Color Lovers Challenge – Days 14 – 17

I joined Jodi Ohl’s Color Lovers Challenge which runs 30 days so I’m posting several days at a time. If you missed my earlier creations, I’ll have links at the bottom of this post. These are my latest creations:

Day 14 – Forest/Mountains/Grass

I painted this a while ago in watercolor but thought it went well with the prompt.

Day 15 – Flowers

I decided to do a loose watercolor painting of flowers and of course couldn’t resist adding glitter for a little bling 😉 I added a quote by Henry David Thoreau which I love “This World is but a canvas for our Imagination.”

Day 16 – Sad

I had a hard time with this one because when I looked at all of my paint colors, they’re all bright and happy. That’s not a bad thing but definitely made it hard to paint “Sad.”

So this was my take on it, an abstract watercolor, kind of a stormy day. I added a quote by Vivian Greene “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”⠀

Day 17 – Candy

Yesterday’s prompt was candy and with the holiday season fast approaching, the only thing that came to mind was a candy cane which I love. So I painted this in watercolor and added a little quote, “Candy Cane Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses.”

In case you missed my previous pages, just click the links: 

Day 1

Days 2 thru 5

Days 6 thru 9

Days 10 thru 13

I hope you’re enjoying my entries for the ColorLoversChallenge. Have a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!!

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Thoughtful Thursday Homegrown Alfalfa Sprouts

Photo by Maria Vidaurre

Alfalfa sprouts are mild flavored and very nutritious to eat. Studies have shown they are a high anti-oxidant, anti-aging food source. These little sprouts can help fight cancer, lower cholesterol and diabetes, prevent osteoporosis and more.

I used to buy fresh living alfalfa sprouts at my local grocery store but sadly they stopped carrying them. So I decided the freshest and safest way to get them was to grow them myself. I’ve tried several sprouting trays and they don’t always produce the best results.

Getting frustrated, I decided to go back to basics and try using a large, wide mouth mason jar with a sprouting lid. This is working beautifully and is very easy. I only need 1 Tbsp of seeds and in about 4 days, I have fresh organic alfalfa sprouts that are delicious and crisp. The sprouts can be stored in the fridge for about 4-6 days.

Alfalfa Sprouts taste great on salads, sandwiches, in smoothies and anything else you can think of. Below are instructions to grow your own spouts and links to Amazon.com for the supplies.

Instructions to Grow your own Sprouts:

  1. Fill a wide mouth mason jar with 2 cups of cool, fresh water and add 1 Tbsp of High Mowing Organic Alfalfa Seeds (I’ve had good results with this brand, the seeds are sourced in the United States). Cap the jar with a sprouting lid and soak the seeds for 8 hours. Then drain and rinse the seeds keeping the lid on. Store the jar upside down, in a bowl, at an angle so water can continue to drain.
  2. Rinse and drain the seeds with the lid on once in the morning and once at night. And again store the jar upside down, in a bowl, at an angle.
  3. Repeat step 2, everyday for about 4 days until your sprouts are ready.
  4. On the last day, depending on the light in your kitchen, you may want to move the grown sprouts to a window where they can get indirect sunlight to make them a little more green. You only need to keep them there for a few hours and then store them in fridge until you’re ready to eat them (also, I rinse the seeds before eating to remove the hulls).

I hope this inspires you in some way!

Thanks for stopping by!!

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Below are links to Amazon.com for the supplies:

High Mowing Organic Alfalfa Seeds

High Mowing Seed Sprouting Jar Lid

Wide Mouth Mason Jar

“Those who think they have not time for healthy eating, will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” ~Unknown

Color Lovers Challenge – Days 10 – 13

I joined Jodi Ohl’s Color Lovers Challenge which runs 30 days so I’m posting several days at a time. If you missed my earlier creations, I’ll have links at the bottom of this post. These are my latest creations:

Day 10 – Happiness

I did a watercolor wash with a watercolor butterfly painted separately and then cut out. I added a quote from the Dalai Lama” Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”

After putting everything together in the journal I made a last minute change and decided to write the quote directly on the page. This is why you shouldn’t create art when you’re tired because I finished this late at night and well, I left out the word “made” from the quote 😂😂😂 Oh well…

Day 11 – Neutral

This was a little challenging because I love my bright, fun colors. I painted an abstract and added a quote by Teilhard de Chardin “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience… We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

Day 12 – Vibrant

I debated on using this but it just went perfectly for the prompt because it is most definitely vibrant. This is actually a work in progress. I’m painting a 24″ x 36″ canvas with bright fun happy colors. So stay tuned for the finished piece.

