Challenge #17 Top Picks: Voting Open September 8th to September 15th, 2014

Welcome to the Challenge #17 PoP ToP!

It is time to get on with showcasing the seven projects that the team feels were the best of the bunch.  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 (as long as we have a minimum of fourteen participants).

Now, without further ado, please let me introduce you to the Top Picks for Challenge #17 (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 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 #17 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.

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 possibilities.  Therefore, please be sure to go and check out the entries first and not just make your choices off of the thumbnails.  You can also check out comments left by entrants on the Challenge #17 start post by clicking HERE and scrolling down to the bottom.  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:
September 8th to September 15th

Come have your say in determining the Voter's Choice for Challenge #17!  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).  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 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 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 Below:

An InLinkz Link-up

Ponderings Along the Pathway...DETERMINATION

Welcome to this month's edition of Ponderings Along the Pathway, an exclusive feature over here on the Path of Positivity.  The purpose of this column is to continue with the goal of this blog which is to create a space "designed to inspire, nurture and provide support for the soul by creating a positive path to follow, one project or post at a time".  Providing some motivational introspection on the themes we cover each challenge period, is one way of achieving this goal.

This month it is all about DETERMINATION and PAT is here to share her thoughts on the subject...

Every plan, every goal, every little thing a person wants out of life starts with DETERMINATION, followed by that dreadful word, WORK. It’s easy to wish for a better job, someone to share your life, money for that trip you’ve always wanted to take-- it’s more difficult to make that happen. That’s where determination comes in.

Determination is described as firmness of purpose (Google) or the quality that makes you continue trying to do or achieve something that is difficult for you. In order to achieve your goals, you must start with a plan:

1. Determine exactly what it is you want to do or to have
2. Understand what you need to make this happen
3. Make short term goals toward your major goal
4. Research exactly what, when and where you want your goal to happen
5. Celebrate your short term goals
6. Re-evaluate how much you want/need this goal
7. Find like-minded people who are working toward their own goals

For instance, I was determined to teach myself water color painting:

1. I wanted to paint with a medium I had never tried, and to create paintings I’d be proud enough to put my name on.
2. I had enough brushes, I just needed some paints and papers and instruction.
3. I bought supplies, carved out time to watch YouTube videos, and started with painting backgrounds using techniques I had seen online.
4. Reading through library books I had borrowed, I painted 2-3 times a week, trying different methods, using different papers.
5. I learned some pretty cool techniques and learned how the paint interacts with water. I posted my attempts on my blog and received advice and encouragement there.
6. I purchased liquid paints and real watercolor paper. I started seeing focal points in the backgrounds I painted. I felt happy when I painted.
7. I joined a Facebook group whose artists use all kinds of media, including water colors. I get a lot of guidance and inspiration from members there.

I have seen improvement in my art, have grown from simple backgrounds to painting waterscapes and taking inspiration from photos I have taken, and have signed my name to some of my finished projects. I continue to practice, brushes in hand.

Remember, determination is a quality that you can strengthen with practice. I am determined to keep improving on my water colors, and to celebrate the learning process as much as the finished canvases! Hope to see you along the way as your determination paves the path toward your goals! Above you will find one of my latest watercolors. I used Copic marker and white gel pen for the quote.

“Give your dreams all you've got and you'll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.” ~William James

 

Please be sure to pop over to Pat's personal blog, Patacake Pages, for more inspiration.  That is it for today but please be sure to stop by on Monday when we showcase the top seven for Challenge #17 and open the voting up to you.

May you always find the determination you need to achieve your own goals.  

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!

Challenge #18--DETERMINATION: September 1 - October 5, 2014

It is the first Monday in September and that means it is time for the next challenge to start.  This time around, for Challenge #18 the theme is "DETERMINATION".  Show us your interpretation of what determination 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.

Without determination we wouldn't get anywhere in life.  The simplest of tasks can sometimes feel like too much effort but we know they must get done.  This is where determination comes into play.  Without it we'd just muddle around and go nowhere.  The bigger tasks and goals also take drive and determination to accomplish.  Do you have what it takes to succeed?  Will your determination get you on the right path?  How about those around you?  Do you know anyone who could use a little encouragement to stay the course and not give up?  Well if you do, then this is the perfect time to create a card for them and enter it into this month's challenge.

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 determination 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 determination in order to be considered eligible for this month's prizes.  While you may easily see how determination 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.

