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 Best-ever Beefless Stew

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Photo by Egor Kamelev on Pexels.com

With the cooler temps finally here in the South, I wanted to try a new vegan soup recipe. But I wanted something really hearty that would be filling and I found it. This is a recipe for “Best-ever Beefless Stew” with portobello mushrooms taking the place of beef. If you’re not a fan of portobellos, I’m sure you could use another type of mushroom that would taste just as good.

I gotta say this was one of the most delicious and satisfying stews I’ve ever had! A few things I would change to the recipe is to add a little salt and pepper to taste and it also calls for fresh parsley as a topping. But I wasn’t too crazy with flavor of the parsley with the stew. I would recommend giving it a try anyways and see for yourself, you may end up liking it.

This recipe was published in the latest Forks Over Knives, “100 Best Plant-Based Recipes,” 2021 and it can also be found on their website “Best-ever Beefless Stew.” It was really easy to make with everyday ingredients.

Forks Over Knives 100 Best Plant-Based Recipes 2021 image 0

If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of this issue, it’s available on the Forks Over Knives Website.

Hope you’ll give this tasty recipe a try 😊

Thanks for stopping by!

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“Health is the first form of Wealth. Invest in yours by eating whole, unprocessed foods.” ~ Dr. Axe

Custom Keepsake Ornament

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With the loss of my little Cocoa this past summer and being stuck in bed this entire holiday season, my thoughts were on her a lot. She was quite a character and loved to rip our presents open. You can see her ears flying madly as she shredded the paper on this gift. This was serious business for Cocoa, she made us all laugh 😂

So to keep a reminder of Cocoa at Christmas, I made this ornament. It’s a beautiful way to remember those we’ve lost whether our furry kids or family and friends. It’s also a great way to create a custom keepsake for special moments. This started as a simple paper mache circle ornament, but wood would work just as well.

Round Paper Mache Ornament - Christmas Ornaments ...
Paper Mache Ornament

Supplies

  • 3.75″ Paper Mache Circle Ornament or Wood Ornament
  • Gesso
  • Acrylic paint in coordinating color to match photos
  • 3.5″ circle photograph of your loved one
  • 3.25″ x 2.5″ rectangular/freeform photograph of your love one
  • Golden Matte Medium
  • Posca Paint Marker .7mm
  • Sakura Pen .005 or other Waterproof Fine Tip Marker
  • 14″ Trim of your choice
  • Stickles – Star Dust
  • Aleene’s Tacky Glue

Instructions

  1. Paint your paper mache ornament with gesso and let dry.
  2. Paint your entire ornament, including the edges with the acrylic paint using a 3/4″ flat brush. Let dry. Give it a second coat if needed.
  3. Print and cut your photographs to fit the ornament. The approximate sizes are listed above.
  4. Using the matte medium, adhere your photograph to one side of the ornament. Apply a coat of matte medium over your photograph to seal and protect it. Let dry. {Note: depending on the ink you use to print your photo, you may want to test the matte medium on a sample photo to make sure the ink doesn’t bleed.}
  5. Follow step 4 with the 2nd photo on the other side. Let dry.
  6. Add any names, dates or sentiments with your Sakura pen.
  7. Using the your Posca pen, add little stars and doodles. Let dry.
  8. Accent one side of your ornament with Stickles and let dry. Then repeat on the other side if desired. Let dry.
  9. Last, using Aleene’s Tacky Glue, adhere your trim to the edge of the ornament and cut off any excess. Now you have a beautiful keepsake of your loved one or that special moment.

I hope you enjoy creating your custom keepsake. Keep in mind, these would also make great gifts too 😊

Thanks for stopping by!!

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Valentine’s Day Canvases

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I’m having a lot of fun creating these smaller canvases for Valentine’s Day. There are a lot of layers and work that goes into each one. They’re literally labors of love and I accent each one with glitter for a little bit of Cupid’s magic. Each painting is sealed and protected with a matte finish and comes ready to hang and are available in my Etsy Shop.

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!!

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Thoughtful Thursday Book Review

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I just finished reading “The High 5 Habit” by Mel Robbins and really loved it. In her book, Mel explains the importance of supporting and cheering on your family and friends throughout life. It’s something we all do without giving it much thought. Yet when it comes to ourselves, we’re overly critical and rarely if ever do we give ourselves credit for how far we’ve come on this incredible journey called life.

This simple concept of high fiving yourself everyday may seem silly at first but I can tell you it’s absolutely mind altering and in a very good way. Mel doesn’t just talk about starting this habit with easy to follow steps. She goes further by explaining how this affected her own life and then gives you the science behind why we do what we do and what we need to do to change.

