Challenge #30--DEDICATION: September 7th - October 4th, 2015

It is the first Monday in September and that means it is time for the next challenge to start.  This time around, for Challenge #30 the theme is "DEDICATION".  Show us your interpretation of what dedication 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.

The idea behind dedication is about showing extreme loyalty to some sort of purpose or person.  There is a really great quote by Charlotte Eriksson that sums up the idea of dedication wonderfully, "Being passionate about something is the most beautiful characteristic you can develop."  When we are passionate about someone or something, we work really hard at pouring a great deal of our energy into that particular task or person.  The great thing about passion is that it doesn't necessarily have to be diverted into one sole task.  We can have a variety of things that we dedicate ourselves to--our families and friends, our communities and of course our love of cardmaking and scrapbooking!  This month, encourage someone you know to start living their dreams by dedicating themselves to the task at hand; or, maybe there is someone special in your life that you'd like to remind how very devoted you are to them.   It is all about dedication this month and committing yourself to something or someone else.  We look forward to seeing your interpretation on this month's theme. 

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 dedication 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 dedication in order to be considered eligible for this month's prizes.  While you may easily see how dedication 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.  You can simply write a sentence at the bottom of your post next to the link up for this challenge, if it would be easier.  We just need to know how your project ties into the theme.  Letting us know, clears up any ambiguity that may exist.

This month's guest sponsor...

We are very pleased to have Sparkle N Sprinkle back as our guest sponsor for this month's challenge.  Here is a refresher of what they are all about...

Sparkle N Sprinkle is a small company with a big heart owned and operated by Margaret Myers.  SNS specializes in hand-mixed embossing powders and glitters. Our quality, deeply etched rubber stamps are closely cropped on Cling Mount Cushion ready for your acrylic block. Produced in our local Shoppe in Ruskin, Florida, the stamps are already indexed on a laminated color storage sheet for your convenience. SNS sells a variety of other paper crafting tools and products, including a new line of digital stamps and many other exclusive products.   You can find Sparkle N Sprinkle on line at:   http://sparklensprinkle.com

Sparkle N Sprinkle is our sole sponsor this month and is generously providing us with both prizes! Check out the amazing images the team worked with for their projects for the beginning of this challenge.  Clicking on any of the image watermarks will take you to the page they can be found on in the SNS store...

OLD FRIENDS

SOUTHERN SANTA

WINE FRIENDS

GYMNAST

NATURE'S BUTTERFLY

 VW VAN

ISABELLE HAT LADY

Now check out what my amazing design team 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 Katrina, from Scrappy Horses, as our guest designer for this challenge...

I am so excited to be a guest designer here at Path of Positivity !  I only recently happened upon this site, but I have truly enjoyed the posts and the creativity here.  I love the idea of posting projects following such uplifting themes and it gives me an opportunity to share some stories and stretch my writing skills!  In my spare time, I enjoy watching crafting videos and making scrapbooking layouts, cards, mixed medium projects, sewing, home decor, etc.  My scrapping photos come from my “real life” as a mother of two grown children, therapeutic horsemanship instructor of several beautiful kids, and a nana of a lovely little girl named Lucy!  I am blessed with a supportive husband of almost 30 years.  I work as a freelance oboist and private instructor as well as in the therapeutic horsemanship field.  I adore my family, friends, photography, horses, music, and paper!  When I can combine two or more from that list, I’m ecstatic!   My favs:  periwinkle, bread, ice cream, coffee, flip flops, jeans, Brahms, Donny Osmond, and a day without a clock———you can fill in the categories!

Thanks again for this wonderful opportunity!
Katrina

Check out the wonderful layout she came up with....

My fabulous guests and amazing design team never disappoint!  They each have their own unique styles and ideas.  As always I am blown away by the quality of their projects!  Each of these projects has showcased dedication in various forms and manners and I hope we have inspired you.  Be sure to go and visit each of them so you can see how their projects connect to the theme.

So what are you waiting for?  Create a project and/or post that is positive AND relates to dedication, 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 next Monday when voting will start on the Top Picks for Challenge #29. 

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE ON DEDICATION

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:

© 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 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:

• Houden font created by Try&Error Studio
• Gardenia font created by Sweet Type

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.   The first font was an exclusive freebie I received but it can now be purchased; the second is still available as a freebie.  It is my understanding, that I am within my rights to use these fonts in my creations and offer them to others for free.  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 7th - October 4th, 2015.
• Link up your inspirational post below using Inlinkz. You will be able to submit your link up to 11:55 p.m. on October 4th.
• 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.  You can simply add a sentence or two right next to the link for this challenge if you want.
• 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 #30, prizes will be the following:
• $15.00 worth of digital images from Sparkle N Sprinkle for the post or project that the DT deems most inspiring of the bunch.
• $15.00 worth of  digital images from Sparkle N Sprinkle for a person chosen in a random draw based on all entrants.
• One digital image from Creative Bug Digital SnapShots for each person chosen as a DT Delight.

