Challenge #9--Midway Reflection & Voting Reminder

Hello everyone! We have reached the midway point of Challenge #9. The theme for this challenge is all about JOY. Today I am going to share a little introspection with you all that I am also presenting on my own personal blog in my "Motivational Monday" feature.

 A Season of Mixed Emotions

It seems that in a very short period of time, the new year will be upon us. How has your holiday season been so far? Did you slow down enough to actually enjoy it? Did you find some quiet time to sit and meditate on what the new year may bring? For most of us, this is a time of great joy as we prepare for and commemorate the many religious holidays and other winter celebrations that the season brings with it. However, there are some who find this time of year extremely difficult.   For anyone who has lost a loved one, for anyone who is dealing with depression, for anyone who is separated from family for one reason or another, for anyone who is lost or alone, the holiday season can be extremely difficult to get through.  Even people who are in a good place in their lives can find the holidays difficult due to the enormous stress that they manage to heap on themselves to ensure that this time of year is special for everyone around them.  So while joy may be the prevalent feeling among most, we need to remember that there are some individuals out there who may be experiencing other feelings.

However, the wonderful thing about the internet is that you are never truly alone. If you are reading this then you are connected to me and I to you.  Support is just a keyboard click away.  If you are one of those individuals finding this time of the season difficult please reach out to family, friends or community resources. You don’t need to deal with your anxieties by yourself.  Take a moment to try and surround yourself with joyful activities or fun filled moments to help lift you back up.  If you are here, then you have come to a great place for helping you find your positivity once again.  Visit the DT members and all the entrants in the current challenge to help you rediscover a little bit of joy.

Most importantly, know that you are not alone.  There is a whole community of people here to inspire your joy to reemerge once again.

To help inspire you down the path of joy, check out the wonderful projects a couple of my Design Team had the opportunity to create...

 

Samara used my absolute favourite image from one of our on-going sponsors Ike's Art.  It is called Spring Fairy. I just love the feeling that I experience every time I see it.  It truly fills me with incredible joy.  If you are interested in purchasing this beautiful image, click on the watermark to head over to its location in Ike's store.

 Just before we continue to the other midway projects, I just wanted to mention that this will be Samara's last appearance with us as part of the Design Team.  It has been wonderful having her on board these last few months.  Please join me in wishing her much success in all her future endeavours!

 Next up is...

Vicky has used a sweet image from one of our amazing regular sponsors, Creative Bug Digitals.  This image is called Snowman.  If you are interested in purchasing this cutie-pie, let me know and I'll make arrangements for you to buy it.  The store is currently being revamped but I'm sure Naomi would be able to sell it to you somehow.

 Next up is...

Ike has used the sweet image called Have a Tweet Christmas from our guest sponsor this month, Fresh Brewed Designs.  He is such a precious little snowman isn't he?  You can purchase this adorable little guy by clicking on the watermark which will take you directly to the store.

 Finally, that leaves our...

Donna from Creative Smiles, who is our guest designer this month, created this precious project...

Donna has used the adorable image called Ballerina, also from Creative Bug Digitals.  If you are interested in purchasing this sweet young lady, just let me know.

 Clicking on the team members name (or in the case of our GDT, the blog name) will take you to their blog where you can check out the details for their inspirational creations!

So if you haven't entered already, what are you waiting for?  Create a project and/or post that is positive AND relates to joy, provide an explanation of how your project and/or post relates to the theme somewhere in your post or come over and leave a comment with the explanation.  Easy, peasy!  You can enter our latest challenge by clicking HERE.

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 just by leaving a comment on an entry from someone who has touched you somehow with their project and/or post!

If you are new to this unique challenge, you can find out the impetus behind why I started it under the 'Introductions' tab and all the details you need to know in order to participate, in the 'Challenge Details' tab (both tabs located at the top of the blog).

Don't Forget...

You still have until 11:55 p.m. tonight, to vote on your favourite entry for Challenge #8.  Voting is quick, easy and painless so I hope you will consider casting your vote if you haven't already.  Don't forget, if you leave a comment after voting, you have the opportunity to walk away with a selection of digital papers created especially with your interests in mind. To check out the Top Seven and cast your vote, click HERE.  Also, please note that since it is Christmas week next week, the winners announcement for Challenge #8 will not take place.  Instead we will post the winner's names on December 30th.

LOOKING FOR ANOTHER MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE ON OPTIMISM?
If you need some motivation to get you started, I've provided a quote, free for you to download:

Credit Notes For This Creation:
© 2013, Lisa L. Décosse.  PUO.  However, you are allowed to use the sentiment on handmade projects that you intend to sell on a small scale basis provided credit is given. You also need to include a credit note and a link to this blog should you use any of my images in your creations and post them on your blog. Please be sure to familiarize yourself with my full terms of use found in the 'Download Instructions & T.O.U.' tab at the top of this page.  Of important note:  Please do not share my images with family, friends, etc. Additionally, do not post any images to file sharing services like Box®, 4-Shared®, etc. Instead, please direct people to my blog so they can grab the image for themselves. If you would like to post a watermarked version of the image, please contact me to obtain one. 

You will notice that the sentiment may appear huge depending on what software program you download it into.  You can always reduce the size without distorting the overall look. 

Font and Image Information:

• Garineldo font created by gluk
• Beyond Wonderland font created by Livin Hell

Click on the font name to take you to a download location.  Both of these fonts are free for commercial use.


SUMMARY
Whether you are new and need to familiarize yourself with all the details,  or a returning participant and just need to refresh yourself, you can always find out everything you need to know in order to enter this challenge in the 'Challenge Details' tab at the top of the page. You can enter the challenge by clicking HERE to take you to the current challenge post where you can also find a quick summary of the details related to this challenge, towards the bottom of the post. 

GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY...

Please show your support to our fabulous sponsors by going over and checking out their work and saying hi if you have the chance.  In addition to Fresh Brewed Designs, our guest sponsor for the month...

...we also have our regular sponsors:

 

 

That is me and I'd love for you to visit me

on my personal blog.

If you ever have any questions be sure to EMAIL ME or just leave me a comment.

We look forward to seeing you participate!