Charcuterie boards have become a popular trend recently, especially for entertaining guests or enjoying a cozy night in. These boards are essentially a selection of meats, cheeses, fruits, nuts, and crackers arranged beautifully on a serving platter, providing a variety of flavors and textures to enjoy. Here, we’ll discuss some of the most popular ingredients to include on a charcuterie board, as well as tips on how to arrange them.
Meats:
When it comes to meats, there are many options to choose from. Some popular choices include prosciutto, salami, pepperoni, and ham. These meats can be sliced thin and arranged in a fan-like pattern or rolled up for easy grabbing. Consider mixing up different types of meat to provide a variety of flavors and textures.
Cheeses:
Cheeses are an essential component of a charcuterie board. Soft cheeses like brie, goat cheese, and camembert are great options, as well as hard cheeses like cheddar, gouda, and parmesan. Be sure to provide cheese knives so guests can easily cut and enjoy the cheese.
Fruits:
Adding fresh fruits to a charcuterie board adds a pop of color and sweetness. Grapes, berries, sliced apples, and pears are popular options, but feel free to get creative and add any of your favorite fruits.
Nuts:
Nuts add a crunch to the charcuterie board and complement the other flavors well. Almonds, walnuts, and pecans are great options, but you can also include some trail mix or mixed nuts for a more varied selection.
Crackers and Bread:
To complete the board, include a selection of crackers and bread. Baguette slices, whole wheat crackers, and flatbreads are great options to provide guests with something to put their meats and cheeses on.
Once your ingredients are selected, the next step is to arrange them on a platter. A good tip is to start with the larger items like cheeses and meats, then fill the empty spaces with smaller items like nuts and fruits. You can also arrange them in different sections of the board or in a circular pattern.
Here’s a sample ingredient list for a charcuterie board:
In conclusion, charcuterie boards are a great way to provide a variety of flavors and textures for guests to enjoy. By selecting a variety of meats, cheeses, fruits, nuts, and crackers, you can create a beautiful and delicious display that’s perfect for any occasion.
In this video, you will learn how I created my Watercolor Sunset Mixed media piece with a watercolor painting, torn paper, and my sewing machine.
Supplies needed:
Watercolor paper
Painting Tape
Mounting Surface of Choice
Watercolors
Scrapbook paper with a white core
Elmers Glue
Hot Glue
colored ink pens
Enjoy!
Video:
In this video, you can watch my process of creating a piece of art using watercolors and ink. The video is captioned with each step in the process.
Supplies needed:
Enjoy!
Video:
This painting tutorial is the second in my acrylic puddle pouring with a swipe series. I hope this video inspires you to experiment with your acrylic pouring and realize that there is so much you can do with this painting style.
Paint Colors:
Abstract Sennelier Lemon Yellow
Abstract Sennelier Lemon Yellow mixed with white
Liquitex Basics Fluid Acyclic Magenta
Liquitex Basics Fluid Acyclic Light Blue
Amsterdam Gold Light
Arteza Pearl Blue
Arteza Pearl Pink
Golden Fluid Acrylic Bronze
The colors are all mixed with a homemade pouring medium of American Floetrol mixed with Gloss Varnish and GAC 800 and a cell activator of Aussie Floetrol mixed with JoSonja Gloss Varnish.
To finish this painting you tilt until the paint spreads across the entire surface and you are happy with the composition, but keep in mind you want the paint to be thin enough to dry smoothly and not crack.
Enjoy!
Video:
In this instructional how-to-video we explore a puddle pour painting mixed with a swipe. I first saw this technique on Molly’s Artistry YouTube channel, in which she poured blue puddles of paint on her canvas. Then used a pallet knife to mix the paints. Then with a pallet knife she swiped with cell activator. After doing all of this she then tilted to stretch the paint across the canvas creating a abstract water like painting that reminds me a lot of a deconstructed bloom.
In this video I will attempt to create a water with a sunset, using this same technique. I will tell you now that my first attempt was not what I expected and that I had to re-pour the painting to achieve the look that I was going for. But in fluid art most paintings are an experiment and a lot of times you have to redo them. You need to be prepared for this fact when approaching fluid art. Always be willing to experiment, always be willing to paint over the top of a painting you don’t like, always be willing to explore new techniques and ideas this will make your fluid art journey so much more enjoyable.
Here is my list of supplies with the instructional video to follow!
Blue Paints:
SUNSET COLORS:
CELL ACTIVATOR
Video:
Experiment! Acrylic Bloom on a Canvas Sketch Book
Today, we see success, mistakes, and fails in this experimental bloom on a sketchbook. The painting process went beautifully, it is in the finishing of the sketchbook where I made a misstep and so the project is half success and half fail.
Acrylic Bloom paint pouring is a learned technique of mixing a unique blend of paints to get beautiful cells in your painting. If you want to learn this technique and all the recipes for mixing your paint, you need to visit the Sheleeart Website to take their course.
In this video, you will see the step-by-step process that I go through to get the end result. It’s not until I decide to tape off areas before applying Varnish that I run into any problems. Otherwise, the sketchbook would have turned out beautiful. But what is art if it’s not a process to learn from?
Here is my list of supplies with the instructional video to follow!
- Canvas Covered Sketch Book (Michaels)
- Amsterdam Pearl White (Cell Activator)
- Pearlx Blue Russet
- Pearlx Misty Lavender
- Pearlx Aztec Gold
- Arteza Pearl Royal Purple
- Colorplace Satin White (Walmart)
Until you take the Sheleeart Course you won’t be able to follow along with this video, but hopefully, it will give you some creative ideas for your next pour painting project.
Video: