Design Team Delights for Challenge #26 -- PERSEVERANCE

It is time to share our favourite entries for Challenge #26.  As always, in each challenge you, the readers, get to voice your opinion by voting for your favourite and so it is only fitting that my Design Team get to do so as well.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to join along our Path during the month of May for Challenge #26.  Interestingly, this month there was a split between two particular creations.  Check it out the two entries that really caught our attention...

Teresa--chosen by Desíre, Pat & Suze...

Here is what Desíre had to say:
"My DT delight is Teresa. The mixed media canvas with the photo of her Dad is beautifully done with a great measure of attention to detail."

This is what Pat had to say:
"My DT delight is also Teresa.  I Love Teresa’s Mixed media canvas honoring her dad. The colors are rich and masculine, and I can almost feel the texture just by looking at it."

Here is what Suze had to say:
"My DT delight is Teresa as well.  I love all the textures on the canvas and the colours complement the image beautifully."

To see the details of Teresa's creation and read more of what she had to say click HERE.

Katrina--chosen by Vicky, Penny, Monica, Sandy & Lisa (that's me)...

Vicky had this to say:
"My DT delight would have to be Katrina because I totally admire all the perseverance that they have shown to help their son make it to where he is now! My hat off to the parents and for their son who showed everyone that he could do it!!!!"

Penny said this:
"My DT delight is also Katrina. I absolutely love the entire design--so beautifully-balanced, love the fabulous palette and papers, great embellishments, and wonderful photo of her son! Very well-done!"

Sandy said this:
"My DT delight is Katrina too.  It just bubbles love and such great pride!"

Here is what Monica had to say:
"My DT delight is Katrina as well. Loved her story about her son. A true inspiration for perseverance."

This is what I had to say:
My DT delight is also Katrina.  What she wrote about her son is an absolutely wonderful testament to the concept of perseverance.  Katrina and her husband have every reason to be proud of their son's accomplishments.  Part of my career was working with college students who had learning disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder and many of the students I worked with went through similar hardships as children.  It is incredibly fulfilling to see anyone who has struggled with learning, to succeed in such a spectacular way.  I'm so very grateful that Katrina shared her story with us.

To see the details of Katrina's creation and read more of what she had to say click HERE.

Creative Congratulations to all of you!

Thank you to everyone who played on our Pathway during the month of May.  As always we greatly appreciate you sharing your incredible talents with us.

For our DT Delights chosen for this challenge... 

  Teresa and Katrina

  You are all entitled to one image of your choice from our on-going sponsor...

Please head to the Creative Bug Digital SnapShots store:  http://creativebugdigis.com.  Click to enter the digital snapshots area.  Once you are on the homepage for the digis, scroll down a little bit and you'll see a brown banner on the left hand side that says, "looking for digis".  There will be a Polaroid image right underneath it that says SnapShots (Digital Images).  Click on this.  You'll be taken to a page that lists all the categories of images available for you to choose from.  If you need to see the image a bit closer, just right click and choose 'view image'.  Once you've made your decision, please send me the name of the one image you want and let me know which section it came from.

Additionally, you are entitled to the special Challenge #26 DT Delight Badge. To claim both your digi and the badge (or just one or the other), send your requests to popwinners {at} gmail {dot} com (be sure to replace at and dot with the appropriate symbols) or by clicking HERE to bring the address up in your email program, with the subject, "PoP#26--DT Delight Badge and/or Digi Request".   I'm always running a bit behind these days, this month more than usual (of course I said that last month as well, didn't I), so your patience is appreciated.

Our special yearly prize package will also still be taking place.  Remember, if you are chosen as a DT Delight during any of our challenges, your name will be entered into a draw for some digital goodies.  You get one entry per choice; so, if two members picked your card, you will earn 2 entries, three members 3 entries, etc.  The winner at the time will be notified by email.   The next draw will occur sometime in the summer of 2015.

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope to see you again next Monday, July 6th, when we will be back with the start of Challenge #28.  We hope that you will join us then to learn what the newest theme will be.

See you again soon!

