Author Archives: Maria - FlowingWatersArt

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About Maria - FlowingWatersArt

I'm a self-taught mixed media artist and have been creating art and a positive atmosphere in my life for as long as I can remember. I live in sunny South Florida, which serves as my inspiration for my use of bright fun colors with a whimsical flair. My goal is to inspire and empower you to find your inner happiness through creativity, as I have in my life. This website includes different tips and techniques that will hopefully inspire your inner muse to create. Welcome and join me on a wonderful journey in creating art!

Thoughtful Thursday Dryer Sheets vs Dryer Balls

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Photo by Sarah Chai on Pexels.com

Laundry is never ending and so is the expense. But if you want your clothes to feel soft, be static free and have a nice scent you need to add a new dryer sheet to every load of laundry and that’s costly.

The majority of dryer sheets are made from a thin polyester material that’s coated with a softening agent and lots of chemicals including fatty acids, fatty alcohols, alcohol ethoxylates, stearic acid plus harsh perfumes. None of which are healthy for your body and the waste isn’t healthy for the planet.

Luckily there’s an alternative to these sheets, dryer balls. The dryer balls work by bouncing around in the dryer, separating clothes and allowing air to circulate more efficiently. As a result they soften your clothes and reduce drying time, wrinkles and static cling. Plus there are no harsh chemicals.

I’ve used dryer balls for years and love them. I started with the plastic kind shown below on the right and they worked great. But eventually they broke down and had to be replaced with new ones that gave off a slight plastic odor which I wasn’t crazy about.

I thought there had to be a better way so I did a bit of research for a natural alternative and found wool dryer balls (shown above on the left). I followed an online tutorial at DIY Natural to make your own set which required roving wool and that can be hard to find in South Florida.

Fortunately, there are quite a few companies that make and sell dryer balls online. This is a link to the set I purchased a year ago on Amazon and they’re still going strong! The best part is you can add your own essential oils to wool dryer balls and freshen your laundry, naturally without harsh chemicals. Plus you’ll save loads of money and reduce waste. It’s a win-win!!

Hope you enjoyed this post today, thanks for stopping by!!

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Studio Update Yello’s BIG Solo

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This is a new 4×12 inch canvas I finished over the weekend. It’s an adorable painting with a textured background and 5 beautiful little birds. Instead of painting flowers I thought it would be fun to add more interest and accent this piece by using paper flowers and leaves. I also added a quote “Sing your song.”

Since this is painted on a 1.5 inch thick canvas, this artwork is ideal as a shelf sitter making it the perfect décor for a desk, shelf or counter but can also be hung on the wall.

‘Yello’s BIG Solo’ is available in my Etsy Shop, if interested.

Hope this inspires you today, thanks for stopping by!!

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Studio Update – New Abstract

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I hope your weekend is off to a good start! This is the 16×20 inch abstract painting I’ve been working on in the studio. It’s easy to overwork a painting, always thinking it needs more but I’m calling this one finished.

This painting is a stunning piece with lots of texture plus fun splashes and drips of colors. There are a lot of layers which peek through in different places making it all the more interesting. It has a very happy and uplifting vibe to it.

Now the real fun begins, I need a name for it but I’m coming up empty handed. Would love to know what you see and/or feel when you look at this painting so I can give it a title😊

Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to hearing from you!!

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“A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.” ~Salvador Dali

Thoughtful Thursday Hershey’s Kisses

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Growing up as a kid you knew it was going to be a good day when you were given a special treat of Hershey’s Kisses. I mean who didn’t love those small morsels of sheer deliciousness? I still love them to this day! Not necessarily for the chocolate but the wonderful memories it brings back every time I eat one.

Milton Hershey opened the Hershey factory in Derry, Pennsylvania in 1905. The world famous Hershey’s Kisses were made from 1907-1942. Due to the rationing of aluminum during World War II, Hershey’s stopped manufacturing them for 5 years. In 1947 Hershey’s started producing the Kisses once more and haven’t stopped since.

No one is quite sure how the name came about as there are many versions. One version is the machine that produces the Kisses makes a kiss sound. Another version is that at the time a small piece of confectionary was referred to as a kiss. Regardless of how they were named, their popularity grew and in 1921 Milton Hershey registered a trademark for the name “HERSHEY’S KISSES.”

Each little Kiss was hand wrapped in foil from 1907 – 1921. From that point on they were wrapped by machine that added the printed paper plume to the foil. Milton Hershey wanted to distinguish his chocolate from competitors so the first plumes were printed with the name Hershey’s only. It wasn’t until the 1920’s that Kisses was added to the plumes. However around 1994 Hershey’s was dropped from the plume and now it only reads Kisses. The plume became an iconic brand flag waving over the top of each little kiss.

Hershey’s Kisses today can be found in variety of flavors and different foil colors depending on the holiday. They’re also great for baking and in many dessert recipes. My personal favorite is the original milk chocolate kiss in the silver foil. What’s your favorite?

Hope you enjoyed this history snippet, thanks for stopping by!!

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Mixed Media Inspiration Angel

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I’ve been waffling different ideas of how to combine my love of inspiring quotes and phrases with my art. I love painting angels because they give so much peace and serenity. Then I remembered an old book I had in my library by Kelly Rae Roberts, “Taking Flight.” There was a project in the book that inspired me.

I looked to my past angel paintings in my journals for more inspiration and created a sketch on a 9×12 inch piece of watercolor paper. After I painted her, I added the phrases to her dress that I thought went well with the main motif of believing in yourself.

In the creation process, I experimented with new techniques; some worked out great while others were a complete blunder. But I just rolled with it and ended up having lots of fun. It was quite an adventure to say the least! Below are images for my finished art.

Would love to know your thoughts, thanks for stopping by!!

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Thoughtful Thursday WFPB

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Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel on Pexels.com

As most of you know I started eating vegan due to health issues. But in the last several years companies have created many plant based products including cheese which actually tastes pretty good. So I fell into the trap of time constraints and plain old convenience.

My body started to develop aches and pains. It wasn’t anything major but it was also different than before I went vegan. I didn’t pay much mind to it but a month before we went on our holiday vacation I decided to go Whole Foods Plant Based (WFPB).

You may be asking why I did this when I’m already vegan. Here’s the scoop, a soda and bag of potato chips is vegan but is it healthy for you? The obvious answer is no because it’s highly processed, contains lots of sugar, salt and other things you can’t pronounce.

Whole Foods Plant Based (WFPB) is just that. You’re eating fruits and veggies that aren’t processed. So no plant based products made in a manufacturing plant. You buy your produce, prepare it and then eat it – plain and simple just as God intended.

Every morning when I’d wake up I would lay in bed assessing the daily aches and pains. It took about 3 weeks and I woke up one morning assessing the discomfort and to my surprise there was absolutely nothing! I felt perfectly fine. I continued to lay there because there had to be something. But nope, there was nothing. I was amazed that eating processed foods caused so much inflammation resulting in pain that I felt throughout my body especially my joints. Plus I dropped weight, my energy went through the roof and I felt like I turned the clock back 30 years!

What I learned from this is you don’t necessarily need to eat plant based foods but definitely eat whole foods. If you want to feel good, have more energy, lose weight reduce or completely eliminate the processed foods from your diet. You may be surprised at how great you can feel!

Hope this inspires you, thanks for stopping by!!

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“It’s not about eating healthy to lose weight. It’s about eating healthy to feel good.” ~Demi Lovato

Photo by Oleksandr P on Pexels.com

Whimsical Bird Painting

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Sometimes I like to do a practice run in my journal before painting on a canvas. Because I do a pencil sketch first, it allows me to easily change the design before I start adding the color.

This is “Marvelous Martha,” and she was created in my Strathmore 6×12 inch watercolor journal with watercolor paints, colored pencils and pen. I’ll have to make some adjustments when I paint her with acrylics on the canvas but the overall design will be the same.

So stay tuned, more to come with Marvelous Martha…

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!!

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Studio Update – Expressions of Love

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I’ve been working on creating a new design for the Expressions of Love Collection and this is what I came up with. It’s an organic design with beautiful hearts, outlined in glistening gold. I collaged a paper doily to the background for a bit of romance and it can be seen on each heart.

These 3 paintings were created on 1.5 inch thick canvases making them ideal as a shelf sitter and the perfect décor for a desk, shelf or counter. Plus they can also be hung on the wall. They will all be up in my Etsy Shop by the end of this weekend.

Below is a time lapse process video of me painting a layer on the Rose Pink Heart. I’m working on getting over my camera shyness 😅

Thanks for stopping by, have a fantastic weekend!!

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“My goal as an artist is to create art that makes people look at the world in a different way.” ~Autumn de Forest

Thoughtful Thursday Outward Hound Slow Feeder Bowl Review

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Chanel (brown), Rosie (black)

As most of you know I’m the mom of two precious little girls, Chanel and Rosie. These two are angels most of the time, well Chanel is all of the time. But Rosie loves to get into mischief every now and then.

Chanel is 11 years old and has been completely blind since she was 3. Rosie the 1+ year old baby, a quick learner, figured out Chanel’s handicap and would sometimes steal her food. As a result, Chanel started gobbling her food and would end up getting sick.

It took some training but Rosie rarely snatches Chanel’s food anymore. However, Chanel isn’t taking any chances and continues to gobble. So I came across this “Slo Bowl” by Outward Hound. The idea is that it makes your pet slow down their eating and take smaller bites. This in turn helps with their digestion and can also help prevent obesity and bloating.

We’ve used this bowl it for about 2 weeks and it’s works great! Chanel is doing much better and is noticeably eating a lot slower and not getting sick.

There are many different types of slow feeder bowls on the market. Some have a more complex design making your pet slow down their eating even more. But I opted for this one and I’m so glad I did. It’s a breeze to clean and is also dishwasher safe. Plus it has a non-slip base, holds 2 cups of dry or wet food and is made from food safe materials (Free From: BPA, PVC, Lead and Phthalate). It also comes in 2 sizes, Large/Regular and Medium/Mini depending on the size of your pet.

Some pet owners reported that using a slow feeder bowl made their pet frustrated. Chanel has been absolutely fine and isn’t showing any signs of frustration eating from this particular bowl. For some pets it make take a little time to retrain their minds but overall this is a great invention and helps to improve your pet’s health. These bowls are available in most local pet stores and online: Chewy, Amazon, Target, Walmart.

I would recommend this product for your pet, but always talk with your vet first if you have any concerns.

Hope you enjoyed this product review, thanks for stopping by!!!

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🐾Thought you’d enjoy a few cute photos of the girls when they were pups 🐾

Studio Update

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I’m starting a new practice this year. I’m playing with different color combinations and various mediums on 9×12″ watercolor paper. After the painting is done I’ll add notes on the back of what I did, the colors and mediums I used and what I discovered about the process.

This abstract was made with watercolors, acrylic paints and inks, alcohol inks and pen. I was very happy with this color combination, it turned out pretty nice. What’s making me laugh though, is how everyone sees something totally different.

What do you see in this painting?

Have an amazing day!!

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“Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious.” ~Oscar Wilde