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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 – Effects of positive energy

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The average human body is made up of 50-65% water. Considering half of your body weight is water, that’s a lot of water! Dr Masaru Emoto (b.1943 – d.2014) was a world renowned Japanese scientist who for over 20 years studied how the molecular structure in water transforms when exposed to words, thoughts, prayers, music, sounds and intentions. The results were astonishing.

Think about it for a minute. When you’re happy, ecstatic and filled with elation you can feel that positive energy in every cell in your body. You feel energized and great in every way. But when you’re angry, you feel drained, exhausted and even sick.

Dr Emoto’s study literally showed how water molecules responded to positive energy by transforming into beautiful molecular formations. However, water exposed to negative energy transformed into disfigured molecules.

Legacy Of Dr Masuru Emoto - Polaric Therapeutics

Wouldn’t it stand to reason then, that if we’re made up of 50% water, that the water molecules in our body would react the same way as in Dr Emoto’s study? I mean if you’re exposed to positive energy, you’ll undoubtedly feel healthy and vibrant. But if you’re exposed to a borage of negative energy whether external, like someone else causing you anguish or internal where you tell yourself hurtful things, you’ll eventually become ill.

And lets think about the world we live in today. There is so much negativity at every corner making it harder and harder to stay positive. So why not change your attitude and create more positivity in your life. Get outside and leave your electronic devices at home, connect with nature. Instead of watching TV, turn it off and read a good book. Spend time with friends and family that uplift you and make your feel energized. Replace negative thoughts in your mind with positive ones and stick to this mantra: “If you wouldn’t say it to a friend, then don’t say it to yourself.”

Never underestimate the power of positive energy and see how good you’ll feel!

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“Too positive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful, too determined to be defeated.” ~ William Boyland, Jr.

Twin Ports Bridge Festival Announces International Speaker ...
Dr. Masaru Emoto

Sources:

https://thewellnessenterprise.com/emoto/

True Love Art Journal Page (Part 1)

I have a tendency to make little pieces of art, then put them away until I’m ready to use them. I read an article where they made art using coffee. I’m not a coffee drinker but I do love the smell of coffee so I decided to give it a whirl.

I used watercolor paper for my 2.75″ x 3.5″ tile so I could be heavy handed with the coffee and get a nice background color. The trick is to make really strong, dark coffee then paint your paper.

Once the coffee is dry, you can create your art. I used watercolor pencils to make my drawing and activated the colors with water. After the paint dried, I went back over my drawing with Sakura Micron Pen 03. As always, I couldn’t resist adding that little bit of sparkly magic with glitter to the tile. (Note: When painting your tile, don’t be afraid to go bold and bright with the watercolor paints because they become muted and toned down when the colors mix with the coffee.)

For this journal page I used my Strathmore 5.5″ x 8″ Mixed Media Journal. I started by putting a good coat of gesso on my page and let it dry. Next, I used assorted acrylic paints that blended with the tile but at the same time made it stand out. After I was happy with the page, I glued my tile in place, added a few doodles and that was it.

I’ll post the second page of this layout next week so stay tuned as the adventure continues!

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Thoughtful Thursday – Vegan Chocolate Smoothie

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Ok, I confess I’m a chocoholic. But who doesn’t like chocolate? I mean it’s just awesome! There are so many varieties of chocolate out there like white, milk, dark and all flavors in between.

Besides tasting so delicious, studies have shown that dark chocolate, at least 75% or more has some pretty good health benefits too like reducing stress and food cravings, fighting fatigue, improving blood circulation and so much more. It’s even considered nutritious and contains nearly the full RDA of copper and manganese, plus it contains descent amounts of magnesium, iron, fiber, zinc, selenium and potassium.

The 75% dark chocolate has the least amount of sugar as compared to white or milk chocolate. So it won’t contribute to weight gain as long as you don’t over do it. What I have noticed personally is that the more sugar that’s in the chocolate, the more I’ll want to eat it. I find that with the darker chocolate I only need 1 square to satisfy chocolate craving and I’m good to go.

