Hey folks! Welcome back
to the Path of
Positivity Challenge Blog! It is the third Monday of the month and that means that it is time to present the midway for
Challenge #132. It is my fond hope that each of you and your own
families
continue to stay
happy, safe, and well, wherever it is you live in this big wide world of ours. Just a reminder that this is the last challenge before our two month summer break.
As we are a
unique kind of challenge blog, it is important for you to
understand how things work. Please be sure to check out the
START POST FOUND HERE
for the specific details related to this month's challenge, and you can
find out all the general details you need to know in order to
participate, by clicking on the '
Challenge Details'
tab (located at the top of the blog). For your convenience, a
summary of the most important rules can now be found in the right
sidebar under the heading '
General Rules'.
Right now, it is time to continue with our midway. Here is a refresher of the details for our current twist:
Challenge #132
Anything Goes POSITIVE with the Opt. Twist of
Embracing The Unexpected:
Sending an Unexpected Correspondence
This year's goal is to
Embrace the Unexpected in our lives (
click here if you'd like to read more in depth about our overall theme for 2025).
No matter how much planning we do throughout our years on this earth,
we're going to come across circumstances that we can't plan for. These
unexpected things may be small or they may be huge and life altering.
The only thing that we can control is how we react to these events. So
this
year, instead of BRACING for the unexpected, we are going to flip that
and get in the habit of EMBRACING the unexpected. This will help us to
train
ourselves to look at these types of events in a different light.
To help inspire you on this journey, each month we will
be doing things such as creating fun unexpected projects, working with items we
might not typically work with, taking approaches that are different from
what we normally do, offering up the unexpected to someone in our
life, etc. So, let's get to the details for this month's challenge. There is an expression that says "
Happiness is receiving unexpected mail".
If you happen to still receive snail mail, I imagine that most of it is
bills, flyers or garbage. However, every once in a while, you might
receive a letter or card from someone. These little endeavours can
create big joy, especially if it is from someone that you haven't heard
from in a while, or someone who just typically sends electronic mail
your way. Whether it is for a special occasion or just out of the blue,
when you receive unexpected cards or correspondence, the odds are it
will put a smile on your face. However, the pleasure isn't just for the
card recipient. The benefits are a two way street:
- Learning new skills:
Designing and creating handmade cards can
be an opportunity to learn new skills, such as drawing, colouring,
painting,
or calligraphy. You might learn embossing techniques or how to design
intricate card folds. These skills can be useful in other areas of life
and
can increase your confidence and ingenuity.
- Personal expression:
Handmade cards allow you to have fun and assert your creativity. By
personalizing the message for the intended recipient, it can make the
card more momentous and show the person that you put thought and effort
into it.
- Emotional connection: Receiving a
handmade card can create a stronger emotional attachment between you and
the person you are sending it to. By creating something special just
for them, it shows that you care about the other person and are willing
to invest time and work into maintaining your relationship. This can
help make them feel admired and appreciated.
- Mindfulness and relaxation:
The process of designing and creating a handmade card can be meditative
and relaxing. It allows you to focus on a creative task and can help
reduce stress and anxiety.
- Spreading joy:
Receiving a handmade card can bring joy and happiness to the
beneficiary. It can brighten their day and create a positive emotional
experience for them. This can in turn bring yourself comfort knowing
that you are the person responsible for their moment of pleasure.
So, for your optional project this month, send an unexpected correspondence. Create and send a card to someone
that you haven't sent mail to in a while. This would be a great
opportunity to correspond with an old friend that you may have lost
touch with or even one you just haven't seen lately. You could simply
send a card to someone who wouldn't expect to receive one from you. How
about someone in your own household?! Now that would certainly be
unexpected on their end. This month you can bring unexpected joy to both
yourself and someone else simply by sending an unexpected
correspondence!