There will also be:

• One digital designer paper made to order in a couple different ways or three existing papers from Décosse's Dynamite Doodles for one lucky person who leaves a comment on on posts published during the challenge timeframe.
• 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!

Link Up Below:

An InLinkz Link-up

DT Delight Special Draw-2015

DA DUN DUN DUN DUN!!!!  

Thanks to Pat, who took the time to help me tabulate how many entries each person chosen as a DT Delight has earned since the last draw back in July 2014.  As such we are ready to announce the winner of the special prize.  Each person chosen as a DT Delight in all the challenges since the last draw is eligible.  Each person received one 'entry' for each time a DT member chose their creation.  That means that if two members picked a card, that person earned 2 entries, if three members picked a card, that person earned 3 entries, etc.  So without further ado, I am pleased to announce that (chosen with MiniWebTool.com)...

Edwina

has won the following...

$10 worth of images from:

$10 worth of images from:

3 images from:

A Digital Scrapbooking Kit from:

Edwina will be contacted by email to make arrangements to claim her prize.  Thanks to my team for taking the time to carefully consider their choices for DT Delights each challenge and of course to each of you who has participated in our challenges whether by creating a project, voting in our challenges or simply supporting the challenge, the team and the participants with your comments.

Stay tuned for our newest challenge which will be posted tommorrow evening if everything goes according to plan.  See you all then!

Design Team Delights for Challenge #28--SHARING

It is time to share our favourite entries for Challenge #28.  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 July for Challenge #28.   Check out the entries that really caught our attention...

 Katrina--chosen by Monica...

 Here is what Monica had to say:
"My DT delight is Katrina (her first entry). I have to admit, sometimes long stories are hard to get through, but this story touched my heart and I am so glad you shared."  

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

Pippa--chosen by Desíre & Sandy...

Here is what Desíre had to say:
"My DT delight is Pippa.  She creates these beautiful and fun bookmarks for every child at the school she works, at the end of every summer term."

Sandy said this:
"My DT delight is also Pippa.  Making bookmarks is such a generous and sharing gesture... knowing that each one has a little piece of her...awesome!"

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

 Darlene--chosen by Pat...

This is what Pat had to say: 
"I choose Darlene P as my DT Delight.  Her use of water colors, torn paper, stamping and the colors all come together to form a beautiful project."

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

Create with Joy--chosen by Suze...

Here is what Suze had to say:
"My DT delight is Create with Joy (her second entry).  I love the layout of the card but also the thought behind the card":

"Through the magic of the Internet, and the fellowship of WOYWW, Eliza blessed and enriched so many of our lives.  My heart always brightened whenever I visited her and Yoda the Cat or found a comment from her on my blog."

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

Teresa--chosen by Julie...

Julie had this to say:
"Teresa's card is my choice as a DT Delight (her first entry).  I love her watercolor birds.  They are so striking.  I also like that she shared one with her neighbor.  After all, that's what the theme of this challenge was all about!"
 

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

Katrina--chosen by Lisa (that's me)...

My DT delight this time around is Katrina (her second entry).  There is just something really cool about this vintage looking Christmas card.  I love the contrast of colours, the cool background and fabulous layout.  The thing I love the most is that she plans on sharing this card (well maybe not this one but definitely others) for a special event called Cards4Love which is a card drive is for the US military and St. Jude's Children's Hospital (a well renowned children's research hospital in the US).  Sending your cards to a card drive like this one is an excellent way to exemplify the concept of sharing! 

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 July.  As always we greatly appreciate you sharing your incredible talents with us.

For our DT Delights chosen for this challenge...

  Katrina, Pippa, Darlene, Create with Joy, and Teresa

  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 #28 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#28--DT Delight Badge and/or Digi Request".   I'm always running a bit behind these days, so your patience is appreciated.

Our special yearly prize package will be taking place next Sunday.  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.   So be sure to check back with us again then.

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope to see you not only next Sunday for the winner announcement of the special DT Delight draw but then also again on September 7th, when we will be back with the start of Challenge #30.  We hope that you will join us then to learn what the newest theme will be.

See you again soon!