Showing posts with label grateful. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grateful. Show all posts

Monday, November 16, 2015

Card Design: Path of Positivity #32 Midway--Gratefulness


Hello!  I realize it has been a while since I've been able to participate in this challenge but I had a chance to create for this month's midway for The Path of Positivity Challenge; so, I'm here to share my card along with the freebies from this month's challenge as well, which you can find at the bottom of this post.  Don't forget, even if I don't show them here, you can always find two new free sentiments each month, always on the first and third Mondays of the month over on The Path of Positivity Challenge; so, be sure to check in over there.  I'd love for you to join in our challenges as well.  While the themes are different from your average challenge themes, just giving them a little bit of thought can often help you to figure out how a particular project you have, may apply to the theme.

The theme this month is Gratefulness.  There is so much to be grateful for in our lives.  Even when things are difficult and you are not feeling all that thankful, there is always something, even if it is something small, that you can be grateful for.  Is there someone that you should be saying thanks to or maybe you could simply share the general sentiment of gratitude.  It is the perfect season to be expressing gratitude especially for those of you living in the US with Thanksgiving approaching at the end of the month.

This month our sponsors are...

http://buyscribblesdesigns.blogspot.ca/



and Kitten Scraps...

http://www.kittenscraps.com/


Since I'm on the Scribbles Designs Design Team, I opted to work with an image from a designer I've never worked with before. Kitten Scraps is a company that is new to the Path of Positivity family.  Nathalie, the owner specializes in Digital Scrapbooking kits.  In fact, it turns out that Nathalie lives less than 2 hours away from where I do in Sudbury, residing in North Bay, Ontario.  Small world eh?!

Anyway, with the theme this month being one of gratitude I thought it was the perfect time to create my hubs' Christmas card.  I am truly grateful for this amazing man in my life.  He is always supportive and there for me no matter what.  I need to start thanking him more often for being the incredible man that he is.  

The Kitten Scraps store had the perfect set for me to work with.  The hubs' (and I as well) just love penguins.  In fact, our small bathroom on the main floor is decorated in penguins.  So, when I saw this set, I knew it was perfect for his Christmas card.  The cute little character I used certainly puts a big smile on my face and I hope it will for him as well.

Here is a link to the kit that I worked with called: Winter's Playground Bundle...
Winter's Playground Bundle

This bundle is filled with lots of fabulous goodies.  To find this bundle in the Kitten Scraps store, please click on the watermark or name above. To find out more about which specific items I used, see below.

 General info:
  • This card was created 100% digitally and then layered in a poster mockup.  I will print it out and assemble it a later date.
  • Other than the sentiments, the cloud pattern and a couple layer styles, everything I used is exclusively from the Winter's Playground Bundle.
  • This card has been inspired by a sketch from I saw over at All Dressed Up Challenges. 
FRONT
Digital Image and Elements Details:
  • As mentioned above, the main image (skating penguin) and elements (snowflakes, snowballs, buttons, button thread, heart gem, frame), are all included in the Winter's Playground Bundle, available from Kitten Scraps.  I believe that each of these items is available in the smaller Winter's Playground Kit, if you don't want the full bundle. Click on the watermark below to find its location in the store.
Winter's Playground Kit
  • I took one of the snowballs, cut it in half and enlarged it in order to serve as an ice pond for the penguin to skate on.  I then added a snowy background using a layer style courtesy of Designercow, Photoshop Layer Style. Then I added the snowball trio image and then added three other snowballs making them different sizes.
  • Clouds pattern used in behind penguin courtesy of Webtreats, Etc.

Digital Sentiment Details:
  • One I created for the start of the challenge.  You can find it below.  I simply recoloured it for the purposes of this card so it would match.


INSIDE
Digital Sentiment Details:
  • One I created for the inside of the card, made to match the one used on the front.


