Mark Making Tools I Love in 2025: Creating Signature Texture in Mixed Media Art

TRANQUIL • LUMINOUS • ROOTED

Stories from the studio, reflections on process, and the art of the handmade.

How Unique Tools Shape the Surfaces of My Handmade Books and

The Artisan Squeeze

There’s something deeply satisfying about discovering marks that feel like yours—those little gestures, lines, and textures that start showing up across your pages like a signature. Lately, I’ve been thinking about how we each develop our own visual language through mark making, and I wanted to share a few of the tools that have been recently helping me expand mine.

Catalyst Tools I Use on Fabric and Paper

Catalyst Tools by Princeton

Catalyst Tools by Princeton

One of my current favorites are the Catalyst Tools by Princeton—flexible silicone wedges with teeth and notches that carve beautifully into paint. I’ve been pulling prints from my gel plate onto both fabric and khadi paper using these tools, often paired with chalk paint to create matte, textural surfaces. The paint I use—Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics—has a velvety opacity that works beautifully with the pressure and drag of the Catalyst edges. When applied on handmade papers or fabric destined for book covers or small pouches, these marks carry forward a kind of movement, like a dance captured in pigment.

Splatter Brush

Splatter Brush

The Art of Controlled Chaos: Splatter Brushes

In contrast, my splatter brushes

bring spontaneity to the mix. Originally designed to disperse paint in an unpredictable way, they add a sense of rhythm and energy. I often dip them in diluted chalk paint to create a whisper of layers—fine sprays and directional bursts that soften hard lines and add contrast. It’s a favorite for punctuating the page with just the right amount of chaos!

Artisan Book Covers Made with the Splatter Brush

Rubber Stamps, Reimagined, for Mark Making

Rubber stamps are often thought of as precise or decorative, but I’ve been using them more intuitively, as textural elements rather than focal points. I’ll press only part of a stamp into the surface, tilt it unexpectedly, or layer it under translucent washes. With chalk paint, the impressions feel softened and organic, almost as if they’ve weathered naturally into the page.

Make Your Mark!

What I’ve learned is that mark making doesn’t require the most expensive tools or the perfect technique. What it does require is curiosity. Whether you're printing on fabric, building a book cover, exploring a new sketchbook, or mixed media piece, the key is to experiment—repeating motions until they feel natural, until they begin to form a visual vocabulary that is unmistakably yours.

Mark making is one of the most powerful ways to develop your signature voice in your artwork. Over time, your marks become a language of their own—one that speaks without needing to be explained. I love that!

Artisan Squeeze Pouch

Curious about the tools I use? Follow along on Instagram where I often share glimpses into my process. And if you’re ready to try some of these techniques yourself, take a look at my handmade book covers and fabric creations—they’re layered with the same marks I’ve been talking about here. Happy Mark Making!

Let’s Keep the Conversation Going

What are your favorite mark making tools? I’d love to hear about your techniques and favorite practices. Leave a comment or connect with me on Instagram @melaniegrantdesign.

Curious when I will use these tools next? Join my mailing list to see the finished pieces and get first access to new releases.