I highly recommend reading this book which is available on Mel Robbins website or on Amazon. “The High 5 Habit” is a well written book that will help you understand yourself better and learn how to make positive changes in your life.

Hope you enjoyed this book review. Thanks for stopping by!!

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“Good habits are as addictive as bad habits, and a lot more rewarding.” ~ Harvey MacKay

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Change Watercolor Portrait

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I finished this portrait last night and named her “Change.” Just as caterpillars change to stunning butterflies, sometimes we also have to change to stay on our life’s path. Change isn’t always fun but can lead us to great things.

Have a fabulous day!

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“Change is the law of life, and those who only look to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” ~John F Kennedy

Watercolor Journal Angel Cynthia

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My creative muse is finally showing herself once again. This is my latest angel in my Strathmore 5.5″ x 8.5″ watercolor journal. Her name is Cynthia.

Hope you’re having a super weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

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Thoughtful Thursday When life throws you a curve ball

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Photo by Rachel Xiao on Pexels.com

You may or may not have noticed I’ve been MIA for the last few weeks. I ended up getting pretty sick just before the holidays. So Christmas and New Year’s celebrations skipped my house this year. It felt strange but was necessary.

I’ve had people say to me, wow that’s a terrible way to end the year. But I don’t see it that way. Life threw me one heck of a curve ball. Instead of going crazy during the holidays trying to get everything done, I was forced to take it easy. It was the most chill holiday season I’ve ever had. And when someone says it was a terrible way to end the year, I say no it was great because I made it through it all and I’m still here ready to make this a better world, one day at time!

It’s taking a little more time than I expected to get my mojo back. My creative muse has also taken a hiatus. But I’m slowly getting myself rolling again with short workouts and super healthy eating habits. I’m grateful that I can continue to share my happiness with all of you 💖

Today I start a new course called Interactive Abstracts with Jodi Ohl. I’m really looking forward to this class and getting my creative muse back on track. With all of the rest I got I feel blessed to be more focused on what I want to accomplish this year. So you can expect great things from me in 2022!

When life throws you a curve ball, and believe me it will, don’t fight it. Go with the flow. Life is perfectly imperfect. Sometimes these curve balls give you a lot to think about. So find that silver lining in the cloud. Pick up the pieces and move forward with gratitude which is the best attitude!

I hope your holidays were awesome! I wish you the greatest success in 2022!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

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“Gratitude: It’s not happiness that brings us gratitude. It’s gratitude that brings us happiness.” ~Unknown

Photo by Snapwire on Pexels.com

Thoughtful Thursday History of the Christmas Tree

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Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

For those of you celebrating Christmas, hopefully you’ve set up your tree by now. The tradition of Christmas trees began in Germany in the early 1600’s. When German and other European settlers immigrated to America in the early 19th century, they brought this beautiful tradition with them. Although Americans found this tradition a bit odd at first, it became popular.

The first trees were decorated with apples, candy canes, cookies and pastries in assorted shapes of flowers, hearts and stars. Dyed popcorn also became popular as pieces were strung together with nuts and berries into large strands and hung on the tree.

The trees were originally lighted with with candles but this presented problems like keeping the candles on the branches for starters, not to mention accidental fires. But in 1878, Frederick Artz invented a clip on candle holder. This worked well, but you still couldn’t leave the tree unattended or lit for a long time. Luckily with the introduction of electricity into homes, the candles were replaced with electric lights that could keep the trees glowing for days.

The first Christmas tree farm in America was opened in 1851 by a woodsman named Mark Carr. He cut down trees in the Catskill Mountains and sold them in New York City’s Washington Market.

This tradition of displaying and decorating a Christmas tree has grown in popularity over the years and has become a cherished tradition by many. I hope you enjoyed this little snippet of history. Wishing you all the best this holiday season!

Thanks for stopping by!!

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“Christmas is doing a little something extra for everyone.” ~ Charles Schulz

Photo by Jimmy Chan on Pexels.com

Santa’s Workshop Tree Ornaments Angel of Hope and JOY

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I had to try and paint an angel ornament but wasn’t sure I could pull it off because this is the smallest one I’ve ever painted. Both of these ornaments are painted on 3×5 inch canvas panels with acrylic paint and accented with glitter for a little holiday magic. They’re ready to hang on your tree with 2 eyelets and ribbon and are available in my Etsy Shop.

What do you think? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for stopping by!!

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Santa’s Workshop Joy to the World Christmas Wreath

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My latest canvas, Joy to the World Christmas Wreath. It’s painted on a 5×5 inch square canvas with acrylic paint and is accented with red glitter. It’s sealed with a matte finish and comes ready to hang.

Available for purchase in my Etsy Shop.

What do you think? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Have a super weekend!

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