Challenge #46--Optional Theme: AN EXPRESSION OF LOVE...February 6th to March 5th

Hello everyone! Welcome back to The Path of Positivity.

As this is only the second month that we have implemented a series of new changes, I thought that I should once again include the link for those of you who haven't had a chance to read about them yet. If you haven't, I would encourage you to do so before continuing with today's challenge. You can click HERE to open the page up in a new tab. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to add this information to the Challenge Details page at the top of the blog, but will do so as soon as I can manage it. The most important notes will also be featured during every challenge so that participants are sure to see them.

Right now, it is time for the next challenge to start. This time around, for Challenge #46, the optional theme* is "AN EXPRESSION OF LOVE". Here is what you need to know...

The Basics

While you will SOON be able to find out ALL the information you need to know in order to participate in the challenge by checking out the 'Challenge Details' tab at the top of the page (or by clicking HERE), here is a refresher of the basics.

• ALL entries must be positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some nature. 
• *Each month there will also be an OPTIONAL theme to follow. Participants must follow the optional  theme in order to win the prize for Most Inspirational. If you choose to follow the theme, please follow the instructions below to ensure that you are considered for this prize. 
• All entries that abide by the general rules of the challenge, will be eligible to receive the Random Prize.
• For both prizes, you can make any sort of project you'd like (i.e., scrapbooking page, card, tag, mixed media, digital, etc.). In fact, you don't have to create a project at all. You may just have something to say that is motivational or encouraging in some way, or a written passage that expounds on the nature of the theme. Project, written passage or both! It is completely up to you.

Now that the basics are out of the way, how about we get on with the details of Challenge #46.

Challenge #46

Optional Theme: AN EXPRESSION OF LOVE

How do you express love to those people most important to you? There are so many different levels of love and there are even more ways to express it. Do you tend to show your love in small simple heartfelt gestures or do you happen to go the extravagant route? It doesn't really matter how you express love, only that you do! Love is what connects us to others in this world.

In order to have a chance to win the prize for the Most Inspirational Creation, be sure to explore this idea of An Expression of Love. One way you can show your love is by sharing a card with your partner, your close family members and/or your special friends. Perhaps, there is something you can make by hand to express your love. One Valentine's day my hubby and I exchanged a list of the things that we loved most about each other. Whatever direction your expression of love takes you, we'd love to part of that journey.  If you do follow the optional theme, be sure to add FT after your name so that we include you in the draw for the prize for Most Inspirational.  We also ask that you let us know how your creation relates to the concept of love if it isn't readily clear within the design itself or clearly written somewhere else in your post. While you may easily see how the concept of love 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 in a comment on this post 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.

Remember, in order to be considered eligible for this month's prizes, ALL creations must be positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some nature. You don't need to follow the optional theme if you simply want to have a chance at the Random Draw prize of a $10 gift certificate from Imagine That! Digistamp, one of our sponsors this month. You only need to follow the theme if you want a chance to win this month's sponsored prize of the same three digis used by team members, provided by Mari Digis.

Talking of our guest sponsors...

This month we have one returning sponsor and one brand new one! It is time to refresh ourselves with the details of one of these companies and time to get the know the other.

First up is Mari Digis...

My name is Maria Emilia and I love to draw. I live in Goiânia, a busy City in Brazil. Now I provide some artwork for you, who are looking for beautiful pictures and even a little " fashions", suitable to their projects scrap and artistic creations! On digital stamps.

Store: http://maridigisstore2.blogspot.co.uk/
Main Blog:  http://maridigischallenge.blogspot.com.br/

Below you will see the awesome images that team members used for their projects for the beginning of this challenge. Clicking on the watermarked images will take you to their location in the Mari Digis store...

B60-Beethoven

 

 M23 – Amigas

 

Next, that brings us to Imagine That! Digistamp™... 

Imagine That! Digis by Kris™ is a mother/daughter team bringing you our cutest hand-drawn images that you can flip, re-size, re-color, print & use in your crafting creations!  Almost all our digi sets include both color & outline formats & include sentiments for a great value.  In addition to carrying family-friendly digi stamps, we also offer digital papers and KD-Kits, all available as instant downloads!  You may want to check out our Free blogwear category, as well as find freebies on our Facebook Page and join in our monthly link up!  You can read more about us here on our 'About the Arists' page.

Main Blog-  http://imaginethatdigistamp.blogspot.com/

Store- http://www.imaginethatdigistamp.com/index.html

Check out the sweet images the team worked with for their projects for the beginning of this challenge. Clicking on the watermarks will take you to their location in the store.

Puppy Love

  

Lighthouse

 Love You 2 Pizzas

We are fortunate and blessed to have the chance to work with all these awesome images for the start of this challenge. Thanks so much to our fabulous sponsors. Be sure to come back at the midway when you'll get to see more beautiful projects created with images from these wonderful companies.