Day 13 – Spring

Since I used a canvas for Day 12, I thought I’d continue with this 9″ x 12″ one. It’s one of my favorites for spring. When I think of spring, I think about cute little bunnies. There’s lots of color and texture on this piece. My favorite part is the crocheted flowers. What do you think?

In case you missed my previous pages, just click the links: 

Day 1

Days 2 thru 5

Days 6 thru 9

I hope you’re enjoying my entries for the ColorLoversChallenge. Have a wonderful week!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Share the Happy 💖

Color Lovers Challenge Week 2

As you may know I joined Jodi Ohl’s Color Lovers Challenge. It runs 30 days so I’m posting several days at a time. If you missed my earlier creations, I’ll have links at the bottom of this post. These are my latest creations:

Day 6 – Soft & Cuddly

I can’t think of anything softer and more cuddly than Winnie the Pooh. I made this little Winnie painting a while ago and had it set aside so I thought this was perfect for the Day 6 prompt, Soft & Cuddly. I added a Winnie the Pooh quote “Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon.”

Day 7 – Favorite Color Palette

I love happy colors so my favorite palette is pink, blue and yellow. I painted very loose flowers with leaves and added a quote by Abraham Lincoln “We can complain because roses bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”

Day 8 – Warm

For warm I came up with a palette of yellow, orange, red, purple and pink. I applied a coat of gesso to the pages and after it dried I painted them with acrylic paints. I added the quote “Love warms the heart.”

Day 9 – Autumn

I love the colors of Autumn leaves so I did a loose watercolor painting of leaves with lots of glitter. Got a little carried away with the glitter. I added the quote “Autumn paints in colors that Summer has never seen.”

In case you missed my previous pages, just click the links: Day 1 and Days 2 thru 5.

I hope you enjoyed my ColorLoversChallenge entries. Have a lovely weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!!

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Color Lovers Challenge

Last week I entered Jodi Ohl’s Color Lovers Challenge. I posted Day 1 this past Saturday. Since it runs for a full 30 days I thought I would post a few of these together. I’ve been enjoying adding quotes to all of these and I think I’ll continue doing that. Hope they inspire you in some way 💖

Day 2 – Teal and Orange

I painted the background teal with acrylic paint and made some marks while it was still wet. I painted a piece of watercolor paper bright orange and a page from an old book, green. I cut out all the pieces and glued them in place. I added the quote, “Sometimes you have to make your own Sunshine!”

Day 3 – Cool

There’s nothing better than a nice cool night under the stars. I tried something new, it didn’t quite go as planned but I still like it for my first attempt. I added the quote by Vincent Van Gogh “I know nothing with any certainty. But the sight of the Stars makes me dream.”

Day 4 – Black and White

I painted the background with black acrylic paint and made a few zentangle tiles. I drew in a few doodles and added a quote from Lau-Tzu: “Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”

Day 5 Anger/Hurt

This was a tough one for me because I love happy colors. So the only colors that came to mind were all the warm colors like red, yellow and orange. I painted an abstract in my journal and added a quote by Benjamin Franklin “Anger is never without a reason, but seldom a good one.”

Stay tuned, there’s more to come…

Thanks for stopping by!

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Color Lovers Challenge Day 1

In case you didn’t read my earlier post, Jodi Ohl, a very talented mixed media artist is hosting a Color Lovers Challenge. It runs for the next 30 days until October 15th. Yesterday was Day 1, Summer Vibes.

When I think of summer, I think of the lounging on sandy beaches and enjoying the ocean with it’s beautiful colors of blue and green. So this was my creation in my Arteza 8.25” x 8.25” Watercolor/Mixed Media Journal. I added a quote by Wyland: “The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul.”

You can still join if you’re interested. The rules are, there basically are none. You can create a piece of art of any kind, big or small, using colors of your choice. All you do is follow the daily prompts. The link to the list of prompts can be found on her Color Lovers Challenge page.

