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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 get past a creative block- try this amazing mixed media art journal page!Struggling with Creative Block? Try this Easy Art Journal Page!
    In Art Journal, Artist's Journey
  • gel plate printing with leaves and grassesUnique & Easy Gel Printing with Leaves and Grasses
    In Techniques
  • How to get the most textured collage in your art journalCreate the Ultimate Textured Collage with this Technique
    In Projects, Techniques
  • 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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    How to Live Fearlessly During COVID-19

    How to Live Fearlessly During COVID-19

    March 20, 2020
    Intuitive Collage Mixed Media Project featuring image from Simply Stated Design

    New to Intuitive Collage? Start Here!

    December 2, 2024
    Learning to Trust Ourselves

    Learning to Trust Ourselves

    February 21, 2020
  • 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

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    Art Journal with Napkins Technique Tutorial

    Art Journaling with Napkins

    January 14, 2022
    The Intuitive Collage Process | How to Get Past a Creative Block

    The Intuitive Collage Process | How to Get Past a Creative Block

    June 12, 2023
    Lessons in the creative process Adventures in Book binding and learning new creative skills

    Lessons in the Creative Process: My Adventure with Book Binding

    November 26, 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…

    Read More
    Nadine Milton

    You May Also Like

    Lessons in the creative process Adventures in Book binding and learning new creative skills

    Lessons in the Creative Process: My Adventure with Book Binding

    November 26, 2021
    How to Use Alcohol Inks and Stencils

    How to Use Alcohol Inks and Stencils

    August 14, 2020
    Everything is Figure-outable Art Journaling Page with Fluid Acrylics

    Using Fluid Acrylics in the Art Journal

    July 22, 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…

    Read More
    Nadine Milton

    You May Also Like

    Art of Self-Discovery Art Journaling Page

    The Art of Self-Discovery: An Art Journaling Project

    May 27, 2019
    How to fussy cut napkin images for any project

    How to Cut the PERFECT Napkin Image

    July 20, 2024
    Watercolor Pigment Powders Brusho Crystal Colours, Lindy's Gang Magicals and Nuvo Shimmer Powders how to use on watercolor paper

    Watercolor Powders Demystified! You need to Try these!

    April 18, 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…

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    Nadine Milton

    You May Also Like

    moving past creative blocks by sketching in the garden Nadine Milton

    Feeling Stuck? 5 Ways for Moving Past Creative Blocks

    August 20, 2021

    How to Paint a Tree in 3 Easy Steps!

    June 12, 2024
    tissue paper collage with chipboard and gems

    The Secret to Stunning Collages…use Tissue Paper!

    March 7, 2025
  • 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

    You May Also Like

    Gel print art journal page featuring hummingbirds and flowers

    Gel Print Collage Techniques You’ll Love

    July 18, 2025
    Stamping Tips and Techniques Stamping with Ink and Paint

    Stamping Tips and Techniques

    April 30, 2021
    Canvas Preparation for the Art Curious

    Canvas Preparation for the Art Curious

    March 4, 2022
  • 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…

    Read More
    Nadine Milton

    You May Also Like

    Looking to Improve your Painting Skills? How to Paint a Tree with Ink using Yasutomo Traditional Chinese Ink Silver Black and Chinese & Watercolor Brushes

    Looking for an Easy Painting Exercise? How to Paint a Tree with Ink

    February 24, 2023
    Misconceptions Surrounding Mental Illness

    Misconceptions Surrounding Mental Illness

    October 7, 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
  • 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

    Art Journaling Project "How did I end up here?"

    Art Journaling Project “How did I end up here?”

    May 6, 2019
    Art Tag using Scribble Stick Watercolor Technique and Brene Brown Quote on Vellum

    Scribble Sticks Watercolor Technique

    September 17, 2021
    How to Make a Simple Christmas Card

    How to Make a Simple Christmas Card

    November 27, 2020
  • 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

    5 Napkin Hacks to Make Your Napkin Art Pop!

    5 Easy Hacks to Make Your Napkin Images POP!

    August 23, 2024
    Easy Alcohol Ink Christmas Card

    Easy Alcohol Ink Christmas Card

    December 4, 2020
    Best Acrylic Paint Pens Paint Marker Comparison Hop-A-Long Studio

    The Best Acrylic Paint Pens: A Paint Marker Comparison

    July 9, 2021
  • How to Gelli Print on Tissue Paper
    Techniques

    How to Gelli Print on Tissue Paper

    July 1, 2022 /

    Looking for new surfaces to use with your gel plate? Gelli printing on tissue paper is so easy and you can get amazing results by keeping a few things in mind. There are so many surfaces that you can use with your gel plate, but each surface requires small adjustments in technique to get consistent results. Tissue paper is delicate, but it’s stronger than you might think. Using these techniques can get you consistent 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. Choosing the Right Tissue Paper There are many types…

    Read More
    Nadine Milton

    You May Also Like

    Detail of Card Live Life in Full Bloom Stamped Card Colored with Distress Crayons

    Quick Coloring Technique Using Distress Crayons

    September 24, 2021
    Simply Stated Design Advent Calendar 2024

    The Unique Advent Calendar You’ll Love Unboxing!

    October 22, 2024
    Traveler's Notebook Examples

    How to Use a Traveler’s Notebook

    March 19, 2021
12

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

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Recent Posts

  • 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!
    In Art Journal, Artist's Journey
  • gel plate printing with leaves and grassesUnique & Easy Gel Printing with Leaves and Grasses
    In Techniques
  • How to get the most textured collage in your art journalCreate the Ultimate Textured Collage with this Technique
    In Projects, Techniques
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