Now check out what my amazing design team came up with to inspire you. Clicking on each team member's name will take you to their blog where you can check out the details for their inspirational creations...

My amazing design team never disappoints! 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 the concept of an expression of love 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, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some nature and join our link up. If you've opted to follow the theme of an expression of love for the chance to win the Most Inspirational prize, 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--though the new deets need to still be added).

I hope to see you back next Monday when voting will start on the Top Picks for Challenge #45. 

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

 I've offered it up with hearts in red as well as a plain black version...

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:

© 2017, 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.

Additional Credit and Font Information:
 

Design Element

• I have used a brush in the creation of this design. This brush was designed by Heather Green (HG Designs). I have purchased a special license that allows me to use her products commercially.

Fonts used

• Nouradilla Script font created by Mikrojihad

Click on the font name to take you to a download location. This font was purchased with a premium commercial use license. It is my understanding, that I am within my rights to use this font in my creations and offer them to others for free or for sale. 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 (recent updated changes will be added soon). 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 February 6th to March 5th, 2017.
• Add your inspirational project or post using the link up below. You will be able to submit your entry until 11:59 p.m. on March 5th.
• If you have chosen to follow the optional theme, you will need to let us know what it is about your project or post that you feel is inspirational  / positive / motivational and how it fits into the theme. Please include this information somewhere within your post. You can simply add a sentence or two at the bottom of your post right next to the link for this challenge if you want. Or, if this isn't possible, come over and leave us a comment on the start post. You must also add 'FT' after you name so we know which creations to add to the draw for the sponsor's prize for Most Inspirational.
• 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.
• For Challenge #46, prizes will be the following:
• $10 gift certificate from Imagine That! Digistamp, one of our guest sponsors this month, for the post or project deemed most inspiring of the bunch. To be eligible for this prize, you must follow the optional theme (details above).
• The same three digis used by team members, provided by Mari Digis, one of our guest sponsors this month, for a person chosen in a random draw based on all entrants.  To be eligible for this prize, entry must be positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some nature.
• One digital image from Creative Bug Digital SnapShots for each person chosen as a DT Delight.

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:
If you have any problems linking up, please be sure to let me know by leaving a comment on this post.

Challenge #46--Optional Theme...AN EXPRESSION OF LOVE
This is the place to link up something that you have created during the month that you consider positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some nature. You will be able to submit entries to this collection up until March 5th at 11:59 pm. Be sure to add FT after your name if you followed the optional theme.  Please see above for all the rules and details. If you would like to be a Guest Designer in a future challenge, please add the letters GDT after your name.

Ponderings Along the Pathway...THE ROAD AHEAD

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 THE ROAD AHEAD and PAT is here to share her thoughts on the subject...

The old year has run its last race, and a new path lies before us -- 2017. The year 2016 brought us winners and losers, bumps and surprises, laughter and tears, adventures and comforts. It was a unique year, as is every year making its exit.

The road ahead fills us with determination, with anticipation, with hope. It's like newly-fallen snow - no footsteps breaking the endless white expanse (which is a great analogy when you live in the northern hemisphere during winter). Now is the time to dream big dreams, make plans and reach your goals.

Dream Your Dreams:
I like to start the year off making a list of all the things I would like to do this year. No matter how outrageous (take a trip to Germany) nor how trivial (start meditating each morning), I list them all out and then, sort them into different sections, like Travel, Creativity, Family & Friends, Education, Health, etc. Once sorted, I ruthlessly number them from one to whatever, by the priority in which you would like to do them. For me, I work better numbering from the least important to the most important. Say for instance I have “Go dog sledding in Vermont” in my Travel section. I would probably prioritize this as last, since I would much rather visit my sister in Germany or vacation in Cozumel, Mexico. Remember, these are dreams, so anything goes!

Make Plans:
Once I have my lists sorted by which I would like to do soonest, I tackle the first couple in each section. Any goal is possible if broken down into steps, so I decide things like: does it cost money and how much? Do I need anyone else to accomplish my goal? Do I need supplies like a computer, a gym membership, etc? How much time will it take out of my day (say I want to learn Tai Chi at the park district)? Do I need to build up to this goal (like losing weight)? Finally, what’s stopping me from doing this RIGHT NOW?

Reach Your Goals:
By breaking each goals into steps, you will succeed. Even if you backslide, you won’t fall down those steps and give up. Just stop and take a breath before tackling each step, one at a time. And don’t forget to reward yourself.

Here’s a peek at mine:

• Travel: Plan a couple weekend getaways with husband and daughter.

1. Pick a place to stay
2. Check dates and availability
3. $$= Holiday Inn points for cheaper rates
4. Mark calendar & don’t double-book
5. Pack bags and drive

• Education: Learn German.
  
  1. Start with CDs and workbook (already have)
  2. Play in car on drives to Hines.
  3. Go to German blogs for practice reading.
  4. Check community college for classes.