Challenge #26 Top Picks: Voting Open June 8th to June 15th, 2015

WELCOME TO THE CHALLENGE #26 POP TOP!

It is time to get on with showcasing the top picks for Challenge #26.  This time around we had nine entries and they all qualified.  It was wonderful to see everyone's projects and see how they connected to this month's theme of Perseverance.  So, once again, we will be opening things up so that those nine entrants have the opportunity to be chosen as the Voter's Choice.   We do this any time we have less than 14 participants.  And, while we may not have enough participants to have our usual top seven, we certainly have enough to have a top three.  Therefore, it is time to get on with showcasing the three projects that the team feels were the best of the bunch.

So, without further ado, please let me introduce you to the Top Picks for Challenge #26 (in no particular order)...

CREATE WITH JOY

JULIE O.

KATRINA

Congrats Ladies...

As a participant who has been chosen as a Top Pick, each of you is entitled to a special Top Pick badge.  Please send an email to popwinners {at} gmail {dot} com, or by clicking HERE to bring up the address in your email program, with the subject "Challenge #26 Top Pick" and I'll email your badge to you.  Please note that it may take me several days to get back to you, so I really appreciate your patience.

Now as I mentioned earlier, each of the participant's who entered Challenge #26 AND FOLLOWED THE THEME & RULES is eligible to have their project and/or post voted on.  Here is a list of those participants.  Each of the entrant's names is linked up to their blog post (order is reflective of how they entered the challenge and nothing else).

Create With Joy 

Teresa (Tickell Expressions)
Bello Amanecer

Julie O.
NanaConnie
Katrina
~DEANNE~
D~DesignsByDragonfly  (#1)
D~DesignsByDragonfly  (#2)

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 PERSEVERANCE.  Please be sure to go and check out the entries first and not just make your choices off of the thumbnails.  Once you have checked all the entries out, let us know who your favourite choice is by placing your vote below using the Inlinkz feature.

Voting open for 7 days:
June 8th to June 15th

Come have your say in determining the Voter's Choice for Challenge #26!  Don't forget to leave a comment after you have voted.  There will be a prize for one lucky person who leaves a comment on any post related to Challenge #26 (chosen randomly--excluding the winners post for #26).  If you haven't had the opportunity to visit each of the entries already, please go and check them out a little more closely before placing your vote.  Once you have made your decision, why not go back and 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 nine images below on which to vote. As soon as they are all are uploaded, I'll enable voting to begin. If there are less than nine, 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 Below:

An InLinkz Link-up

Challenge #26-PERSEVERANCE-Midway Reflection & Voting Reminder

Hello everyone! We have reached the midway point of Challenge #26. The theme for this challenge is all about PERSEVERANCE.   As usual, 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.

 Don't Give Up Hope

So many people around me are dealing with very difficult issues in their lives right now.  Some are battling depression, some are battling pain and other illnesses, some have family members they are extremely worried about.  When living with these stressors, day in and day out, one can start to feel the world crashing in on all sides.  Hope seems elusive at best.

I've been there.  I know just how dark things can get.

We are quick with words of encouragement like, 'don't give up hope' and 'hang in there friend'.  We certainly mean the best when we say them and while the person on the other end of these phrases may need to hear them, don't fret if the immediate response isn't an encouraging one.  It is easy for us to spout these aphorisms but we have to be ready to acknowledge that the individual on the receiving end may not be in the best place to accept them.  It is easy to say 'everything is going to be fine', but when a person feels like they are hanging on by their fingernails, in no way do they believe everything will be fine.

Just as it is important that our friends and loved ones experiencing anguish don't give up, it is even more crucial that we don't give up on them.  Keep reaching out.  Keep trying to connect with them.  Sometime it feels like they are pushing us away but that is when we must dig our heels in and fight all the more.  True friends stick around through the really bad times just as they stick around through the really good ones. 

Whether you are the person facing the difficulty or trying to help someone dealing with one...

Persevere

Persist

As much as you may want to give up the fight...

Keep Going

Keep Trying

Don't let anything or anyone sway you from your goal...

