Art Tutorials
Art tutorials that provide step by step directions on how to do an art technique or project. These are to help build a foundation of creative techniques that can be used as a mental wellness and self-care exercise. These include techniques such as drawing, gelli printing, embossing, art journal projects, card projects, watercolor painting, acrylic painting, mixed media work and collage work.
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The Art of Napkin Decoupage: How to Easily Transform Any Surface
Are you new to napkin decoupage? Or have been trying to refine napkin techniques on your own creative projects? Using napkins is a fun and beautiful way to add designs quickly to any surface. I love incorporate napkins into my canvas paintings, art journal projects and cards. But what it you want to use napkins on a curved surface or for a home décor piece? What do we need to know to make sure that we get great results every time? Today I’ll be sharing about how I use napkins outside of the art journal by transforming a plastic pumpkin into a beautiful piece of fall home décor. Hop-A-Long Studio…
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How to Create Stunning Image Transfers with Isolation Layers
Are you intimidated by the idea of using image transfers on your mixed media projects? Image transfers are a beautiful technique. But it can sometimes be hard to get great results, especially on a mixed media background. In today’s project I’ll show you how to can create a beautiful image transfer on a mixed media background that uses both resists and watercolor crystals. 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 Challenge with Image Transfers Having attempted image transfers in the past, I found that I often got mixed results. Part of it…
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How to Create Vaseline Resist Techniques in Your Art Journal
Are you looking for interesting ways to add and remove layers on your art journal pages? Try this amazing Vaseline resist technique! I love this technique because it’s easy to do and Vaseline is one of the few mediums that will resist acrylic paint. Using Vaseline makes for very interesting effects on any art journal page, and it’s so easy to master! 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 a Vaseline Resist Start with the Background To create a beautiful Vaseline resist, we need to start with a background that will work…
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3 Unique Ways to Use Stencils and Masks
Are you looking for unique ways to use stencils and masks in your art journal? Today I’ll be talking about the difference between stencils and masks and how we can use them in our art journal 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. What’s the Difference Between Stencils and Masks? If you’ve never used stencils and masks together, it can be confusing to know what the difference is. The Stencil Girl Wildflowers Botanical stencil that I’m using today is sold with the mask and stencil together. If you can find stencils…
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How to Create Unique Art Journal Backgrounds with Plastic Wrap
Are you looking for unique ways to create layers in your art journal pages? Today we’ll talk about how to create beautiful and easy art journal backgrounds using plastic wrap. One of the hardest parts about art journaling is breaking up the white space and creating unique backgrounds. We can get stuck at this first step and this can often interrupt our creative flow. This is where I look for things around my house to inspire me. Plastic wrap is a great art tool because it’s inexpensive and easily available. You probably already have some! Hop-A-Long Studio is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn…
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How to Paint Flowers with a Toilet Paper Roll
Are you looking for easy ways to paint flowers in your art journal? A toilet paper roll is the perfect tool for creating beautiful flower or dandelion images in your art journal. In this article I’m going to show you this fun and easy technique! Toilet paper rolls are great because we all have them on hand. It’s also a great way to repurpose things for our art journal 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. How to Use a Toilet Paper Roll with Acrylic Paint You may have used toilet paper…
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The Ultimate Guide for Coloring Acetate
Looking for ways to add transparent or translucent color to your creative projects? Today, I’ll be sharing tips and techniques for getting the best results coloring acetate. I’ll be sharing with you 7 different mediums and which ones work best for coloring acetate. 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 Right Medium for Coloring Acetate Last week I shared how to stamp on acetate using inks and paints. We will be using those stamped images and adding color to them. If you’d like to see the article about how to…
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How to Stamp on Acetate Sheets with Inks and Paints
Are you looking to add pattern and interest to clear acetate or plastic sheets for use in your creative projects? Today I’ll be sharing with you how to stamp on acetate sheets and get great results every time. There’s a variety of mediums that will work for stamping on acetate, but today I’ll be focusing on three mediums that I’ve found work the best: acrylic paint, StazOn ink, and archival ink. 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. Why Stamp on Acetate Sheets? If you have been following me for a while, a…
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Painting in the Art Journal: Trying a New Style
Are you looking for painting inspiration for your art journaling practice? There’s so much we can learn by drawing inspiration from another artist’s style. Sometimes I get in a rut with my art journaling where I fall into using the same techniques all the time. To mix things up, I’ll look at the work of other artists and see what aspects of their style I want to use in my own creative practice. This is a great way to bring fresh perspective to your work and encourages artistic growth. Hop-A-Long Studio is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost…
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How to Collage with Tissue Paper and Acetate
Are you looking for unique collage materials for your art journal? Today we’ll be talking about how to collage with tissue paper and acetate. These materials create beautiful, translucent layers in any 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. Collaging with Tissue Paper Tissue paper makes a great collage medium because of the colored but slightly transparent layers it creates. For today’s project, I’m using a combination of altered tissue papers. These papers were created using acrylic paint and mediums, a gelli plate, and stencils. To learn 3 different ways…