You don't need to use printing ink to create a monotype, you can use oil paint (though it takes ages to dry) or acrylic paint that either has extender added to it or is a slow-drying formulation. This video from Golden Artist Color shows how to create a monotype print using their Open Acrylics.

The video shows all three monotype techniques using simple designs that will hopefully inspire you to give it a go too. And once you have, share your monoprints here in the new monoprint show and tell. Watch the monoprint video here...

Printmaking in fine art is centuries old, though not all printmaking techniques are that old. (Linocuts are a 20th century innovation.) A true art print is an original piece of art not a reproduction of an existing painting. Find out more...

See Also:
• What's a Giclee Print?

^{Image© Mary Klein. Used with permission.}

Clothes Pin Holiday Card Holders
What to do with all those holiday cards? Hold them up with clothes pins as dazzling as twinkling lights with this how-to from Kate Pullen.

Make a Gingerbread House
Ever want to create the perfect gingerbread house? Okay, I have yet to master this skill..but you can! Our Barbara Rolek will show you how.

How to Draw a Christmas Tree
Here is one that will come in handy for all those handmade cards. Master sketch artist Helen South will show you how to draw the perfect tree from start to finish.

Paint a Glass Ornament
Turn a plain glass ball into a work of stained glass art. Full instructions on About.com Painting will show you how to create this delicate trimming.

Silent Night Cross Stitch Pattern
Don't just get cozy, get your stitch on. Create a Silent Night design with this free pattern from Connie G. Barwick.

Stitch a Pear Trio
Hang up something special in your home for that Thanksgiving gathering. This free 'Pear Trio' needlepoint pattern from Cheryl Fall is just what your walls needed.

Easy Christmas Ornaments
Start a tradition for the kids to make new ornaments each year. Sherri Osborne has the shape patterns and project ideas for these ornaments that reflect Christmas traditions.

Print Thanksgiving Placecards
Add some warmth to your table with these Thanksgiving place cards that will have your guests saying 'awwwww'. Barbara Crews has the free printable for you to personalize.

Wine Bottle Wrap Pattern
Instead of giving a bottle of wine in one of those skinny bags, make a felt wrap that the bottle can be displayed in all season. Phyllis Dobbs will show you how.

Make a Miniature Christmas Tree
Why are tiny things always so darn cute? Learn how to make a little pine tree with Lesley Shepherd.

Interchangeable Thanksgiving Pins
Sometimes you just can't commit to just one pin. With this interchangeable Thanksgiving pin by Tammy Powley, you can tell everyone when you're ready for pie...and when you're overstuffed.

Want to Join Make it Merry to show off your holiday crafts? We will showcase your crafts and recipes of all holiday traditions. Learn more.

... I'm a brayer.

^{Photo © 2009 M Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About.com, Inc}

What do you wear to protect your clothes when you're painting? I do have a lab coat with nice big pockets I made from thin denim, but mostly I wear an apron for "just quickly" doing something or if it's going to be a long painting session, a set of "sacrificial" painting clothes.

Forum host Starrpoint says she's discovered scrubs.

"You know, those based on the scrubs used in hospitals and now worn by anyone in the medical profession. You can often find them very cheaply in discount stores. I buy a size too big so they are loose and will fit over other clothes if I want them to. ... Works much better than an apron, as the apron never seems to cover the right area of anything I am wearing!"

Join the discussion here...
• Buy Direct: Scrubs

"The advantage for painters of using a dark preparation is that its colour can stand unmodified for many parts of a composition. It can be used for shadows, or can be darkened further with a transparent glaze for deeper shadows.

"...by painting the lights more thinly towards their edges, allowing the dark ground to show through, cool half-tones are automatically achieved."

-- Velázquez's painting technique described in a treatise written by his teacher and father-in-law, Francisco Pacheco, in 1647. Quoted in Colour: A Closer Look by David Bomford and Ashkok Roy, National Gallery, London p82 (Buy Direct)

See Also:
• How to Paint Glazes in Oils or Acrylics
• An Oil Painter Reveals His Glazing Secrets
• Step-by-Step Demo on Painting Glazes

^{Image: © 2009 Marion Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About.com, Inc}

I bought my glass muller at that most characterful of art materials stores, Cornelissen's in London. Admittedly, I rarely use it to grind pigment or make paint. Instead it sits around as a thing of pristine beauty, an inspirational paper-weight, catching the light, creating sparkles and shifting shadows. But next time I want to have a go at egg tempera again, and I'm sure there will be a next time, it'll get dirty again.

• Buy Direct: Glass Muller

^{Photo © M Boddy-Evans Licensed to About.com, Inc}

Art Calendar magazine is holding a self-portrait competition. First prize is US$500 voucher for Blick Art Materials and having your painting featured on the cover of the March issue magazine. Plus a one-page profile inside.

Entry is free and must be done using the online form (which seems to be formated for USA addresses only, though the rules don't seem to specify that you have to be in the USA to enter). Closing date is 11 December 2009. Read the full details here...

Magic White / Liquid White will lighten any colors you use, so give you the aerial perspective automatically, says Painting Forum Host Susan Tschantz.
• More tips on Magic White...

See Also:
• Top 100 Painting Tips
• Creativity Tips

^{Photo © M Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About.com, Inc}

Given what a prolific letter writer Vincent van Gogh was, he would have loved blogging for sure! The Van Gogh Museum are doing it for him, with a daily extract from a letter. Today's letter starts:

"There are two people whose intense struggle between 'I'm a painter' and 'I'm not a painter' I know. Rappard's and my own -- sometimes a frightening struggle, a struggle that's precisely the distinction between us and some others who take it less seriously.

See the Van Gogh Blog...

See Also:
• Review: Illustrated Van Gogh Letters
• Photos: Vincent van Gogh and Expressionism