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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

  • How to use Pan Pastels in an Art Journal Page to display your yearly intentionShow Your New Years Intention with Pan Pastels
    In Art Journal, Projects, Techniques
  • Holiday Collage Cards Designed by Nadine MiltonMake Amazing Holiday Collage Cards in Minutes!
    In Projects, Techniques
  • Abstract Holiday Cards Made with Paper Scraps from Simply Stated Design Golden Evergreen PapersUse Your Scraps to Make Stunning Holiday Cards
    In Projects, Techniques
  • Festive and Fabulous Gel Print Holiday Cards
    Art Classes,  Techniques

    The Best DIY Gel Print Holiday Cards

    December 5, 2025 /

    Are you looking for inspiring ideas for using your gel plate to make fabulous gel print holiday cards? The gel plate is so versatile. You can use any color combination and imagery to create one-of-a-kind papers and cards. If you’ve never used a gel plate, it’s so fun and completely addicting! If you’re anything like me, you’ll sit down to do a few gel prints and will end up with dozens of them! The Gel Plate Problem When I am teaching, I usually get these two questions about gel plate printing. How Do I Get Consistent Prints? Gel plate printing can feel impossible at the beginning if you’re creating on…

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    Nadine Milton

    You May Also Like

    How to Use Layering Stencils to Create Dimensional Images

    How to Use Layering Stencils to Create Dimensional Images

    September 23, 2022
    altered photo techniques for your art journal

    Mixed Media Magic: Altered Photo Techniques for Your Art Journal

    October 27, 2023
    Stamping Tips and Techniques Stamping with Ink and Paint

    Stamping Tips and Techniques

    April 30, 2021
  • gel plate printing with leaves and grasses
    Techniques

    Unique & Easy Gel Printing with Leaves and Grasses

    September 19, 2025 /

    Did you know some of the best tools for gel printing are growing right outside? Grab some leaves, your gel plate, and let’s jump in! Today I’ll show you how to use real plants to create beautiful, organic textures. You might just be surprised by the stunning details that show up. Gel plate printing with leaves and grasses is easy, beginner-friendly, and a little bit magical! 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. Where do You Find Leaves? In my garden I am surrounded by a LOT of textures and leaves to choose…

    Read More
    Nadine Milton

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    Techniques for Creating Beautiful Layers with Alcohol Ink

    Techniques for Creating Beautiful Layers with Alcohol Inks

    December 16, 2022
    Art Journal Backgrounds with Spray Paints and Inks

    Easy Art Journal Backgrounds with Spray Paints and Inks

    April 21, 2023
    Scrapbooking Page Using Alcohol Inks with Stencils and Stamping

    Using Alcohol Inks with Stencils

    April 2, 2021
  • Gel print art journal page featuring hummingbirds and flowers
    Projects,  Techniques

    Gel Print Collage Techniques You’ll Love

    July 18, 2025 /

    Gel printing is fun… until you realize you’ve made more gel prints than you know what to do with! Don’t worry—we’ve all been there. The good news? There’s no wrong way to start using these gel prints in your next collage. Today we’ll walk through simple and creative ways to use your gel prints in a collage project. I’ll be sharing my favorite tips and techniques to design and create an effective collage page. 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 Overwhelm of Gel Prints It happens to all of us. We…

    Read More
    Nadine Milton

    You May Also Like

    5 Napkin Hacks to Make Your Napkin Art Pop!

    5 Easy Hacks to Make Your Napkin Images POP!

    August 23, 2024
    Napkin Decoupage on Any Surface: Decorating a plastic pumpkin with napkins and pouring medium

    The Art of Napkin Decoupage: How to Easily Transform Any Surface

    October 20, 2023
    Doodling with Stencils with Tim Holtz Distress Inks and Posca Paint Pens

    Doodling with Stencils: Using Stencils to Improve your Drawing Skills

    October 22, 2021
  • Layered gel plates created by Nadine Milton
    Techniques

    How to Master Gel Print Layers in Monoprinting

    June 13, 2025 /

    Are you struggling with creating beautiful layers with your gel prints? If so, you’re not alone. You may have seen so many articles and videos that may look simple but you’re still struggling to get great results. Join me as I show you two different ways I create layered prints with my gel plate to get the best 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. Embrace Imperfection The hard thing about gel plate printing with layers is that you might have a great idea. But you try it and it…

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    Nadine Milton

    You May Also Like

    Guitar Card Using Watercolor Pencils and Wild Whisper Designs Feel the Beat Stamp Set

    How to use Watercolor Pencils

    January 15, 2021
    Amazing Art Journal Page Using a Vaseline Resist Technique

    How to Create Vaseline Resist Techniques in Your Art Journal

    September 8, 2023
    Layering Details using Caran d'Ache Technalo Water Soluble Graphite Pencils

    How to use Water Soluble Graphite

    June 17, 2022
  • gel plate printing for beginners
    Techniques

    How to Start Gel Printing with Zero Experience

    May 3, 2025 /

    Do you have a brand-new gel plate with no idea how to use it? Gel plate printing fun and beautiful art form is so relaxing and creative, but there’s tricks for getting the best results with your plate. Let’s pull out our gel plates as I share with you everything you need to know to get started with gel printing. 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. Learning to Gel Print for the First Time When I started gel printing many years ago, I started by watching videos. But I found learning how…

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    Nadine Milton

    You May Also Like

    Realistic Goal Setting and New Year’s Resolutions

    December 30, 2019
    Art Journal Flip Through Lessons from an Online Art Retreat

    Looking for Inspiration? A New Art Journal Flip Through!