So join in on the fun!!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Thoughtful Thursday – ALT Sandwich

Photo by Lisa on Pexels.com

One of my favorite sandwiches used to be the BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato). But now that I’ve gone vegan, those sandwiches are off the menu. Years ago I tried avocados. I wasn’t too crazy about them because they have a bit of a bland flavor but that can be a good thing.

The other day I wanted to make a really good sandwich and thought I’d try an ALT, avocado, lettuce and tomato. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted and satisfied my hunger. It was even easier to make than a BLT because I didn’t have to cook the bacon. Plus I felt great after eating it.

I simply used 2 slices of Ezekiel bread, lightly toasted and spread with vegan mayonnaise. Then I added the avocado slices, lettuce, tomato and a little Himalayan sea salt. Voila! I had a delicious, healthy, satisfying sandwich!

Thanks for stopping by and hope you give this a try!

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“Health is not about the weight you lose, but about the life you gain.” ~Dr. Josh Axe

Photo by Matthias Oben on Pexels.com

Believe in Magic – She Blooms in Ink

I finished another segment in the online course from “She Blooms in Ink” taught by the very talented artist, Tamara Laporte at Willowing.org.

She’s painted in my Strathmore 11″ x 14″ Watercolor Journal. The quote reads “Magic is all around, you just have to Believe!”

This one was challenging because it was a limited palette, something that I don’t normally do. But I fell in love with her once she was done and hope you do too 💖

Thanks for stopping by!

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Thoughtful Thursday – Adverse Affects of Dairy

Photo by elif tekkaya on Pexels.com

As most of your know, I went vegan about 4 years ago. Not because it was the “in thing” to do but because of health issues I was having at the time. I drank lots of milk when I was a kid and I think we’ve all heard the slogan, “Milk, it does the body good.” But does it really?

I grew up thinking that cows were put on this earth to give us milk and that was that. But when you think about it, the only reason a cow produces milk is to feed their calf. So their bodies have to be in a continual pregnant state to produce milk for us.

There’s been a lot of research done showing milk may actually do us more harm than good. For starters, one of my problems with milk was that I was constantly congested. When I’d get a cold, the congestion would get really bad. I thought by drinking only organic milk and eating only organic dairy products, I was being healthy. But my congestion just kept getting worse even though I wasn’t sick. After reading an article in a magazine I decided to give plant based milk a try and found that my congestion completely cleared up in a few weeks.

After experiencing that I started doing research and found that milk contains harmful hormones which are given to the cows to increase their milk production. Even the organic milk still has hormones in it. I also learned that milk causes your body to leach calcium from the bones which in turn can make you more susceptible to osteoporosis. Not to mention, that milk and dairy products can cause cancer. Yikes! And these were just a few of the adverse affects of dairy that I stumbled upon in my research.

There are a lot of documentaries that you can watch like Food Inc., What the Health, Forks Over Knives, Plant Pure Nation to name a few. These films were a real eye opener for me and although I didn’t go vegan initially, the more educated I became, the more I realized I needed to stick with it to stay healthy. Once I did that, I was living proof that what they were expressing in these films had a lot of truth behind it. Granted a vegan diet isn’t for everyone but there’s always room for improvement no matter what diet you consume.

Please don’t take my word for it but do your own research. You may be surprised and shocked at what you find. Your diet is the foundation to your health as well as your happiness. Because the bottom line is, if you don’t have your health, nothing else really matters. You can’t bring joy to the world if you don’t take care of yourself first. Hope you found this information helpful.

Thanks for stopping by!

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“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.” ~Ayurvedic Proverb

Sources:

Forks Over Knives: “7 Ways Milk and Dairy Products are Making You Sick

The Miter: “Harmful Effects of Cow’s Milk on the Human Body Becomes More Prevalent”

Dr McDougall: T. Colin Campbell, PhD: Link Between Dairy Protein, Casein, & Cancer

Photo by Darwis Alwan on Pexels.com

Save Our Oceans and Turtles Journal Pages (Part 1)

Sometimes I save pieces of ephemera from things I buy or places I’ve visited. I recently bought a Simply Southern t-shirt which are super comfortable and it had a sticker on it “Save our oceans and turtles.” I kept it not knowing what to do with it but when I was creating another piece of art, I came across yet another piece of ephemera I saved, the canvas seashell tag. So I set the two pieces aside and decided I had to make them work and this is what I came up with.

Stay tuned and I’ll post the second page shortly.

Thanks for stopping by!

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