Motivational Monday & PoP Midway Reminder: Dreams

If you are new to my blog and would like to know why I started Motivational Monday, please go HERE.

 

Hello and a very good Monday to you all.  Thanks for popping over and sharing your precious time with me.  This will be another packed post as I'll be sharing this month's Motivational Monday passage along with a creation that I had a chance to complete.  Additionally, you'll also find a couple freebies at the bottom of the post.  The reflection, my project and one of the freebies can also be found over on my Path of Positivity challenge blog as part of the midway post where the theme this month is DREAMS.  On with today's thoughts... 

There is Beauty in the Unknown...

For the last couple of weeks, I've been mulling over some ideas about what I wanted to say on the topic of dreams this month but nothing really definite inspired me. Then Saturday, I visited one of our wonderful challenge supporters, Donna Ellis, affectionately known by many as de. After reading her own observations on the topic of dreams (located HERE), I knew exactly the approach I wanted to take with today's reflection.

Many of us can become bogged down by unfulfilled dreams. I know that I have. Sadly in my case, it wasn't just one or two. I have had many dreams that have been unfulfilled but it doesn't mean that I've given up on the idea of them. The key is that just like in every aspect of life, you must pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep moving. When it comes to dreams, it merely means a course correction.

Maybe the dreams that we carry in our heart, aren't meant to be our reality. It is possible that our higher power and/or the universe have decreed that we are destined for something else completely. I saw myself surrounded by children, and later, grandchildren. When that dream fell through, I concentrated on my career. I saw myself fulfilling my goals of finishing my degree, spending my working hours developing curriculum and teaching learning strategies to individuals with learning disabilities. That dream was ripped from me as well. My dream of being financially secure? Bye, bye. Then in 2002, I became disabled. So many more dreams were crushed and left to the wayside and for a very long time. It felt like obstacles were being erected all around me to prevent me from ever fulfilling ANY dream.

Donna stated in her passage about dreams, that "instead of viewing stumbling blocks as obstacles, those "blocks" may actually be BUILDING blocks to bring us to a different place, fulfilling an "UNKNOWN DREAM" which has always resided in our hearts." Well, I couldn't agree more! Our hearts and minds are vast and we may have many burgeoning dreams and desires that have yet to be discovered. Donna went on to state, "I would not have discovered the wide world of Beauty found in our Internet Community, had I not become critically ill, and home-bound". Apparently, Donna and I share this in common as well.

Had my life not changed dramatically, I would still have been out in the workforce. Had I been spending the majority of my day outside the home, I would never have had the need to find something satisfying to fill up so much of my spare time with. Had I not discovered the world of card-making, I too would never have discovered the love and acceptance of this beautiful on-line community. Now I have new dreams, very different dreams. Some of them are well on their way to fulfilment, others need to be nourished and grown a little bit longer before they take root.

The point is, is that sometimes it is necessary to stand back and re-evaluate the dreams that each of us once had. Maybe we are destined for a different path than the one we anticipated. The key is that we never give up. We must continue to change and adapt to our ever altering circumstances. There is a quote by Alice Sebold that states, "Sometimes the dreams that come true are the ones you never knew you had." Take comfort in the unknown, for those dreams may turn out to be the best ones yet. 

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Next up, is the scrapbooking page I made using items from this month's guest sponsor Scribble and Scrap.

Digital Image Details:

• Steampunk Key and Steampunk Keyhole:  Aren't these images cool?!  I was lucky enough to pick up both these images, along with many others in a win over on the Scribble and Scrap Challenge Blog.   Clicking on the watermark below will take you to its page in the digi section of the store in the Vintage Steampunk section. Lexie is busy working on the store right now, so I was unable to grab a watermark and link for the keyhole.  If you are interested in it, please be sure to contact her.

Digital Sentiment:

• One I created for this page.  Hopefully, I will get a chance to offer it up as a freebie if there is any interest in it.

Digital Embellishments:

• I have used a number of different digital embellishments all of them picked up over at Pixel Scrapper.  Credits include:
• Bow and fabric covered button--Marisa Lerin.
• Ornate corners:  Sheila Reid.
• Ornate gemstones:  Janet Scott.

 Digital Paper:

• The digital paper is from the Grungy Florals - Naturals collection also available in the Scribble and Scrap store. Clicking on the watermark below will take you to its page in the digital paper section of the store.

Challenges I am hoping to enter: 

• http://scribbleandscrapcrafts.blogspot.co.uk/ -- Anything Goes (Please note that I have used three different Scribble and Scrap items in the creation of this page).
• http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.ca/ -- CAS Monochromatic (I hope this qualifies as clean and simple enough)
• http://leftofcenterchallenges.blogspot.ca/ -- Monochromatic [hey this time I actually qualify for the theme plus steampunk AND grungy.  Do I get bonus points?? ;) ]
• http://creataliciouschallenges.blogspot.ca/ -- Monochrome
• http://cccdigicreations.blogspot.co.nz/  -- Monochrome (two digi images have been used)
• http://tokbobok.blogspot.ca/ -- Monochromatic
• http://sandee-and-amelie.blogspot.co.at/2014/07/inventions-july-challenge.html -- Inventors or Inventions (okay, I may be pushing it but someone had to invent a lock and key right?  Hopefully this counts as an invention)

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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 for the midway...

© 2014 

Font Information:

• GarineldoNo02 font created by gluk

 

© 2014

Font Information:

• Foglihten font created by gluk
• Beyond Wonderland font created by Livin Hell

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.  All these fonts were listed as free for commercial use at the time each of these project were made, and 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 these digital creations.
You will notice that the sentiments may appear huge depending on what software program you download them into.  You can always reduce the size without distorting the overall look.

 

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.

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I invite you to go and check out, not only, the wonderful 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.  We could all use a little inspiration to keep dreaming.  Why not create a card that helps to deliver some positivity to someone special in your life.  

Well, that is it for today!  Have a great week ahead everyone! 

Until next time,