Challenge #56 Midway--Optional Theme: SHADES OF RED

Hello folks! Happy Family Day to my fellow Canadians living in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta (British Columbia celebrated last Monday).  For those of you living in Manitoba, Happy Louis Riel Day. For those of you in Nova Scotia and the Yukon, Happy Heritage Day and for those residing in Prince Edward Island, Happy Islander Day. To all of our readers in the States, Happy President's Day.  Wherever, you may be, I hope that you are spending your time today, or at least a portion of it, in the loving embrace of family and/or friends.

Right now, it is time to present the midway for Challenge #56. As we are a unique kind of challenge blog, please be sure to check out the START POST FOUND HERE, for all the rules and details you need to know in order to enter.

This is the second month into our year long study of colour. If you are new to the blog or this series, and you would like to review a more in-depth explanation on how we are affected by colour, its impact on us, the symbolism behind it, and the psychological effect it has on our everyday lives, you can find it by clicking HERE and scrolling down to the Title, "Theme Ideas for 2018".

For now though, here is a refresher of what our current theme is all about:

Challenge #56

Optional Theme: SHADES OF RED

What kinds of thoughts and feelings do you think of when you think about the colour red? According to research, red happens to be one of the most complicated colours, as the mood conveyed shifts greatly depending on whether you lighten it or darken it.

Red is the colour of the heart, blood, and also fire. This contributes to the reasoning behind why the different shades of red evoke feelings of love, passion, vigour, desire and longing in some individuals. Red 'heats' the blood and 'stirs' our various passions. It has been know to increase our physical energy levels, raise our heart rate and blood pressure and also trigger the release of adrenalin into our system.

The colour red is also associated with the idea of strength, courage, bravery, determination and willpower. It stimulates our senses, propelling us to move and to take action. Red's association with these specific traits is often reflected in the world around. It is one of the reasons why so many flags have the colour red in them.  It is also the reason behind the traditional red power tie and the red carpet for important dignitaries, other VIPs and even celebrities.

For some people though, red has been known to arouse feelings of stress, anger, malice and aggression. Being surrounded by too much red can be known to stir these more negative aspects of the colour; so, it is important to be cautious about its potential effects when deciding on certain colour palettes for your surroundings.

As red is an extremely discernable colour, it focuses attention swiftly, prompting people to make rapid decisions. This is one of the reasons that fire trucks are usually painted red. It is also the reason why stop signs and stop lights use the colour red, and why emergency lights are this colour as well. In certain circumstances, when one sees red they are alerted to the fact there is a need to watch for danger.

This challenge, our focus is on different SHADES OF RED. We want to see a project that is at least 51% of the overall colour scheme. Your project doesn't need to be completely monochromatic so a spattering of other colours is fine. Just be sure that if you would like a chance to win the prize for the Most Inspirational Creation, over half of the colours in your project must be in the RED spectrum! The shades of red can be in the colours you choose to fill in your images with, and/or they can be in your choices of papers and embellishments. Just make sure that the majority of your project focuses on the varying shades of the red family of colours. We can't wait to see how you explore the theme in your designs!

If you do follow the optional theme, be sure to add FT after your name so that we include you in the draw for the prize for Most Inspirational. While it isn't mandatory, we'd also love to find out how this month's colour makes you feel, if you'd like to share that with us. What kinds of feelings does the colour RED personally evoke in you? 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.

Remember, in order to be considered eligible for this month's prizes, ALL creations must be positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some nature. You don't need to follow the optional theme if you simply want to have a chance at the Random Draw prize of a $15 gift certificate from Ike's Art, one of our guest sponsors this month. You only need to follow the theme if you want a chance to win an additional sponsored prize of three (3) images from Pattie's Creations, the second of our guest sponsors this month, for the project chosen as Most Inspiring.

Talking of our guest sponsors...

To learn more about this month's guest sponsors, be sure to check out the START post; and of course, also pay each of these generous companies a visit. Below, you will find the watermarks for the images that the team worked with for the midway. Just click on any watermark to find that image's location in its respective store.

From Ike's Art…

Puppy Love

Poppy Wreath

Tap Dancer Feet

From Pattie's Creations...

I Love You Hearts and Roses

 

Valentine Bear Be Mine

 

Quilted Heart Image

Thank you so much to these awesome companies for allowing us the opportunity to work with such incredible images throughout the challenge! Please pop over and pay a visit. You might just find the perfect image or set you are looking for!!!

To help inspire you further down the path of SHADES OF RED, 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 further details on their inspirational creations.

Thanks again to my incredible design team! As always, each of them have their own unique styles and ideas which amaze me to no end. Each of these projects has showcased the colour RED splendidly and I hope we have inspired you throughout this challenge. Be sure to go and visit these talented ladies so you can see how their projects tie in to the theme.

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. If you've opted to follow the theme of SHADES OF RED, for the chance to win the Most Inspirational prize, make sure that you add FT after your name so you can be included in the running for the prize. Remember, we'd also love to find out just how the colour red affects you, so be sure to lets us know if you can, somewhere in your post or come over and leave a comment. 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 is just by leaving a comment on an entry from someone who has touched you somehow with their project and/or post!

Don't Forget...

You have until 11:59 p.m. tonight to vote on your favourite entry for Challenge #55. Voting is quick, easy and painless so I hope you will consider casting your vote if you haven't already. Winners for Challenge #55 will hopefully be posted sometime next week. Of course, I still need to post the winner announcement for Challenge #54 as well. While I managed to get back on track with the Top Picks post, I'm still behind in the one winner announcement. It doesn't help that this month has three less days than normal but I'll do my best to get caught up. For those of you who are waiting, I appreciate your patience. If you'd like to vote for your favourite entry in Challenge #55, you can find the Top Picks post HERE.

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE ON COLOUR...
If you need some motivation to get you started, I've provided a quote for you, which you can find below. Please note that this is the same quote that was offered at the start of the challenge.

Please be sure to click on it to bring it up into the lightbox in its proper size before saving it.

Credit Notes For This Creation:

© 2018, 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 or my personal blog, Decosse's Dynamite Doodles, 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(s) 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.

Additional Credit and Font Information:

Fonts used

• Amelia Script font created by Maroon Baboon
• Vollkorn font created by Friedrich Althausen

Click on the font names to take you to a purchase or download location. The first font listed was purchased as part of a limited time bundle with extended licensing. The second font listed was free and may be used for commercial purposes. It is my understanding, that I am within my rights to use these fonts in my creations and offer them to others for free or for sale. Always check to make sure the terms haven't changed before using the font on something you sell.

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.

Additional Elements
I have also used a banner image created by TWB Supply co via Craftbundles. As I obtained it under the previous licensing (prior to Feb. 1st, 2018), it may be used for commercial purposes.

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 find out the impetus behind why I started this challenge 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). Additionally, you can find a quick summary of the details related to this challenge, towards the bottom of the start post. 

 

 Click HERE to head to the current challenge post & link up!

GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY...

Please show your support to our wonderful guest sponsors by going over and checking out their work and saying hi if you have the chance. As mentioned above, this month our guest sponsors are...

Our ongoing sponsors include...

 

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

We look forward to seeing you participate!