OVERALL
Digital Paper Products: 
  • I have used two patterned digital papers and two solid ones, all from the Winter's Playground Bundle.  You can purchase these paper kits separately if you would like by clicking on the watermarks below.
Winter's Playground Paper Pack-Patterns

Winter's Playground Paper Pack-Solids


Digital Embellishment Details: 
  • The shapes used for matting in behind the sentiments are simple shapes created in Photoshop Elements and paper pieced with solid papers from the Winter's Playground kit.
  • The shadows to give each element some depth were created with a layer style from Sheila Reid, Pixel Scrapper. 

Other Notes: 
  • The poster mockup that I used to display the card in is from Design Bolts.
 
Challenges I am hoping to enter... 
***Please note that if the word verification appears, ignore it and simply click the 'publish' button**  
__________________________________________________________________________________ 
Finally, that brings me to a couple of freebies.  The first was offered up at the challenge start and the second was just offered up today during this week's midway...



© 2015

Font Information:
© 2015

Elements:
I have used a few existing design elements from Lisa Glanz (lisaglanz.com), in the creation of this sentiment.  These elements were purchased with a commercial use licence as part of a bundle through Design Cuts (www.designcuts.com).
 
Font Information:

Please be sure to click on the images to bring them up into the lightbox in their proper size before saving them.  Click on the font name to take you to a download location.  The first font in the list was purchased as part of a bundle with extended licensing and as such may be used for commercial purposes.  While the bundle is no longer available, the font can be purchased through the original designer.  The next three fonts were free and listed for commercial use at the time of these creations.  As such, it is my understanding, that I am within my rights to use these fonts in my creations and offer them to others.  Please refer to my full terms of service for what you can and cannot do with this digital creation.

These word art creations are in png format and published at 300 ppi. They are quite large in order to accommodate different programs that people work with.   If you are a card maker you can always resize them smaller without distorting the quality.   

Credit Notes For These Creations:
© Lisa L. Décosse. PUO. However, you are allowed to use the sentiments 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(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.
_______________________________________________________________

 I invite you to go and check out, not only, the fabulous creations some members of my Design Team had the opportunity to create over on the Path of Positivity (click HERE for the midway) but also some of the great entries into this month's challenge (click HERE for the challenge).  I also invite you to come over and enter a project yourself, if you haven't already.  With so many reasons to be grateful, what is stopping you from entering?  Spread the gratitude and thanksgiving wishes around.

Well, that is it for this one!  See you soon!!!  

Until then,
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Thursday, January 10, 2013

A Day for Saying Thank You

If you are new to my blog and would like to know why I started "Thursdays Are For Thanksgiving", please go HERE.

First I need to apologize.  I realized tonight when looking for something in my original Thursdays... post that I had the link wrong.  So, if you were new and tried the link and instead of finding out why I started my gratitude post, found out why Motivational Mondays got started, I sincerely apologize for the confusion.  I don't know where my head was at, I usually check all my links. That being said, let us get on with today's post.

As I mentioned when I started the idea for this post, that while it would be centred around the idea of gratitude, the actual format may change from post to post.  For example, I might pose a question for you to think about, further explore the concept of why gratitude is important, or create a design based on appreciation or maybe, just put out a quote for you to consider.  Today, I'm going to make things a little more personal instead of keeping things general by sharing parts of my Tuesday with all of you.

You see, Tuesday wasn't one of my best days physically.  I wasn't able to turn the light out until around 7:30 am to try and go to sleep and then my mind would NOT shut off so I didn't fall asleep at all until about 10:30 am.  Then, I only managed to sleep for an hour before waking again. I knew that I couldn't function on one hour of disturbed sleep so I after about another 20 minutes I drifted off for another hour.  When I woke up again I got out of bed and tried to work at the computer for three hours but by that time the headache I had woken up with had turned into a raging migraine accompanied by severe nausea so I had to leave the office before I faceplanted into the computer keyboard. Now the reason that I am bringing this up is that even though I was having a difficult day, there were good things mixed in with the bad and there was still opportunity for expressing gratitude.  

When I got settled at my computer and pulled up my email, there was a message from Suze over at Craftysuze congratulating me for my win over at Paper Crafting World. In my head I was thinking, "huh? I don't remember entering any of my latest cards into a challenge over there".  So, I promptly headed over figuring she had made a mistake and another Lisa had won. I was almost resolved to that fact when I finally came to my name listed as the second last winner. 