Be Determined

Be Stubborn

When you feel like giving in...

Stand Firm

Stay Resolved

When you are your most afraid...

Hang In There

Hang On

When everything is at its darkest...

Reach Out

Hold Fast

Stick With It

Stay the Course

There really is light at the end of the tunnel.  You just have to hold on long enough to see it again.

Here are the watermarks and links for the wonderful images that the team worked with for the midway.

Please note that some individuals may be uncomfortable with the content of one of the images and its accompanying creation, in this month's posting.  It is not our intent to make you uncomfortable.  However, please note that everyone is welcome on the Path of Positivity, no matter their nationality, ethnicity religion or sexuality.  We are a place of tolerance and positivity for all. 

From Ike's Art...

I Do - Female (located in the 'My Latest Designs' section)

The Wind (located in the 'My Latest Designs' section)

 My New Shoes (located in the 'My Latest Designs' section)

From Deedee's Digis...

 If you are a Non EU Resident, please click HERE to find this image in the store.

If you are an EU Resident, please click HERE.

                                            

If you are a Non EU Resident, please click HERE to find this image in the store.

If you are an EU Resident, please click HERE.

If you are a Non EU Resident, please click HERE to find this image in the store.

If you are an EU Resident, please click HERE.

If you are a Non EU Resident, please click HERE to find this image in the store.

If you are an EU Resident, please click HERE.

We are fortunate and blessed to have the chance to work with all these fabulous images during the midway.  Thanks so much to our amazing sponsors.

To help inspire you down the path of perseverance, check out the wonderful projects most of my Design Team had the opportunity to create.  I even had the chance to participate as well...

<<<coming soon>>>

Finally, that leaves our...

Once again that should technically say Guest Designers plural!  This month I'm pleased to showcase several different samples from each of the Sponsor's Designs Teams at both the start and midway.  To make it easier, I'm going to include the watermark of the image the GDT used beneath each of their projects.

First up we'll check out creations from some of the members of Ike's Art team...

Samara from Samara's Sanctuary...

 

Brides Set of 4 (located in the 'My Latest Designs' section) 

Sall from Crafty Giggles...

Cuckoo Clock (located in the 'Other' section)

Christine from Angel Arts Cards...

BORED NOW (located in the 'My Latest Designs' section) 

 

 Ike from Ike's World ...

 Female Troops Set (located in the 'My Latest Designs' section) 

Next up, let's check out the creations from some of the members of the Deedee's Digis team...

Faith from Daffodil Cards...

If you are a Non EU Resident, please click HERE to find this image in the store.

If you are an EU Resident, please click HERE.

Pippa from Views from the Craft Room...

If you are a Non EU Resident, please click HERE to find this image in the store.

If you are an EU Resident, please click HERE.

Stephanie from Steph's Scrap Happenings...

 sentiment is from...

If you are a Non EU Resident, please click HERE to find this image in the store.

If you are an EU Resident, please click HERE.

ribbon is from...

This set is in the 'Try Before You Buy' section.   
Please click HERE to find this image in the store.

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 perseverance, 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 is 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 #25.  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 all those eligible and cast your vote, click HERE.  Winners for challenge #25 will be posted next Monday.

LOOKING FOR ANOTHER MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE ON PERSEVERANCE?
If you need some additional motivation to help inspire you, I've provided another sentiment on this month's theme (the first is available HERE), free for you to download.

 Left click to bring the image up into the lightbox in its full size and then right click and scroll down to 'save as'.

Credit Notes For This Creation:
© 2015, 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. 

This word art creation is in png format and published at 300 ppi. It is quite large in order to accommodate different programs that people work with.   If you are a card maker you can always resize it smaller without distorting the quality.

Font Information:

• Odalisque font created by Nick's Fonts
• Forum font created by Denis Masharov

Click on the font name to take you to a download location.  These fonts were listed as free for commercial use at the time this project was made.  As such, it is my understanding, that I am within my rights to use these fonts in my creations and offer them to others.  Please refer to my full terms of service for what you can and cannot do with this digital creation.

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 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 regular 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!