Path of Positivity Determination Challenge

Today's canvas showcases a fabulous digi from Ike's Art. It's called "Cognitive Thoughts" and I thought it would be perfect for this month's theme of Determination at the Path of Positivity challenge blog.
de·ter·mi·na·tion

(diˌtərməˈnāSHən) 

There are quite a few definitions of the word Determination. I like mine best - "an attitude that keeps you going until you achieve your goal." 

It all boils down to attitude -- how you approach your goal, how you blast through (and sometimes stumble through), obstacles in your path, and how you continue to put one foot in front of the other until you reach your journey's end.

I read something from Energy 103.5  posted on Facebook that gave credence to my thoughts: If you assign each letter a number, from A=1, B=2, etc. through Z=26), then spelled the words (and counted the numbers) KNOWLEDGE and HARD WORK, they would each add up to 96% and 98%.
Now do the same with the word ATTITUDE; you'll add up to 100%.
Determination is all about your attitude...toward your day, your goals, your life. If you give 100% attitude to whatever you want, you can reach those goals.
Have you tripped down the Path of Positivity this month? There are some awesome prizes from their guest sponsor, Pickled Potpourri, as well as their regular sponsors!! Even if you don't play in their challenge, you'll leave with a more positive spin on life.

Determined to Lead You All Down the Path of Positivity

There's a new challenge at the Path of Positivity Challenge blog this month - Determination. I absolutely love this image from the guest sponsor, Pickled Potpourri. It's called "Make Things Beautiful."
I used to be a Girl Scout, and later became a Girl Scout (as well as Cub Scout Den) Leader. As scouts, we are taught to leave things in better shape than when we arrived. I grew up determined to make the world a better place, and since I'm a crafty type of person, to me that means making beautiful things, even if nobody cares.
So this Pickled Potpourri digi image with its awesome sentiment fit perfectly with, well, anything I could create.
So I altered a bedside tray. I snagged the tray at the thrift store for a buck and painted the top with acrylic paints. I scanned a water color painting I did last month before I printed the image onto it. After that, I Mod-Podged it onto my tray. Then the fun began!
I added flowers and sequins, a cool border on each side and some Washi tape across the bottom. I left the rest of the tray as is, which was gently distressed.
So here's my project, an altered tray, and I had a blast making it with acrylics, water colors, Mod Podge, flowers, sequins, and Washi tape. Here's the watermarked image from Pickled Potpourri:

Do you like to make beautiful things? Make something, photograph something, write something, with a theme of determination, and link it to the Path of Positivity Challenge blog for your chance for some awesome prizes from our guest sponsor, Pickled Potpourri, as well as monthly sponsors Ike's Art, Creative Bug Designs and Decosse's Dynamite Doodles.
The sponsors and prizes for this challenge are:

• A prize package of a $7 gift certificate to the Pickled Potpourri Designs store (good for any digital product), from our guest sponsors this month, for the post or project that the DT deems most inspiring of the bunch.
• Three digital images from Ike's Art for a person chosen in a random draw based on all entrants.
• One digital image from Creative Bug Digital Stamps for each person chosen as a DT Delight.

There will also  be:

• One digital designer paper (made to order in a few different ways) from Décosse's Dynamite Doodles for one lucky voter who leaves a comment.
• One digital sentiment for every single person who enters the challenge. 

Now that's a LOT of prizes you could win, so craft, paint, photograph or write about your take on the theme of DETERMINATION and LINK UP for your chance to win!!

The Ocean Calls Me

Internet was down earlier today, so I managed to get some time in with my water colors. I picked up a couple seashells a long time ago while I was vacationing in the Florida Keys. For inspiration, I placed one of my shells on the table and, well, I hope it looks like a shell to you!! LOL
I am still learning what I can do with water colors, and today I learned to put a very small amount of paint into the water when I wet my paper. Not only does it show me where the paper is wet and the paint will spread, but it also gives me a shaded background so that when I finish my focal point, it's not sitting in the middle of a white background. I've found it very difficult to add a background after I paint something.
I also learned that I can turn my paper to pull color in the direction I want it to go. I was having trouble with giving dimension between the front and back of the shell (still am). I had better luck when I rotated my paper 180 degrees.
Again, what I created can pass for a shell, but is in no way perfect or even great. But my art is an educational journey, one I want to share with my fellow artists. I am determined to keep stretching my creativity, opening myself up to more inspiration and more creative outlets. When I first started playing with water colors, I could only paint backgrounds (and some of them had to be "edited"). But as I kept at it, I experimented, I took out library books, I bought better paper, better paints, watched YouTube videos.
I was determined to figure out why paint moves the way it does with water, how I could get more dimension in my work. I thought about taking a class or two.
Now I'm thinking of just continuing on my own. All because I was determined to make water colors one of my "techniques" in my little corner of creativity. And I am happy I kept on.
What are you determined to learn, to discover, to conquer?