You see, I had no idea that Paper Crafting World was even offering prizes for people leaving comments during their '25 Days of Christmas'.  It is in my nature to leave a comment when someone offers up a freebie so I was just doing what I always do; however, it was so nice to be rewarded for doing so. Without Suze, I would never have known. Even thought I generally visit Melin's blog on a weekly basis, I would never have thought to scroll through a post listing winner names. Therefore the odds of ever having found my name and claiming the prize on time would have been nil.  To top it off, when Melin came to my blog to verify my information, she liked what she saw and decided to become a follower.  So, not only did I win four digital images from her store, I also gained a new follower through the whole process.

Once I had taken care of those details, I moved on and took care of more correspondence.  Then I came across a message from Sharon who is on the DT over at  Lady Anne's Challenges.  She had left a comment to inform me that I had won the digi she had used in her last challenge.  You see these ladies are not above a little bribery and sweet comments can lead to sweet prizes.  It got better though because Sharon also decided to become a follower.  Who knew how successful a litlle bribery, oops I mean sweet talk, could be? ;O) 

So while I have thanked all these ladies privately, I also wanted to do so publicly.  So thank you to Suze, Sharon and Melin for bringing a little sunshine to what was otherwise a bit of a grey day.  Oh and Suze, since if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have known I had won over at PCW, I will be creating a special digi for you as a thank you.  Watch for it in your mailbox soon.

So, even on those days when things are not their best, we can still take time to say a simple thank you to someone who has made it just a little bit better for us.  These are some of the people that I have said thank you to over the last couple of days.  Who are you saying your thanks to?

Until next time,

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Thursday, December 13, 2012

Giving Without Expectation


UPDATE:
I'm sorry but the images that were in this post are no longer available for download.  Free Digital Photos has revoked the permission that they had originally given me.  While I am still allowed to post their images on line, I am no longer able to offer them up for download.  I can however still offer you the original quote that was part of the motivational graphic.  Sorry for the inconvenience.


We often forget that we are all made of three parts:  physical, mental and spiritual.  While we take care of our health and exercise to increase our physical attributes; learn and keep our minds active to develop our mental abilities; we rarely do anything to nurture our spiritual self.  Keep in mind that while our spiritual side may involve religion it doesn't necessarily have to.  Something as simple as taking a walk in nature and letting the stillness of the moment flow over you, can help to expand the spiritual side of your being.

Giving without expectation of return is another way to help us develop that all important spiritual side of our nature.  For those of us who celebrate Christmas, this is the perfect opportunity to practice the art of giving without expecting anything in return. There are certain things we should do just for the inherent goodness attached to doing them.  The fact that you have done something right should be the only reward you need in these cases.  Once you’ve conditioned your mind this way, the actuality is that you do indeed get something in return.  Kevin Sinclair describes these benefits in his article, “Give Without Expecting Return”.  When you give without expectation you benefit in the following ways:  “a higher state of awareness; the pride that you have given something of powerful, lasting, un-aging value to the world; and, you have made the world in which you live a better place, which can only benefit you even if indirectly and not in any immediate sense.” 

For those of you who are skeptical that selfless acts still exist, let me share a story with you.  I paid a visit on Monday to the blog of one of my favourite designers.  Many of you are probably familiar with Anna Stillwell from Cuddlebug Cuties.  If you have followed Free Digital Stamps for awhile then you already know that she has a generous nature.  On Saturday, she shared something special with us.  You see, Anna has an Etsy store like so many digital artists out there.  Yet, instead of pocketing the profits, she made the choice to take all of her earnings from every stamp purchased in her store and donate the funds to her favourite bookstore.  Each year during the Christmas season, this particular bookstore does a drive to collect books for a local orphanage.  While Anna was in the very long checkout line, she continued to hear the store associates ask each customer in turn, if they would be interested in donating a book for the book drive.  Unfortunately, there were more people that said ‘no’ than said ‘yes’.  When it came time for Anna to make her purchases, she piped up before the associate had a chance to even ask the question.  It was apparent on his face and in his demeanor that he was dreading to ask the question again and receive yet another reply of 'no'.  She dumped her armful of books onto the counter and said, “these are for your book drive".  The man was so overwhelmed that he started to cry.  Anna made the difference in a number of children’s lives that day, expecting nothing in return.  Now, that is what this season is all about--giving from the heart with no strings attached.

We could all do with a little extra positive energy flowing into our lives this holiday season; so, go out and find someone that you can gift something to without anticipating anything in return.  It doesn’t have to cost money.  Not everyone has the financial ability to do what Anna did.  Many of you need the extra money you make selling stamps to help pay the bills and put food on the table.  Find a different way to give.  Be creative.  The only requirement is that you give from the heart.


If you are interested in the information used to create this sentiment, I have included it below along with my other usual caveats.  Please note that due to the nature of these designs, you may not use either quote on products you sell since three of the fonts are for personal use only with no profit generation.

Until next time, 
 Fonts Used: 
 Click the font name to take you to a download location.  While Angelina and Lobster Two are considered free for commercial use, the remaining are for personal use only.

If you haven't already, please become familiar with my terms of use found in the copyright tab at the top of this page.  I have included a quick summary below.   If you are not sure how to copy the image, check out the download instructions page.  
  
Quick summary of Terms of Use: 
  • Do not claim the image as your own.
  • Credit 'Decosse's Dynamite Doodles' somewhere on your creation
  • Do not share my images with family, friends, etc.  Additionally, do not post any images to file sharing services like Pinterest®, 4-Shared®, etc.  Instead, please direct people to my blog so they can grab the image for themselves.
  • If I have signed an image, do not delete my signature.
  • Leave a comment on my blog.  It is currently the only way for me to know if any of my freebies are being nabbed.  Additionally, it will help to inspire me to continue to create and offer future freebies.
References:
Cabelis, Walter . (2010). The Essence of Giving. Available: http://www.lionslinger.com/2010/01/08/the-essence-of-giving/. Last accessed 11th December 2012.

Deschene, Lori . (2009). 20 Ways to Give Without Expectations. Available: http://tinybuddha.com/blog/20-ways-to-give-without-expectations/. Last accessed 11th December 2012.

Hitchcock, Cheryl . (unknown). Practicing the Art of Giving Back. Available: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/practicing-the-art-of-giving-back. Last accessed 11th December 2012.

Sinclair, Kevin . (2009). Give Without Expecting Return. Available: http://kevinsinclair.hubpages.com/hub/Give-Without-Expecting-Return. Last accessed 11th December 2012.
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Thursday, December 06, 2012

The Expression of Gratitude

 If you are new to my blog and would like to know why I started "Thursdays Are For Thanksgivings", please go HERE.


Thank you.

 So many meanings wrapped up into two little words.  

The words may stay the same but the intensity can change with each utterance.  The same words are used for something as simple as gratitude expressed when someone passes you something at the dinner table; or, it can mean something as profound as the appreciation one expresses to someone for the act of intervening in a situation that could have had deadly consequences.

 Two little words.  A multitude of expressions.  

 What does it mean for you?




  
The original size of each of the images is a little under 4 & 1/2 inches wide which might be a bit big for smaller cards.  However, it is much easier to make something smaller than to enlarge it without affecting the resolution of the image.  I played around with different colour choices--grey-blue, burgandy, blue and greyscale.  While three of the images look like they are much smaller they aren't, it is simply to conserve space in this post.  

If you are interested in the font information, I have included it below along with my other usual caveats.

Until next time, 
Fonts Used: 
Click the font name to take you to a download location.  Both these fonts are considered free for commercial use.

If you haven't already, please become familiar with my terms of use found in the copyright tab at the top of this page.  I have included a quick summary below.   If you are not sure how to copy the image, check out the download instructions page.  
  