Remember we've changed up the rules a bit.  As a refresher, please note that:

• Entries will now be limited to a total of three.
• There will no longer be a prize associated with the Voter's Choice.  We will continue to have a Voter's Choice category allowing people to vote on their favourite project but from now on it will be an honourary position.  The person who receives the most votes each challenge will earn a badge as the Voter's Choice. 
• We're also switching up which sponsor is responsible for the Random and Most Inspirational prizes.  You can find out more details about this in the summary below.

This month's sponsor...

It is time to meet our guest sponsor for this month.  We are please to once again have Pickled Potpourri Designs as our sponsor this month.  Here is a refresher of what they are all about...

Pickled Potpourri Designs (www.PickledPotpourri.com) began in 2013 as an offshoot of Red Rubber Designs (www.RedRubberDesigns.com),  a rubber stamp company. But not all images are destined to become rubber stamps, so Pickled Potpourri was created to offer quality digital  papers, printables and stamp designs to inspire and enable everyone to create art!

We feature old favorites from The Angel Company (which closed its doors in August 2011), as well as new, original collage designs. You'll find a potpourri of images in a wide range of styles to enhance your papercrafting, scrapbooking and other artsy projects at Pickled Potpourri!

The design team got the opportunity to work with one of the following two images this month. 

First up we have the inspiring image called, Just Dance...

This silhouette is simply delightful.  It comes with the sentiment as a separate image so that you can place it where you would like.  Dance, like many things in life requires dedication and determination.  I love the freedom and flow of this image.  The scroll work beautifully enhances the image as well.

Some of the DT also got to work with this pretty image called Make Things Beautiful...

Another gorgeous image!  This one comes with the sentiment built in.  I just love how this one is framed so intricately.  Both the image and sentiment are perfect for the theme this month.  Making things beautiful just for the effort of doing so takes a lot of determination.

If you are interested in purchasing either of these beautiful images, clicking on the watermarks will take you to their location in the Pickled Potpourri Designs store.

Now check out what my amazing design 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 very pleased to have Linda, from Scrapping Heaven, as our guest designer this month...

Hi my name is Linda, I’m 68 yo and I’m from Southwest Wisconsin USA – back in some lovely hills far away from the city lights.  I love all kinds of crafts – for many years I was dedicated to scrapping all photos for my 6 children, 11 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren as well as nature and pets and ancestry!  I really do have a whole wall of albums.  But now I love card making – I belong to a few design teams to keep me busy at 68 years of age.  When I’m not in the flower or veggie gardens I’m on the computer just browsing through all the talent on there!  I do all I can to inspire my 4 great grandchildren, who are the apples of my eye.  I see 3 grown young men and a lady there someday, I only hope I leave them that artistic inspiration and faith in their Lord to help them get there!   Right now they are my Achilles Heel - I'll listen and love every quiet moment and secret they share with me.  I want my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren to remember me as having helped this precious earth as we show them ways to live off the grid to a certain point, how to garden organically and care for those veggies through the winter for eating, that I loved people and saw the good in all people, and in everything I've touched I gloried in what was given me...nothing huge, just life.

Here is the wonderful card she came up with...

Wow and simply wow.  My design team and our guest have really created some amazing projects.  They are all just wonderful examples of DETERMINATION.  Hopefully each creation will help their recipients' to find a way to be determined in their own lives.
 
So what are you waiting for?  Create a project and/or post that is positive AND relates to determination, 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, September 8th when voting will start on the Top Picks for Challenge #17.

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE ON DETERMINATION
If you need some motivation to get you started, I've provided a quote for you, which you can find below.

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:
© 2014, 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.

Font Information:

• PaulMaul font created by !Exclamachine Type
• Quasi font created by Harold's Fonts

Click on the font name to take you to a download location.  These fonts were listed for commercial use at the time of this creation and as such, it is my understanding, that I am within my rights to use these fonts in my creations and offer them to others.  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.

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 September 1 - October 5, 2014.
• Link up your inspirational post below using Inlinkz. You will be able to submit your link up to 11:55 p.m. on October 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. 
• You can link up a total of three (3) creations.
• Voting for this challenge will begin once the top picks have been determined.  There will be a separate post detailing those picks.  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 picks.  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. 
• For Challenge #18, prizes will be the following:
• A prize package of a $7 gift certificate to the Pickled Potpourri Designs store (good for any digital product), from our guest sponsors this month, for the post or project that the DT deems most inspiring of the bunch.
• Three digital images from Ike's Art for a person chosen in a random draw based on all entrants.
• One digital image from Creative Bug Digital Stamps for each person chosen as a DT Delight.
• There will also  be:
• 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.

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

We look forward to seeing you participate!

An InLinkz Link-up