    August 11, 2023
    My first mixed media page in the Dina Wakley Ledger Journal

    My First Impressions of the Dina Wakley Ledger Journal

    March 14, 2025
  • Struggling with Contrast when Gelli Printing? Here’s How to Fix It
    Techniques

    Struggling with Contrast when Gelli Printing? Here’s How to Fix It

    December 8, 2023 /

    Are you struggling with contrast when gelli printing? This is a common challenge when monoprinting with a gel plate. There is always experimentation when playing with monoprinting. You won’t always be able to control the result. But here are a few tips and ideas to help you get great results when creating contrasting gelli prints. 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. Leaving Objects on the Gelli Plate when Printing You may be struggling with contrast with your gelli prints because you don’t have enough contrast between the elements. Start by adding a…

    Read More
    Nadine Milton

    You May Also Like

    3 Ways to Use Brusho Crystal Colours

    3 Ways to Use Brusho Crystal Colours

    December 18, 2020
    Blue Monday: Reasons to Hope

    Blue Monday: Reasons to Hope

    January 19, 2020
    5 Acrylic Background Techniques for the Art Journal

    Intimidated by the Blank Page? 5 Acrylic Background Techniques for the Art Journal

    June 10, 2022
  • Working in a Series with Gelli Prints Calendar Project
    Projects,  Techniques

    Working in a Series with Gelli Prints

    December 30, 2022 /

    Have you ever used your gelli prints to work in a series? Using gelli prints to create a series of work can be a fun and creative way to use your prints in project. Today we’ll be creating a calendar project using a series of gelli prints and stamps to bring cohesion to our series.  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 Working in a Series Working in a series is a term often used by artists when they use one subject, set of colors or techniques to make multiple works…

    Read More
    Nadine Milton

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    Preparing for a Pandemic Christmas

    Preparing for a Pandemic Christmas

    December 11, 2020
    Art Journal Project I'm Feeling Blue

    Art Journal Project “I’m Feeling Blue”

    January 20, 2020
    Scrapbook Page Design Tips

    Scrapbook Page Design Tips

    March 12, 2021
  • v
    Techniques

    How to Create Gelli Prints with 5 Types of Ink

    August 19, 2022 /

    When learning how to create gelli prints with inks, it can be hard to know which ink to choose. There are so many to choose from. What ink is the most vibrant? What inks will stain your gel plate? Today we will cover 5 popular inks and how they work with the gelli plate on both gloss paper and cardstock. 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 Gelli Print with Inks The basic technique to create gelli prints with inks is the same as paint. To create a beautiful print, apply…

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    Nadine Milton

    You May Also Like

    Choosing an Art Journal for Your Creative Practice Hop-A-Long Studio

    Choosing an Art Journal for Your Creative Practice

    May 27, 2022
    Gelli Print Feather Focal Image Technique

    Creating Beautiful Textures by Gelli Printing with Stencils

    April 15, 2022
    Fall Leaf Card Project

    Fall Leaf Card Project

    November 6, 2020
  • How to Use Gel Prints in Your Art Journal
    Art Journal,  Techniques

    Feeling Stuck? How to Use Gel Prints in Your Art Journal Projects

    July 29, 2022 /

    Do you ever stare at your stack of gel prints wondering how to use those gel prints in your projects? You’re not alone. It can be overwhelming to take the beautiful prints you’ve made and figure out how to incorporate them into your journal. Today I’ll share with you one way that I like using gel prints in my art journal and how easy it is to add gel prints into your 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. Adding Gel Prints to the Art Journal There are so many ways of…

    Read More
    Nadine Milton

    You May Also Like

    Living in the Moment Art Journal Page Paint Tutorial

    Living in the Moment: An Art Journal Painting Tutorial on Denim

    August 27, 2021
    How to Paint Flowers with a Toilet Paper Roll

    How to Paint Flowers with a Toilet Paper Roll

    August 4, 2023
    Mixed Media Art Journal Page Summer Days

    Mixed Media Art Journal Page – Hot Summer Days

    August 13, 2021
  • How to Gelli Print on Canvas
    Art Journal,  Techniques

    How to Gelli Print on Canvas

    July 8, 2022 /

    Have you ever tried gelli printing on surfaces other than paper? This summer I’ve been playing around with different surfaces with my gel plate to see what interesting results I’ll get. My newest experiment was how to Gelli print on canvas and I’ve been surprised by the results. 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 Canvas for Gelli Printing There is a variety of canvas that can be used for Gelli printing. My favorite canvas is artist canvas pads in black and white. These pads are easy to use as the…

    Read More
    Nadine Milton

    You May Also Like

    3 Unique Ways to Use Stencils and Stencil Masks

    3 Unique Ways to Use Stencils and Masks

    September 1, 2023
    How to get past a creative block- try this amazing mixed media art journal page!

    Struggling with Creative Block? Try this Easy Art Journal Page!

    October 18, 2025
    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
123

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

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  • Artist's Journey
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  • Techniques

Tags

Acceptance (10) acrylic paint (16) Acrylic Painting (17) Applying Art Mediums (14) Applying Brusho Powders (10) Art Ideas (22) art journal (19) Art Journaling (61) Art Tutorials (156) Art Videos (163) Awareness (19) Blending Color (22) Card Making (16) Card Tutorials (11) Christmas (9) collage (19) Creative Foundations (24) Creativity (28) 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 (13) 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

  • How to use Pan Pastels in an Art Journal Page to display your yearly intentionShow Your New Years Intention with Pan Pastels
    In Art Journal, Projects, Techniques
  • Holiday Collage Cards Designed by Nadine MiltonMake Amazing Holiday Collage Cards in Minutes!
    In Projects, Techniques
  • Abstract Holiday Cards Made with Paper Scraps from Simply Stated Design Golden Evergreen PapersUse Your Scraps to Make Stunning Holiday Cards
    In Projects, Techniques
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