Quick summary of Terms of Use:
  • Do not claim the image as your own.
  • Credit 'Decosse's Dynamite Doodles' somewhere on your creation
  • Do not share my images with family, friends, etc.  Additionally, do not post any images to file sharing services like Pinterest®, 4-Shared®, etc.  Instead, please direct people to my blog so they can grab the image for themselves.
  • If I have signed an image, do not delete my signature.
  • Leave a comment on my blog.  It is currently the only way for me to know if any of my freebies are being nabbed.  Additionally, it will help to inspire me to continue to create and offer future freebies.
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Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thursdays Are For Giving Thanks

I just want to take a moment to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers and friends south of the border.  We celebrated our Canadian Thanksgiving back at the beginning of October, so now its your turn.

Even though today is an American holiday, the concept of giving thanks is a universal one.  We all have something in our lives for which we can be grateful .  The list differs for each of us because we all live in our own unique part of the world.  

 Personally, I am thankful for a wonderfully supportive husband, two amazing parents, other family and friends in my life and of course my remaining furbaby Marigold.  I am thankful for the many people I have met in this unique online community. I am grateful for the roof over our head, the car in our driveway and the fact that my husband has found part time employment--more importantly, that he likes the type of work he is doing.  I'm indebted for the clean air I am breathing, the clean water I have access to and the peace in our land.  I am thankful that for today my pain is manageable and that I am feeling up to sitting and getting some work done on the computer and that I don't have to rely on my wheelchair for getting around the house.  For this moment, I only need to use my canes.

 Yes, today is a good day and my hope is that tomorrow will be a good one as well.  Unfortunately, there are many others out there who are not so lucky.  There are many people in our world who are in pain and suffering great hardship.  However, even if your circumstances are not the best, I hope that there is still something, even something very small, for which you are able to show your gratitude. 

 The only thing we truly have power over in our lives is the way that we think.  Being grateful is a choice.  We can choose to show gratitude and take a more positive outlook on things or we can choose to continue to focus on the negative.  No, gratitude won't make the bad things we are facing go away, it just helps us to look at our lives a little differently.  For example, I can complain about how painful and difficult it is for me to sit, stand and walk unassisted or I can choose to be grateful that I still have the capacity to do all three regardless of how long or how far.  Under different circumstances I might be in my wheelchair permantly.  For today I'm grateful that I'm not.

 Gratitude is not easy.  If you live in darkness it is difficult to see the light never mind try to grasp onto something that you are thankful for.  But I believe the end results will be worth the effort.  Everything important in life takes work.  Start off with coming up with one thing you are grateful for in your life right now.  We are only guaranteed the time we have today.  Worry about tomorrow, when it comes.  

I have decided that at least one Thursday a month I am going to design a post around the idea of gratitude.  Thursdays around here will be about giving thanks.  I might pose a question for you to think about, further explore the concept of why gratitude is important, or create a design based on appreciation.  Maybe, it will just be a quote for you to consider.  I'd love to hear some ideas about what you'd like to see covered in this topic.  Send me an email or leave me a comment.  For today, I'll just leave you with this food for thought.

So, what are you thankful for today?

 If you are interested in the font information I have included it below along with my other usual caveats.

Until next time,



Fonts Used: 
Click the font name to take you to a download location.  The Scriptina Pro font is considered free for commercial use and Champagne & Limosines font is free for personal use.  According to Fontspace, 'personal use' typically refers to any use that is not meant to generate profit and covers graphic design for blogs. So, I believe that I am safe in using it here in these designs and offering it to all of you.

If you haven't already, please become familiar with my terms of use found in the copyright tab at the top of this page.  I have included a quick summary below.   If you are not sure how to copy the image, check out the download instructions page.  
  
Quick summary of Terms of Use:
  • Do not claim the image as your own.
  • Credit 'Decosse's Dynamite Doodles' somewhere on your creation
  • Do not share my images with family, friends, etc.  Additionally, do not post any images to file sharing services like Pinterest®, 4-Shared®, etc.  Instead, please direct people to my blog so they can grab the image for themselves.
  • If I have signed an image, do not delete my signature.
  • Leave a comment on my blog.  It is currently the only way for me to know if any of my freebies are being nabbed.  Additionally, it will help to inspire me to continue to create and offer future freebies.
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