As most of you know, I’m vegan so I’m always looking for vegan chocolates. They do make more of them now and they’re very tasty but a little more pricey than regular chocolate. With that being said I’m always on the hunt for new ways to satisfy my chocolate cravings.

I found a great smoothie recipe online that I tried. It was good but just wasn’t satisfying that rich chocolatey flavor I was looking for so I made changes and came up with this delicious Vegan Chocolate Smoothie that has a rich chocolate flavor and contains about 16 grams of protein:

  • 1 C Unsweetened Almond Milk (or any unsweet non-dairy milk of your choice)
  • 3 Tbsp Organic Gluten Free Oats
  • 2 Tbsp Organic Cacao Nibs or 1.5 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (see note below*)
  • 2 Tbsp Hemp Seeds
  • 1 Tbsp No Salt or Sugar Added Almond Butter
  • 2 Tsp Organic Chia Seeds
  • 1 Banana
  • 1 Organic Date (pitt removed)
  • 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 Tsp Instant Espresso Coffee
  • 1/2 C Water
  • 1 C Ice

Combine all ingredients in a blender and enjoy!

(*) Although I love cacao nibs and all the antioxidants they provide, I found that using Cocoa Powder gives the smoothie a richer and creamier flavor.

I hope you’ll give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.

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“I’d give up chocolate, but I’m not a quitter.” ~Unknown

Photo by Eva Elijas on Pexels.com

Watercolor Painting – Angel of Tranquility

My newest Angel of Tranquility painted on 8″ x 10″ 140lb Watercolor Paper. She’s painted with beautiful hues of blue, pinks and purples. She emits visions of calmness and tranquility and is made with lots of love 💖

Available for purchase in my Etsy Shop: FlowingWatersArtShop

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Thoughtful Thursday Vision Boards

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Vision boards are a way of putting your goals and dreams into one place so you can focus on them everyday and bring them to fruition. There are no rules for creating vision boards. They can be big or small, neat or messy, on a wall or foam board. You fill them with photos, words or both, it’s entirely up to you. Personally I like to use photos from magazines or the internet. They help me visualize my goals more easily.

Think about what you really desire in life maybe it’s better relationships, a better job, more time with the family, finding love, etc. Then find photos that relate to your desires and put them on the board. For example, if I’ve been dreaming about taking a cruise, I’ll look for an ad with a cruise ship and the destination I want to go to and put that photo on my board. If I want to get healthy and in shape, I’ll find a photo of an athlete and put that on my board.

The vision board will help you to attract the right circumstances in your life to make your desires a reality. It will also help keep you focused and on track. The photos will help you to visualize yourself in the circumstances you desire. But what is even more important is that you feel the positive emotion related to your desires whether it be joy, elation, happiness or any other strong positive emotion. And I don’t mean just think about the feeling, I want you to really feel the emotion in every cell in your body. Imagine yourself attaining your goal and think how good you’ll feel when your desire becomes a reality.

You want to keep the vision board in a place where you can see it everyday so you stay focused and have clarity on your goals and desires. The vision board will help keep your passion and energy fueled so you can attain your goals. Imagine the possibilities. The sky’s the limit so dream BIG!

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“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” ~Walter Elias Disney

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Watercolor Painting – Angel Gweneth

My newest Angel, Gweneth painted on 5″ x 7″ 140lb Watercolor Paper. She’s painted with bright, fun, happy colors and made with lots of love 💖

Available for purchase in my Etsy Shop: FlowingWatersArtShop

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Underwater Watercolor Journal Page

I gave myself a challenge to create a journal page in 90 minutes or less and this is what I ended up with. I started with a quick pencil sketch in my Strathmore 9″ x 12″ Visual Journal. Next I used watercolor pencils to paint the page and let it dry. I added detailing and shading with colored pencils, Sakura Micron Pen 005 and a white Posca Pen. For a little texture, I filled in the bubbles with Inkssentials Glossy Accents. And of course, lets not forget the bling with Stickles.

