Well hello there folks! Is anybody still with me?! I'd understand if you all left. After all, it has been a full year since I've posted on this blog. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! Happy Chanukkah to all my Jewish
friends! Feliz Navidad, Kwanzaa Blessings and Happy Holidays to
everyone else!
How has your year been? Mine has passed in a whirlwind of worry, stress, trials, health issues (both my own and others close to me), the unexpected loss of three family members (on both mine and hubby's sides) and a friend (some of you may fondly remember Ike of Ike's Art who sadly lost her battle with cancer earlier in the year). While there have been many challenges, there have also been blessings too. We got to visit my parents three times this year, the last time celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary in November! Raymond got a contract working full time from home with Statistics Canada last December. While his hours for the next quarter have been cut almost in half, that is still okay because for the last number of years with his old job, he only worked roughly three months the whole year. This new employment is allowing us to put money aside to replace and fix everything that is falling apart in the house. And while I don't know how long he can continue, he is 72 after all, it is blessing to have had the extra money come in this year. The best thing is that he works from home which saves on gas and clothing, and it means he doesn't have to head out each day in the car during the winter! And, if you've ever been to northern Ontario in the winter, you will know what a blessing that is!
I continue to manage three different challenge blogs but that has left me with little time to do any crafting. Other than a special card and creation for my parents' 60th and one for the 35th anniversary of the day R. and I started going out together, I've made so few cards this year. Sheesh, it took me until late yesterday (Dec. 24th) to get hubby's Christmas card made. As you can see, I also didn't get a single freebie created this year to share on my personal blog. That saddens me and I don't know if next year will be any different. There is something big coming to me in the new year that I just can't talk about right now. It will definitely have a huge impact on my time. You'll just have to stick around until the early fall of 2023 to see what all the hubbub is about!
While I haven't been able to post anything yet this year, I am determined that I get back on track with the 12 Days of Christmas, and I hope that you will join in. It is a completely different format this year but I anticipate that at least a few of you may be interested in going on the newest quest.
Here is the plan. Each day
over the next 12 days, you will need to complete a task and link something up. Full details can be found below. Each day that you participate, you'll earn a free digital paper.
I
know that this is a crazy busy time of year and hopefully the majority
of you are off-line and spending quality time with the people you love the most; so,
be rest assured, that you will have plenty of time to complete each
task. AS LONG AS all your TASKS are submitted no later than 11: 59 p.m., EST, January 31st, 2023, you will qualify to receive the paper(s) for whichever day(s) you participate.
Here is the paper up for grabs today...
This paper is 3600 x 3600 pixels, in jpg format and published at 300 dpi. Credits include:
Situjuh (via
Creative Fabrica).
In the zip folder that will be emailed should you successfully complete
the quest, you will find a copy of the paper, its preview sheet, the
credit information and my terms of use which are standard to all my
folders.
Play along each of the 12 days and you'll earn yourself the full set! So, how about we get started with today's task?!!
On the first day of Christmas,
it is time to earn paper number one,
So, I hope that you will all join in
and have yourself a little bit of fun!!!
Task: We could all do with a bit more happiness, positivity and/or gratitude in our lives. 2023 is just around the corner, and this activity will help you get the year off to a good start. While in the past I have had you answer a question or check out an online store, this year I am going to task you with getting busy. There are three different avenues you can explore:
- happiness
- gratitude
- positivity
Here is a more in-depth breakdown of the three different options:
It is very easy to fixate on all the bad moments that happen each day. Getting up late, burning your toast, getting into an argument, are but just a few examples. They might be little but they can pile up and we end up focusing on the negative. If we were to take the time to write out our happiest moment of the day and put it into a jar, then we are in effect flipping the switch and training our brains to take a look at the environment around us and search for the positive instead of the negative.
If you choose to create a Happiness Jar for your project, then each day from Dec. 25th to Jan. 5th, write down something that made you happy and link it up to the corresponding day's linky list. The ultimate goal is to keep it up for a year. However, for the purposes of this challenge, you just need to do it for one to 12 days. Hopefully though, you will continue on with your project and keep it up. Just imagine how many wonderful memories you will have to go through once your year is up!
Enjoy the little things in life because one day you'll
look back and realize they were the big things.
― Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Expressing gratitude is strongly tied into and associated with greater happiness in our life. The simple act of showing gratitude can help us to feel more positive emotions, think about and focus on all the good experiences that we have had through the years, improve our health, help us to deal with adversity, and aid us to build strong relationships with the people around us. During difficult times, being able to show gratitude is even more important as it can help us to cope, help us reduce negative thinking and improve our overall well-being. When thinking about the things that we are grateful for, don't forget about the small things that are often overlooked. Being grateful each day isn't just being thankful for all the big things in life. As the quote above indicates, the little things can be just as, if not more, important.
If you choose to create a Gratitude Jar for your project, then each day from Dec. 25th to Jan. 5th,
write down one thing that you are grateful for and link it up to the corresponding day's linky list. The ultimate goal is to keep
it up for a year. However, for the purposes of this challenge, you just need to
do it for one to 12 days. Once you get into the routine though, hopefully you will continue on with your
project and keep it up. Can you imagine listing 365 things that you are grateful for?! Imagine what that can do for your mental and physical health!
The Positivity Jar is very similar to the other two ideas, it is just broader in its scope of what you can add. The benefits are the same as with the first two options (which you can read above if you've simply skipped to this concept).
If you choose to create a Positivity Jar for your project, then each day from Dec. 25th to Jan. 5th,
add a positive quote, write down a happy memory or something you are thankful for, or add a special memento of the day, or anything else that makes you feel good and link it up to the corresponding day's linky list. As with the other two options, the ultimate goal is to
keep
it up for the full year. However, for the purposes of this challenge, you just need to
do it for one to 12 days. If you do continue with it, just think of all those awesome thoughts and memories you will have to look back on once a full year has gone by!
Summary
You can make this as easy or as difficult as you would like it to be. While my explanations of the three
different avenues have all been based on creating a 'jar', you can choose from
various vessels to hold your ideas by using one of the following:
- a jar
- a box
- a journal
- an empty tissue container
- some other creatively made vessel that would hold a number of different items or thoughts written down
If you want to keep things really simple, all you
need is some paper, a pen, and a jar or other vessel. It isn't important where you put your information. It is more important that you keep it somewhere safe in a place that you can refer back to when you
want to reflect on moments of happiness, gratitude or other positive thoughts in the years to come.
If you have the time to be a bit more artistic, you could create some ATCs with images and colours and write your statement on the back of it. Or, you could spend even more time on your project by creating a journal that you add to daily. For ex., if your choice is to make a gratitude jar you could create an ATC for Christmas Day that has "happy to be spending Christmas with my whole family". If you choose happiness or positivity as your avenue to explore, your jar/box/journal could be filled with any type of quote or message to help inspire you when you need it.
There are lots of posts out there on how to create happiness jars, positivity jars, and gratitude jars if you need some further ideas and details. A quick Google search will have you on your way.
Instructions
Below you will find a linky list for you to add your very first item. Once you have decided on your overall concept, add a picture of:
- the item you will be placing in your vessel for today; OR
- the page from your journal; OR
- whatever other creative endeavour you have decided to embark on.
There will be a new link up for each of the 12 days. That way, I will be able to keep track of which days you have earned a paper for. If you can't join in for a particular day, that is okay. As is the same in years past, you will earn a paper for every day you participate. Join in for all 12 days and you'll earn the full set of papers!
I encourage you to go and visit anyone who has linked up and take a peek at what that person has created. It might be fun and help to inspire you in your own undertaking.
This is a busy time of year for me too and I also want to spend some
time with my hubby as well; so, I ask that you please be patient with
me. I generally wait until the entire quest is over so that way if
someone has participated in all 12 Days, I can just save time and send
out the full set at once. So I'll make a list (and check it twice 😉)
throughout the 12 Days of Christmas Quest
keeping track of who has participated and then work on sending out
papers once the event has wrapped up. Don't forget, due to the nature of this year's quest, I am giving you LOTS of time to get your entries added. Hopefully, the February 1st deadline will encourage more people to join in!
If you have any questions, be sure to ask. I'll be checking in most days over the next week so I should be able to get an answer back to you relatively quickly.
Merry Christmas, my wonderful friends, followers and readers! See you all tomorrow for day number two!!!
Cheers!
Link up an image of your creation to earn the paper from
DAY 1. Please visit others along the way and click 'like' on a project that inspires you!
NOTE: Only link up your creation for Day 1 to this particular list. There will be a separate linky list for each of the 12 Days of the Quest.
Please note: If you purchase an item from Creative Fabrica using the link I provide, I may receive a small commission.
