Challenge #144--Anything Goes POSITIVE with the Opt. Twist of: Crafting by the Numbers—October 10th: Celebrate World Mental Health Day…Midway

 

Hey folks! Welcome back to the Path of Positivity Challenge Blog! It is the third Monday of the month and that means that it is time to present the midway for Challenge #144. It is my fond hope that each of you and your own families continue to stay happy, safe, and well, wherever it is you live in this big wide world of ours. 

As we are a unique kind of challenge blog, it is important for you to understand how things work. Please be sure to check out the START POST FOUND HERE for the specific details related to this month's challenge, and you can find out all the general details you need to know in order to participate, by clicking on the 'Challenge Details' tab (located at the top of the blog). For your convenience, a summary of the most important rules can now be found in the right sidebar under the heading 'General Rules'.
 
Right now, it is time to continue with our midway. Here is a refresher of the details for our current twist:

  

Challenge #144

Anything Goes POSITIVE with the Opt. Twist of 

Crafting by the Numbers—

October 10th: Celebrate World Mental Health Day

 

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 October, we're turning our attention to the number 10! And, because October 10th is World Mental Health Day, we're giving this month's number a particularly meaningful twist. Ten is often associated with ideas such as completeness, wholeness, order, and reaching an important milestone. That makes it a wonderful number for a month centred around kindness, encouragement, connection, and reminding someone that they matter.

World Mental Health Day takes place on 10 October each year and provides an opportunity to raise awareness of mental health and encourage support for people affected by mental health difficulties. While our challenge isn't about creating a card that needs to be specifically about mental illness, it is a wonderful opportunity to think about the power of a small, positive gesture. A handmade card can say, "I'm thinking of you," "You are important," "You've got this," or simply, "I'm here."

Designers often look to symbolism to add another layer of meaning to their work, and ten has some fascinating connections across cultures, religions, mathematics, and everyday life. Because we normally count in groups of ten, the number can naturally feel like a point of completion—a full set, a milestone, or the end of one stage before beginning another. We have ten fingers and ten toes, our decimal number system is based on ten, and we often use ten as a convenient way of measuring progress, achievement, or a complete collection.

 

In ancient Greek philosophy, ten had a particularly interesting place in the Pythagorean tradition. The Pythagoreans regarded ten as especially significant and associated it with the tetractys, a triangular arrangement of ten points representing the first four numbers: one, two, three and four. Because these numbers add up to ten, the tetractys gave the number a sense of unity and completeness. For creative people, this makes ten a lovely number to play with visually—ten points, ten shapes, ten stars, ten flowers, or ten little details arranged into a pleasing pattern.

Ten also has important connections in Jewish tradition. The Ten Commandments are perhaps the best-known example, forming a central part of Jewish religious tradition. There is another meaningful connection through the Ten Days of Repentance, the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. These days are traditionally associated with reflection, repentance, and making positive changes. That idea of pausing, reflecting, and considering how we can do better fits beautifully with our October focus on mental well-being and encouragement.

Christianity also gives us several significant connections to the number ten. The Ten Commandments are also a central part of Christian teaching, providing principles concerned with our relationship with God and with how we treat other people. The New Testament also includes the Parable of the Ten Virgins, in which ten women await the bridegroom, with the story highlighting the importance of being prepared and watchful. Together, these examples make ten a number that can suggest responsibility, reflection, readiness, and living thoughtfully.

In Islam, the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah are regarded as a particularly blessed period. They are associated with increased worship, good deeds, charity, remembrance, and reflection, and include the Day of Arafah and Eid al-Adha. Once again, we see ten connected with a period of purposeful action and making the most of an important opportunity.

Ten also has an interesting place in Sikh tradition. Sikhism was guided by ten human Gurus, beginning with Guru Nanak and ending with Guru Gobind Singh. After the tenth Guru, the Guruship passed to the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scripture of Sikhism. Rather than ten representing a particular universal quality in Sikh teaching, this is a beautiful example of how a number can become meaningful through history and tradition.

In Chinese culture, ten can also suggest completeness and perfection. The Chinese expression "十全十美" (shí quán shí měi) is commonly understood as describing something that is complete and perfect. This gives us another lovely connection for our challenge: the idea that something doesn't have to be enormous or complicated to feel complete. Sometimes it is the thoughtful details that make a project feel just right.
And that brings us back to our October theme.

Mental health and emotional well-being can sometimes feel like enormous subjects, but encouragement doesn't have to be complicated. A small act of kindness can remind someone that they are seen, valued, and cared about. A handmade card might arrive on a difficult day, celebrate a small victory, offer encouragement during a challenging time, or simply brighten someone's afternoon.

In creative design, there are countless ways to incorporate ten into your project. You might use ten flowers, ten gems, ten stars, ten hearts, ten leaves, ten butterflies, or ten other embellishments. Try arranging ten elements around a focal image, placing them in a circle, creating a border of ten repeated shapes, or using ten tiny details hidden throughout your design.

You could also let the number inspire the sentiment or subject of your project. Create a card with ten reasons why someone is special, ten things you love about a friend, ten little reminders to keep going, or ten words of encouragement. A journal page could feature ten things you're grateful for, ten things that make you smile, ten positive affirmations, or ten small moments worth remembering.

You might create a "10 things I love about you" card for a partner, friend, child, parent, grandparent or someone else in your life that is important to you. Try "10 reasons you're amazing", "10 reasons to smile", "10 things that make you special", or "10 reminders that you've got this". A birthday card for someone turning ten would obviously fit beautifully, as would a tenth wedding anniversary, or another meaningful milestone involving the number ten.

