Care Videos (33) Self-Discovery (14) Stamping (62) Stencilling (48) Tim Holtz Distress (23) Values (9) Watercolor (14) Watercolor Basics (13) Watercolor Painting (19) Wild Whisper Designs (21)

Recent Posts

  • Art paperclip created using handmade paper and hand drawn images by Nadine MiltonTired of Boring Paperclips? Make These Instead!
    In Projects, Techniques
  • How to make a perfect laser image transferThe Ultimate Guide to Perfect Image Transfers
    In Projects, Techniques
  • 3 Ways to Make Your Mixed Media Pages POP!3 Techniques to Make Your Mixed Media Pages POP!
    In Art Journal, Techniques
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