Remember,
the twist is completely optional and you don't need to follow it in
order to win. However, in order to be considered eligible for this
month's goodies, remember that general types of projects/posts will not
qualify for the honours and prize UNLESS they are also positive, inspirational,
motivational or encouraging in some nature. Additionally, even if a project may qualify as positive, if your post
promotes negativity, hatred or anything of an abhorrent nature, your
project will be disqualified. Honours and Prize include:
- $6 worth of images from Scribbles Designs, for a person chosen in a random draw based on all qualifying entrants.
- A badge for the following honours: Top Pick, Most Inspirational, Random Winner, DT Delight.
References:
Arbuso, Irick. (2024). Handmade Cards as Acts of Kindness.
[Online]. Altenew. Last Updated: 6 May 2024. Available at:
https://blog.altenew.com/handmade-cards-as-acts-of-kindness/ [Accessed 7
March 2025].
Janah. (2018). Why cards are just as important as gifts.
[Online]. Things To Get Me. Last Updated: 27 February 2018. Available
at:
https://www.thingstogetme.com/blog/why-cards-are-just-as-important-as-gifts
[Accessed 7 March 2025].
Osuorah, Eric. (2023). Heartfelt Gestures: The Enduring Appeal of Handmade Greeting Cards.
[Online]. AFOMA Marketplace. Last Updated: 12 November 2023. Available
at: https://afomamarketplace.com/blogs/handmade-cards [Accessed 7 March
2025].
Rogers, Jo-Anne. (2018). The Joy of Receiving a Card. [Online].
Design with Jo. Last Updated: 27 July 2018. Available at:
https://www.designwithjo.ca/the-joy-of-receiving-a-card/ [Accessed 7
March 2025].
Unknown. (2023). The Power of Greeting Cards: How a Simple Card Can Make a Big Impact.
[Online]. Dudus Online. Last Updated: 9 February 2023. Available at:
https://dudusonline.com/blogs/articles/the-power-of-greeting-cards-how-a-simple-card-can-make-a-big-
[Accessed 7 March 2025].
To help inspire you further down the path of
Embracing the Unexpected: Sending an Unexpected Correspondence,
check out the wonderful projects my Design Team had the opportunity to
create. Clicking on each team member's name will take you to their blog
where
you can check out the details for their inspirational creations.
Thanks again to my astounding design team! As always, each of them have
their own unique avenues of creation which I thoroughly admire. Each of
these designs has demonstrated the theme of
Embracing the Unexpected: Sending an Unexpected Correspondence splendidly,
and I hope we have motivated you throughout this challenge to come up
with your own work of handicraft. Be sure to go and visit these accomplished ladies so you can see just how their
projects tie in to the twist.
Why not join us, if you haven't entered already? Create a project and/or post that is
positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some nature and join our link up. How about stretching yourself by also opting to
follow the twist?!
While it isn't mandatory, we'd also love to find out
how this month's twist affects your own life. How do you typically deal
with the unexpected in your life? Do you view
it with trepidation or take it on as a challenge? This month it is time
to send out an expected piece of correspondence. Not only will you make
someone else's day but both of you will receive benefits. Be sure to
check above for some specific ideas (along with the benefits for both
sender and recipient) if you aren't sure how to
get started. If you want to share your process on how you decided your
project, you can write a
sentence or two in the
body of your post, write a sentence at the bottom of your post
next to the link up for this challenge, or simply leave a comment on
this post if you'd like.
Also,
I know that the participants would love for you to go and pay them a visit. Remember
we're creating a
Path of Positivity to follow one project at a time and
we'd love to see you somewhere on that route even if it is just by
leaving a
comment on an entry from someone who has touched you somehow with their
project and/or post! You can find our list of participants and
enter
our latest challenge yourself by clicking HERE and scrolling down to the bottom of the post.
GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY…
Please show your support to our wonderful sponsor,
Scribbles Designs, by going over and
checking out their work and saying hi if you have the chance. You may
also just find an image or two to add your your collection!
Thank you so much to this awesome
Canadian company for their
continued support of this challenge blog!
Don't Forget...
If you ever have any questions be sure to leave me a comment.
We look forward to seeing you participate!
