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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 One Step at a Time

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com

It’s hard to believe today is already December 1st and year is almost over. This is the perfect time to give some thought to the coming new year. As human beings we have the incredible ability to see the end result of something before we even get started. So where do you see yourself in a year from now or 5 years from now?

It’s so important that you envision where you want to be because you’re going to end up somewhere in the next year or the next five but the question is where will you end up? Are you going to spin in circles with no aiming point or are you going to make your dreams a reality? The choice is yours so pave your path to the future you want for yourself. Start by acting as though what you desire is already yours. This will help you envision it more clearly so it will become your reality.

All of your thoughts, actions and decisions have brought you to where you are today. But to get to the future you envision for yourself, you most likely need to make changes. They don’t have to be drastic but start with 1 thing that will bring you closer to your dream. Keep doing that 1 thing everyday until it becomes a habit. Then change 1 more thing and repeat the process.

Before you know it, you’ll be 10 steps closer to your vision. And if you reach your destination and decide it’s not for you or you have a change of heart along the way, then change your path and envision something new. Remember anything is possible but you must take that first step so life can give you the opportunities and circumstances to make your visions, your reality.

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New Ornaments

I really love the spirit of Christmas and making others smile, it warms the heart 😊 I’ve been very busy getting the last of the ornaments and paintings up in my Etsy Shop in time for the holidays!

What warms your heart during the holiday season?

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Thoughtful Thursday Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Time seems to fly by faster and faster because Thanksgiving is here once more. Hopefully you’re able to slow down a bit and enjoy this special holiday. Take the time to really savor the intimate moments with family and friends and create some special memories.

I want to thank you for your continued love and support and for joining me on this creative journey! It really means a lot to me 💖💖

Wishing you a Very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

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Family Art Journaling

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, I thought I’d share these special journal pages with you. They were created by my family 😊

It was a fun time talking and laughing as we passed the journal around. The idea was that each person takes a turn drawing a line in the journal. You keep passing it around and adding more lines until it’s mostly filled up. It’s pretty funny to see the images that emerge from all the random lines. You can add some color if you like and you’ll end up with a fun family art journal that you can keep as a memento for your special day.

Hope this inspires you to create some fun memories this Thanksgiving. Thanks for stopping by!!!

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Thoughtful Thursday Book Review – Grace Notes by Alexandra Stoddard

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With this year coming to an end, faster than I’d like I thought I’d share this book review with you. It’s written by Alexandra Stoddard and is titled “Grace Notes.” In this book Alexandra offers 365 daily meditations of grace, one for each day of the year. So with January 1st fast approaching now is a good time to get the book so you can start the new year off on a positive note.

The book is beautifully written with inspiring words of encouragement, love and grace. She even gives you a few lines at the bottom of each day to write you own thoughts if you like. Alexandra also includes with each day famous inspirational quotes and her own personal insights. You can find Grace Notes on Amazon where you can also preview a few sample pages to get a better idea of what the book is really like.

With as crazy as things have become, this is simply a nice way to start each day. It’s a gentle reminder of how to live life with grace. I highly recommend this book!

I hope you enjoyed this book review, thanks for stopping by!!!

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Santa’s Workshop

Photo by Hunt on Photos Studio on Pexels.com

I’ve been busy in Santa’s Workshop making new Christmas Ornaments. Some of the designs were more time consuming than anticipated but I thought the end result was worth it.

I still have a few finishing touches but what do you think so far?

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Thoughtful Thursday Hope

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Hurricanes are not to be taken lightly. They can cause loss of property and life. The state of Florida was hit by Hurricane Ian on 9/30/22, and it caused mass destruction across the state. Now Hurricane Nicole has caused even more. Nicole missed us thank goodness but the east coast of Florida, north of us was battered by winds, flooding and King Tides. King Tides are the highest possible tides in a calendar year and that only compounded the already serious issues caused by the hurricane.

I’ve been watching the news and am horrified to see homes in Daytona that are literally crumbling and being washed out to sea. The devastation is terrible and breaks your heart. One resident, a widow had lived in her home for over 30 years and thought she was in her forever home. But sadly her home is now uninhabitable.

I wish I had something happy to share with you today but I’m at a loss of words I guess. I can’t imagine how these people must feel at this time. My thoughts and prayers to go out to all affected by these storms.

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“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old but on building the new.” ~Socrates

Owl Mixed Media Art

Juliette Crane a very talented artist who creates visually stunning whimsical and ever so magical paintings. I love her work!

Juliette is presently offering a free online workshop on her website JulietteCrane.com. So needless to say, I couldn’t resist! It’s a quick owl painting that takes about 30 minutes and is lots of fun. She peaked my interest with some new supplies that I will definitely be getting and exploring with.

Thought my little owl turned out pretty magical, what do you think?

Hope your having a great day and thanks for stopping by!!!

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Angel Journal Covers

Many of you followed me on my art adventure as I filled this journal with angel paintings. I love painting them because they give me a sense of peace, an inner harmony. With as crazy as the world has become, when I sit down to paint one of these angels, my outer world simply disappears and I drift into a place of complete joy.

I was happy and sad when I filled the journal because I knew it was time to start something new. I wanted the covers to reflect the love and magic these paintings exude. It took a little bit of time but I was finally able to create some pretty cool covers for the journal.

Now for the hard part of sending this journal off to Stampington in the hopes that it will be published in their Art Journaling Magazine, wish me luck 🤞

I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!!!

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“Every great move forward in your life begins with a leap of faith, a step into the unknown.” ~Brian Tracy

Thoughtful Thursday Fall Essential Oil Blends

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Living in the South you don’t get to enjoy a lot of the autumn colors and scents so I’m always looking for ways to bring the warmth of the season into my home. One of my favorite ways is to use a diffuser and add drops of essential oils to make some of the most tantalizing autumn scents.

The fragrant oils can affect your mood and give you a sense of complete joy and harmony. They may even bring back some wonderful memories. There are a lot of premixed synthetic oils but most are full with harmful chemicals. Plus many people can’t tolerate them and that’s why essential oils are great because they’re natural.

These are a few fall diffuser blends I found online. If you don’t have a diffuser I would recommend buying one. You can check out the websites below for recommendations or Amazon has plenty to choose from with reviews to help you find the best one. But don’t go crazy buying lots of essential oils. Pick 1 or 2 blends from the choices below and start with that to see what you like. Let me know how it goes.

Have a lovely day and thanks for stopping by!!

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EssentialOilHaven.com gives recommendations for oils and diffusers.

CountryHillCottage.com gives easy ideas and recipes for living well.

TheOilDropper.com has useful information on using essential oils.