The People Have Spoken: Winners From Challenge #8

First off, I hope that those of you who celebrate during the Christmas season. all had an absolutely wonderful holiday filled with time spent with family and friends.  My additional hope is that each of you has experienced some JOY this holiday season that will stay in your heart for years to come.

Due to this past week being Christmas, we decided to defer our winner's announcement until this week.  Thank goodness that December had five Mondays in it this year, to allow me to do so.  So, without further ado, here are the winners from Challenge #8...

Drum roll, please....BBBbbbrrrrrrrrr pish

The people have spoken and their choice for Challenge #8 is....

DONNA

  Donna you have won your choice of ten images from Creative Bug Digital Stamps.

Donna, you will also be getting a cool and awe inspiring personalized badge for your blog as the Voter's Choice for Challenge #8.

In the category of Most Inspiring, our winner is...

MANDY

Mandy, you have won your choice of three images from Ike's Art.

Mandy, you will also be getting a lovely, one of a kind personalized badge for your blog as the Most Inspiring choice for Challenge #8.

  The random winner for this challenge (chosen by Random.com), based on all eligible participants is:

DEANNE

Deanne, you have won your choice of five images from DigiStamps4Joy (DS4J).

  Deanne, you will also be getting a neat and unique personalized badge for your blog as the Random Winner for Challenge #8.

We also have a prize available for a random voter who left a comment.

 The random winner for this challenge (chosen by Mini Web Tool), based on all eligible participants is:

Ingrid Mason with her comment:

Oh such inspiring 'stories' of Thankfulness but my vote has to be for Mandy - so thankful to so many supporting her in her personal lifestyle changing 'ill health' but her story of courage is the one that will stay with me as a reminder that 'it's never too late'. A very beautiful challenge x

Ingrid, you have won a selection of digital designer papers from Décosse's Dynamite Doodles.

Big Congrats to...

Donna, Mandy, Deanne & Ingrid

Please click HERE to send us an email with the subject, "WINNER PoP Challenge #8" to make arrangements to receive your prize and badge (where applicable).  Please note that with the holidays, it may take me a few days to get back to you.  Thank you for your patience.

All entrant's in Challenge #8 are entitled to a special digital sentiment based on a quote related to the theme for the upcoming challenge.  So, if you were one of the individuals who entered Challenge #8 and would like to receive a free sentiment based on the theme for Challenge #10, which starts Monday, January 6th, please click HERE to send us an email with the subject line, "PoP Challenge #8 Entrant Quote Request".

Don't forget, there is still one week left to enter into this month's challenge on JOY.  Click HERE for details.  If you haven't linked up already, I hope that you will consider coming over to play with us.  As always, we'd love to have you join our Path!

Wishing you all a safe and happy New Year,

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!

Challenge #8 Top Seven: Voting Open December 9th to December 16th, 2013

Welcome to the Challenge #8 PoP ToP!

Incredibly, we had 44 entries in our challenge on THANKFULNESS.  It was wonderful to see so many creations and posts reflecting on the theme of gratitude.  While it is easy to be grateful during a month when Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States, it is important that we try and remember to express thankfulness, each and every day of our lives.

Having so many incredible entries has made choosing our top seven all the more difficult but we did manage to come up seven that touched us in particular.  In case you are new and wondering why seven and not the typical three, four or even five?  Well, we strive to be different over here on the Path of Positivity.  Additionally, seven is a spiritual number and thus right in the wheelhouse of the vibe we are looking to project; so, seven it is.  Seeing as I am already two hours late in getting this post out, I'd better get a move on it, so please let me introduce you to the Top Seven for Challenge #8 (in no particular order)...

   

 

 

 

Congrats Ladies...

As a participant who has been chosen in our Top Seven, each of you is entitled to a special Top Seven badge. Please email me by clicking HERE, with the subject "Challenge #8 Top Seven" and I'll email your badge to you. 

Have Your Say!

Now the really hard work starts.  It is time for you, our readers, to vote for your favourite entry.  Which participant most inspires you?  Remember, you are not necessarily voting on a creation that was made.  You might simply find what the person had to say in their post to be inspiring and optimistic and in line with the concept of thankfulness.  In fact two of our top seven don't have any creations at all but they do have beautifully written posts expounding on the concept of gratitude.  Please let us know who your choice is by placing your vote below using the Inlinkz feature. 

Voting open for 7 days:
December 9th to December 16th

Please note that the voting week has been reduced down from ten days to seven.  I am doing this in hopes of being able to provide our design team more time to discuss our choice for most inspiring creation for the winners post.  So, come have your say in determining the Voter's Choice for Challenge #8!  Don't forget to leave a comment after you have voted.  There will be a prize for one lucky voter who leaves a comment (chosen randomly).   Now, one of our lovely readers tried things out last time for me and let me know that you can indeed visit the entries in the linkup below, before you vote.  Thank you Edwina for taking the time to check this out for me.  So, if you haven't had the opportunity to visit each of the top seven choices already, please go and check them out a little more closely before placing your vote.  Once you have made your decision, why not let them know how they inspired you.

Good luck everyone!

Important  Note:

Please note that in order for this to work, I must add all the entries but I can only do this AFTER I have published this post.  So there will be some overlap time between when this post is published and when you will be able to vote.  Once I have uploaded the entries there will be a total of seven images below on which to vote.  As soon as all seven are uploaded, I'll enable voting to begin. If there are less than seven, it means that I am still in the process of adding the images and you should come back in a little while to make your vote.  Thank you for your patience!