This is just a couple of the things I’ve dreamed of accomplishing this year. Where will your dreams take you? Whatever they are, good luck and have fun!

Pat has a plan for her road ahead this year? How about you? Take some time this week to reflect on the different directions your own journey ahead may take you.

Well folks, that is it for today. Enjoy your weekend everyone and please join us again on Monday when we announce the Winners and DT Delights for Challenge #44!

Challenge #45--Optional Theme: THE ROAD AHEAD...Midway

Hello everyone!  It is time to get on with the midway for Challenge #45. Just a reminder that our challenges have changed.  Don't forget:

• ALL entries must be positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some nature. 
• Each month there will also be an *OPTIONAL theme to follow. Participants must follow the optional  theme in order to win the prize for Most Inspirational. If you choose to follow the theme, please follow the instructions below to ensure that you are considered for this prize. 
• All entries that abide by the general rules of the challenge, will be eligible to receive the Random Prize.
• For both prizes, you can make any sort of project you'd like (i.e., scrapbooking page, card, tag, mixed media, digital, etc.). In fact, you don't have to create a project at all. You may just have something to say that is motivational or encouraging in some way, or a written passage that expounds on the nature of the theme. Project, written passage or both! It is completely up to you.

Now that the basics are out of the way, how about we continue?! The theme for this challenge is THE ROAD AHEAD. Here is a refresher of what the theme is all about:

Challenge #45

Optional Theme: The Road Ahead

A brand new year stands before us with 365 days of possibilities. What will you do with this time you have been gifted? Will you plan your life and set manageable goals or will you take it one day at a time and simply wing it? It is also a great time to encourage those around you to think about their future and push them to forge new directions of their own. It is a new year filled with so many new possibilities and the road ahead is wide open. Which direction will your new discoveries take you?

In order to have a chance to win the prize for the Most Inspirational Creation, be sure to explore this idea of the Road Ahead. You could create Journalling Cards for yourself and tell us what some of your personal goals are for the new year. Perhaps, there is someone that you can encourage to move forward and start (or continue) to work on any number of goals. Receiving an encouraging card or even one that gives them a swift kick in the butt might be just what they need. Whatever direction the road ahead takes you, we'd love to be part of that journey.  If you do follow the optional theme, be sure to add FT after your name so that we include you in the draw for the prize for Most Inspirational.  We also ask that you please let us know how your creation relates to the concept of the road ahead if it isn't readily clear within the design itself. While you may easily see how the concept of the road ahead 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 in your blog post or by leaving a comment on this post. 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.

Remember, in order to be considered eligible for this month's prizes, ALL creations must be positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some nature. You don't need to follow the optional theme if you simply want to have a chance at the Random Draw prize of a $15 gift certificate from Ike's Art, one of our sponsors this month. You only need to follow the theme if you also want a chance to win this month's sponsored prize of a  a $10.00 gift certificate provided by Scribbles Designs.

Let's see how the team has interpreted this concept as we get on with our midway!

Below you will find the watermarks and links for the wonderful images that the team worked with for the midway.

From Scribbles Designs...
 

 #919 Coffee Press

#A61 Dare to be Remarkable

#300 Carl

 

and #F12 Sun (Free) which can be found HERE.

From Ike's Art...

Dreamcatcher

(located in the Other section)

Book of Dreams

(located in the My Latest Designs section)

Vintage Car

(located in the Other section)

To help inspire you further down the path of THE ROAD AHEAD, check out the wonderful projects my Design Team had the opportunity to create. Clicking on the team members' name will take you to their blog where you can check out the details for their inspirational creations...

Uma, from Krafttime, who is our guest designer this month, created another beautiful card to share with us. Check it out....

So if you haven't entered already, what are you waiting for? Create a project and/or post that is positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some nature and join our link up. If you've opted to follow the theme of the road ahead for the chance to win the Most Inspirational prize, 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!

Don't Forget...

You have until 11:55 p.m. tonight to vote on your favourite entry for Challenge #44.  Voting is quick, easy and painless so I hope you will consider casting your vote if you haven't already. Winners for challenge #44 will be posted next Monday if everything goes according to plan. You can find the Top Picks post HERE.

LOOKING FOR ANOTHER MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE ON THE ROAD AHEAD?

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:
© 2017, 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.


Additional Credit and Font Information

Fonts used 

• Amulhed Brush font created by Barland 
• Brushwall Regular font created by Cruzine Design

The first font was purchased with extended commercial use licensing. The second font was free and I have received permission from the designer to use it for extended commercial use. Click on the font name to take you to a download location. It is my understanding, that I am within my rights to use these fonts in my designs and offer the resulting creations to others for free or for sale. Always check to make sure the terms haven't changed before using a font on something you sell. 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 find out the impetus behind why I started this challenge 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, though please note that the newest challenge details still need to be updated). Clicking HERE will to take you to the current challenge post where you can the link up and also 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 ongoing sponsor is...

 

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

We look forward to seeing you participate!