Anything Goes POSITIVE with the Opt. Twist of
Crafting by the Numbers—
School and Numbers: Use the Numbers 7, 8, &/or 9
The
Path of Positivity turned 13 this year! While the number 13 has long
carried a reputation for being unlucky, we’re choosing to embrace it as a
symbol of growth, perseverance, and creative courage. After all, 13
years of inspiration, kindness, and community feels pretty lucky to us.
Since this year marks an important number for us, we've decided that
NUMBERS should be the overall focus in our theme for 2026 (
click here if you'd like to read more in depth about our overall theme for 2026)!
Throughout
the year, our monthly card challenges will be inspired by specific
numbers. Whether numbers speak to you mathematically, symbolically, spiritually,
or simply as a design prompt, we hope this theme invites you to think a
little differently, stretch your imagination, and—most of all—have
fun. Let’s make this a year where numbers truly count.
For September, we're bringing three numbers together: 7, 8 & 9!
And with September being the month when many students head back to
school, these numbers provide a wonderful opportunity to explore ideas
of learning, growth, progress, and new beginnings.
Designers
often look to symbolism to add meaning to their work, and seven, eight,
and nine each have interesting associations across cultures, religions,
and traditions. Rather than having one universal meaning, these numbers
have taken on different significance depending on the culture or
tradition in which they appear. Together, however, they offer some
wonderful inspiration for a month focused on learning and moving
forward.
Seven is one of the most widely recognized
symbolic numbers and is often associated with completion, perfection,
holiness, and wholeness. In Jewish tradition, the seven-day cycle is
central to the observance of Shabbat, the weekly day of rest. Seven also
appears throughout Jewish festivals, rituals, and the Hebrew Bible,
making it a number strongly connected with sacred time, completion, and
reflection.
Eight often brings ideas of renewal, progress, and new beginnings. In Buddhism, the Noble Eightfold Path provides
a framework for spiritual development and the ending of suffering, with
eight interconnected features including right understanding, intention,
speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. In
Chinese culture, eight is considered a particularly fortunate number
because its pronunciation is associated with getting rich and good
fortune. These associations make eight a wonderful number for
celebrating opportunity, progress, and the excitement of starting
something new.
Nine has its own intriguing connections. In ancient Greek tradition, the Nine Muses
were associated with poetry, music, history, and the arts, making nine a
lovely number to connect with creativity, knowledge, and inspiration.
Rather than assigning one universal meaning to nine, we can look to
these traditions as reminders that learning can lead to creativity,
discovery, and new ideas.
Christianity also gives us particularly meaningful connections to seven and eight.
The seventh day represents the completion of the first creation and the
Sabbath as a day of rest. In Christian tradition, the eighth day is
associated with Christ's Resurrection and the beginning of a new
creation, making eight a powerful symbol of renewal and new life. The number nine
also has a beautiful connection through Galatians 5:22–23, which lists
nine qualities known as the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control. These qualities fit especially well with our own focus on
positivity, encouragement, and inspiring others.
Together, seven,
eight, and nine create a wonderful progression for our September theme:
completion, new beginnings, and learning that leads to growth and
creativity. And isn't that what going back to school is all about? We
finish one chapter, begin another, and continue learning, discovering,
and growing along the way.
In creative design, these numbers can
be incorporated in obvious or subtle ways. You might use seven pencils,
eight books, or nine stars on your project. Try adding seven school
supplies, eight letters in a word, or nine little embellishments. Create
a stack of eight books, arrange nine stars around a sentiment, or use
seven repeated elements to create a border.
You could also let
the numbers inspire the subject of your creation. Think seven apples for
the teacher, eight colourful crayons, nine pencils, seven children
heading to school, eight books in a stack, or nine little backpacks.
Numbers can appear on a classroom clock, calendar, ruler, notebook,
chalkboard, report card, or school bus. And don't forget birthdays and
milestones. A card celebrating someone's 7th, 8th, or 9th birthday would
fit beautifully!
For something a little more subtle, try
incorporating the numbers through your layout. Use seven, eight, or nine
embellishments, create a repeated pattern using one of the numbers, or
divide your design into numbered sections. You could even use all three
numbers together, for example, seven stars, eight gems, and nine dots.
Whether your style is simple or richly detailed, there are plenty of
ways to make these numbers count!
This month, incorporate one or more of these numbers into your design. Seven, eight, and nine each
carry ideas of learning, growth, and progress. All concepts fitting
perfectly with our back-to-school theme. From birthdays to milestones,
there are countless meaningful ways to let these numbers tell a story.
Maybe
your project celebrates a student starting a new grade, a teacher
heading back to the classroom, a child's first day of school, academic
achievement, friendship, encouragement, or simply the excitement of
learning something new. And remember, your project doesn't have to be a
traditional school-themed card. The numbers themselves can be the
inspiration! So sharpen those pencils, open those notebooks, and let's
get creative!
Seven, eight, nine… it's time to learn, grow, and create!
Remember,
the twist is completely optional and you don't need to follow it in
order to win. However, in order to be considered eligible for this
month's goodies, remember that general types of projects/posts will not
qualify for the honours and prize UNLESS they are also positive, inspirational,
motivational or encouraging in some nature. Additionally, even if a project may qualify as positive, if your post
promotes negativity, hatred or anything of an abhorrent nature, your
project will be disqualified. Honours and Prize include:
- $6 worth of images from Scribbles Designs, for a person chosen in a random draw based on all qualifying entrants.
- A badge for the following honours: Top Pick, Most Inspirational, Random Winner, DT Delight.
References
Chat
GPT was used to help me create some elements of the description and to
also help with providing references in the Harvard style.
Alice, you are also
entitled to a neat and unique personalized badge for your blog as the Random Winner for Challenge #142 which you can find below... 