Don't forget that ten can be incorporated into the design without being the main subject. Use ten pearls around a sentiment, ten sequins scattered across a background, ten leaves around a floral image, ten stars in a night sky, or ten little hearts tucked into a patterned border. You could even use ten coordinating colours, ten layers, ten die-cut shapes, or ten stamped images if that suits your crafting style.

For something more interactive, why not make a card that opens to reveal ten little messages? You could create ten flaps, pockets, tags, or panels, each containing a positive thought or encouraging message. A mixed-media project could include ten meaningful words, while a scrapbook page could feature ten photographs celebrating happy memories.

This month, we're encouraging you to use the number ten as inspiration while creating something positive, uplifting, motivational, kind, or comforting. Think about the people in your life who might need a little extra encouragement right now. Maybe someone is starting a new job, facing a difficult season, recovering from a setback, celebrating an achievement, feeling lonely, or simply having one of those days when a little kindness would mean a lot.

Your project doesn't have to mention mental health at all. It can be a cheerful birthday card, a supportive friendship card, a thank-you, a celebration of a milestone, a journal entry about gratitude, or a mixed-media project filled with positive words. The important thing is the feeling behind it.

Ten gives us so many possibilities: ten little reasons to smile, ten reminders that someone matters, ten beautiful details, ten encouraging words, or simply ten tiny touches that make your project special.

So this October, let's use ten as a reminder that completeness doesn't have to mean perfection. Sometimes being there for someone, offering encouragement, or sending a little handmade kindness is more than enough.

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

Bible Gateway (n.d.) Exodus 20: The Ten Commandments. Available at: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20&version=NIV (Accessed: 8 September 2026).
Bible Gateway (n.d.) Matthew 25: The Parable of the Ten Virgins. Available at: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25&version=NIV (Accessed: 8 September 2026).
BibleStudy.org (n.d.) Meaning of Numbers in the Bible: The Number 10. Available at: https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/10.html (Accessed: 8 September 2026).

Huffman, C.A. (2024) ‘Pythagoras’, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by E.N. Zalta and U. Nodelman. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pythagoras/ (Accessed: 10 September 2026).
Huffman, C.A. (2023) ‘Pythagoreanism’, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by E.N. Zalta and U. Nodelman. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pythagoreanism/ (Accessed: 10 September 2026).
Islamic Relief Canada (2026) Dhul Hijjah: A Sacred Month. Available at: https://www.islamicreliefcanada.org/resources/islamic-calendar/dhul-hijjah (Accessed: 11 September 2026).
My Jewish Learning (n.d.) The Ten Commandments. Available at: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-ten-commandments/ (Accessed: 11 September 2026).
My Jewish Learning (n.d.) The Ten Days of Repentance. Available at: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-ten-days-of-repentance/ (Accessed: 11 September 2026).
National Sikh Organisation (2024) Sikhi: An Introduction. Available at: https://nationalsikh.org.au/sikhi-an-introduction/ (Accessed: 11 September 2026).

The Learning Lotus Project (n.d.) Ten (十): Final. Available at: https://www.thelearninglotus.com/characters/ten (Accessed: 7 September 2026).
World Health Organization (2026) World Mental Health Day 2026. Available at: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-mental-health-day/2026 (Accessed: 6 September 2026).

Unknown. (Unknown.). History and Meaning of Number 10. [Online]. SCRIBD. Available at: https://www.scribd.com/document/955146055/History-of-Number-10 (Accessed 7 September 2026).
World Health Organization (n.d.) World Mental Health Day. Available at: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-mental-health-day (Accessed: 6 September 2026).
Chat GPT was used to help me polish some elements of writing, to come up with some examples of design and to also format my references.   

To help inspire you further down the path of Crafting by the Numbers—October 10th: Celebrate World Mental Health Day, check out the wonderful project Katrina had the opportunity to create. Clicking on Katrina's name will take you to her blog where you can check out the details for her inspirational creation.

 

Thanks again to my remarkable design team! As always, Katrina  brings a distinctive creative perspective that I deeply admire. The project above captures the theme Crafting by the Numbers—October 10th: Celebrate World Mental Health Day beautifully, and I hope she has inspired you throughout this challenge to create a handmade project of your own. Be sure to visit this talented lady to see how thoughtfully her project incorporates the twist.

 

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. How about stretching yourself by also opting to follow the twist?! How are you influenced by numbers? Do you rely on any spiritual or cultural interpretations to help you process the various ways that number influence your life? As it is the tenth month of the year, we are up to number ten in our Crafting by Numbers journey. As such, this month it is time to create a project that either focuses on the number ten or incorporates the concept of mental health somehow. Be sure to check above for some specific ideas if you aren't sure how to get started. If you want to share your process on how you decided your project, 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.

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! You can find our list of participants and enter our latest challenge yourself by clicking HERE and scrolling down to the bottom of the post.

 

GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY…

Please show your support to our wonderful sponsor, Scribbles Designs, by going over and checking out their work and saying hi if you have the chance. 

 

Thank you so much to this awesome Canadian company for their
continued support of this challenge blog!

Don't Forget...

Winners for challenge #143 will be posted during the final week of October if everything goes according to plan. You can find the Top Picks post HERE.

 

If you ever have any questions be sure to leave me a comment.

 

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

 

 

We look forward to seeing you participate!