Give yourself a challenge and see what you can come up with. You’ll be surprised!

Have a fantastic week!

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Thoughtful Thursday – Earl Nightingale on Goals

Quote of the Week: Earl Nightingale - Authentic Medicine
Earl Nightingale

I was listening to Brendon Burchard the other day when he recommended Earl Nightingale. I hadn’t heard of him before so I did a little research.

Earl was at Pearl Harbor on the Arizona during the attack which thankfully he survived. Shortly after the war, Earl was obsessed with learning how the mind works and how one person can create wealth while the next is penniless and stays that way. In 1956, Earl recorded one of the first ever life coaching sessions called “The Strangest Secret” which can be found on YouTube. There’s also a book on Amazon.

A few weeks ago I wrote a post on Goals. The reason I bring this up again is because Earl makes an excellent reference in his recording about goals. Here’s a snippet of what he says:

“Have you ever noticed that a man who becomes successful tends to continue to become successful? And on the other hand, have you noticed how a man who’s a failure tends to continue to fail?

Well, it’s because of goals. Some of us have them; some don’t. People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.

Now think of a ship leaving a harbor and think of it with a complete voyage mapped out and planned. The captain and crew know exactly where it’s going and how long it will take. It has a definite goal. 9,999 times out of 10,000 it will get to where it started out to get.

Now let’s take another ship, just like the first, only let’s not put a crew on it, or a captain at the helm. Let’s give it no aiming point, no goal, and no destination. We just start the engines and let it go.

I think you’ll agree with me that if it gets out of the harbor at all, it will either sink or wind up on some deserted beach, a derelict. It can’t go any place because it has no destination and no guidance.”

Earl puts it in very simple terms but he’s 100% correct. Goals are the foundation of your life because without them, how do you know where you’re going? It’s so important to set your goals, focus on them and work towards reaching them however big or small they may be. You don’t want to spend 10 years of your life only to find that you’re still at the starting line and have gone nowhere in all that time.

Think about what it is that you really want out of life. What is your passion? What makes you come alive? What gets you excited and eager to start your day? Then set goals and work towards them. (If you need a little more help on goal setting, you can read my post on Goals and hopefully that will steer you in the right direction.)

Live your life with passion while expanding your mind and soul, and have fun in the process!

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“Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.” ~Buddha

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Cathryn Angel Watercolor Journal

A new angel I finished in my Strathmore 8.5″ x 5.5″ Watercolor Journal. Her name is Cathryn. Still playing with the colors and having lots of fun! 😊

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

Have a beautiful week!

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Thoughtful Thursday – Milky Quartz Crystals

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Crystals are beautiful gems treasured by many. Some are worn as jewelry or placed in homes as decoration. They have been used throughout time for their healing properties as well.

I was introduced to crystals by my late sister many years ago. One Christmas she gave a quartz crystal candle holder. It’s a large 3.5″ square block of white quartz with a hole in the center big enough for a tealight candle. It’s a stunning crystal to say the least.

Right after Christmas, I spent the next several nights tossing and turning, unable to sleep. When my sister called I told her how tired I was from lack of sleep and she got pretty quiet and asked, “where did you put the candle holder I gave you?” I replied, on my nightstand. Then she asked “when did your sleepless nights begin?” I said, “basically right after Christmas.” She instructed me to move the crystal into the bathroom, cover it with a towel and close the door at night. I was pretty skeptical at the thought that her candle holder was causing my lack of sleep. So I did as she asked and to my surprise, I had no problem sleeping once I moved it.

I tried putting it back on the nightstand and yep you guessed it, I couldn’t sleep again. This began my journey into exploring different crystals and their properties. I still have the large quartz candle holder but now it sits on my office desk where it charges my energy throughout the day. If you have the chance, stop by a crystal shop and explore these magical gems and see how they make you feel.

Milky Quartz Crystal Properties:

  • increases concentration
  • boosts your energy
  • purifies negative energy
  • removes energy blockages
  • enhances properties of other crystals

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“Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love.” ~Rumi

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