Link Up:

Challenge #9--JOY: December 2 - January 5, 2013

It is the first Monday in December and that means it is time for the next challenge to start. This time around, for Challenge #9 the theme is "Joy".  Show us your interpretation of what JOY means to you.  You can make any sort of project and/or post as long as it is positive in nature and relates to the theme.  While it is easy for us to be joyful in a month filled with joy, as many people get ready for their various celebrations throughout the season, it is just as important for us to remember to be joyful the remainder of the year as well.  I hope that after the holidays are over, that you will remember the feeling of joy and carry it with you in your heart through each month in 2014 and beyond.

Don't forget when you link up your project and/or post, to please leave a comment letting us know how your creation relates to the concept of joy if it isn't readily clear within the design itself or clearly written somewhere else in your post. Remember, the creation must be positive/inspirational/motivational AND adhere to the theme of joy in order to be considered eligible for this month's prizes.  While you may easily see how joy relates to your creation, it may not be as apparent to me or the DT members.  That is why we ask that you clarify it somewhere, whether here or in your blogpost.  This way it clears up any ambiguity that may exist.

This month we are fortunate enough to once again have the ever fabulous Fresh Brewed Designs (FBD).  Here is a refresher on what FBD is all about...

If you are looking for some freshly brewed inspiration, then you have come to the right place.  Fresh Brewed Designs (http://www.freshbreweddesigns.com) is a small on-line company that has been offering a wide variety of digital images and rubber stamps since November 2010, designed to meet the needs of paper crafting addicts everywhere.  With over 30 categories to choose from and several new additions to the store monthly, our range of products is expanding all the time. Whether you are looking for one of our uniquely designed coffee inspired images or something entirely different, you are sure to find something to please.  We'd also love for you to visit us over on our blog (http://freshbreweddesigns.blogspot. com) where inspiration is always percolating.  We have a digi release at least once a month and other events as well.  Come see us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fresh-Brewed-Designs/139388879447210) too.  You never know what other goodies you may find there.

Owned and operated by Heather Dennis, loving wife and mother to two home-schooled children, you can always expect personalized service.

At Fresh Brewed Designs we always have a fresh pot of creativity brewing. So stop by and join us for a cuppa whenever you want!

 Look at the beautiful images the team got to work with this month.  Clicking on any of the image watermarks will take you to their location in the FBD store...

This snowman is just so precious.  It is called Have a Tweet Christmas and is the perfect accompaniment to all your Christmas cards.  Everyone loves snowpeople!!! Decorate your own snowmen up with a few baubles and you have another Christmas decoration, only this time for the outdoors.

Let me introduce you to Holly.  She is just who you need to come in and get the house all spruced up for the holidays.  The holly boughs on her hemline continually regenerate so she never has to fear running out of it.  If you'd like to bring Holly into your own home to help you out with the decorating, the image is called Christmas Holly.

Totally adorable, right?  Kitten in a Mitten is wonderful, not only for any of your Christmas cards but for any winter themed creation.  You could also use it simply to let someone know that you are thinking of them.  The winter can sometimes be a very difficult season for some people and a card with this image on it is sure to bring a smile and a little joy to anyone's face.

Now, check out what my amazing Design Team came up with to inspire you.  Clicking on the team members' name will take you to their blog where you can check out the details for their inspirational creations...

 

 

We are also pleased to have Donna from Creative Smiles joining us this month...

Thank you PoP designers for allowing me to join you this month. My name is Donna Ellis, also known on line as “de” (from my pottery throwing days). Short n Sweet - I am married to the love of my life in “rural” Central Florida. Stamping became my craft of choice as health concerns caused me to give up other crafting mediums. Though I’ve worked in stores, taught classes, and presently work on Sparkle N Sprinkle’s Staff in a number of capacities, I am currently home-bound and there is nothing more rewarding than sharing artwork with my on-line friends. I’d love for you to visit my personal blog Creative Smiles. I promise to visit your blog in return :-)

Here are the stunning cards that Donna created for us...

To check out Donna's joy filled creativity, click HERE.

Once again my design team came through with simply incredible creations all conveying a sense of JOY within them.
 
So 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!

If you have some time, please visit other people participating throughout the month.  I've included the summary of the challenge details below.  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).

I hope to see you back on Monday, December 9th when voting will start on the Top Seven for Challenge #8.

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE ON JOY
If you need some motivation to get you started, I've provided a freebie for you...

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.

Font Information:

• Tanglewood Tales font created by Nick's Fonts
• WW Flakes font created by Windwalker64

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

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.

CHALLENGE DETAILS 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. I've provided a quick summary below.  Please note that dates and times listed below are for this particular challenge only:

• Each Path of Positivity challenge will remain open for approx. a full month.  Entries for this challenge will be accepted from December 2nd to January 5th.
• Link up your inspirational post below using Inlinkz. You will be able to submit your link up to 11:55 p.m. on January 5th.
• When you link up, leave a comment summarizing what it is about your post that you feel is inspirational  / positive / motivational and how it fits into the theme if you have not included this information somewhere within your post.
• Don't forget to come back throughout the month and visit others that have participated.
• Voting for this challenge will begin once the top seven have been determined.  There will be a separate post detailing the top seven.  You will then have the opportunity to vote on the creation or post that you have found to be the most inspirational of the chosen seven.  Be sure to leave a comment telling us what it was that inspired you or something in general if you uncomfortable disclosing any details of your vote.
• This month, prizes will be the following:
• Ten digital images from Creative Bug Digitals, for the person out of the top seven who receives the most votes during voting week.
• Three digital images from Ike's World  for the post or project that the DT deems most inspiring of the bunch.
• Three images from Fresh Brewed Designs, this month's guest sponsor, for a person chosen in a random draw based on all entrants.
• One digital designer paper from Décosse's Dynamite Doodles for one lucky voter who leaves a comment.
• One digital sentiment for every single person who enters the challenge.

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 sponsors for the month, we also have our regular sponsors:

 

 

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

We look forward to seeing you participate!

 

Link up: