We’ve spent the entire month focusing on our wishes, hopes and goals for 2010. It’s been fun to think of various ways we want a “Fresh Start” for the new year and the new decade.  I find it fairly easy to keep motivated and hopeful the first few months of the year, but come about April or May I’m usually already slacking. How can we keep this feeling of hope and the desire to attain our goals forefront in our minds throughout the entire year?

For our final challenge of January, I’m asking you to think about what it is that’s going to Empower you to keep your goals for 2010?

Here’s the challenge, broken down into three steps:

Step 1: Find a meaningful quote, proverb, slogan, Bible verse, etc that will empower and encourage you to keep your Fresh Start motivation throughout the year.

Step 2: Looking at the list below of colors and their associated meanings & feelings, assign a color to the quote. This is the fun part. For example, if it’s a quote about seeking peace then scrap your project in blue or green. If it’s a saying about seeking adventure then perhaps orange or red, and so on. Choose the color of your page according to the mood of your goal for the year. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a monochrome page, just choose the main color of your page in this manner.

Step 3: Scrap your Empowerment in some form (a page to frame, a bookmark, a refrigerator magnet, etc) that you can have accessible and visible, where you can refer to it easily to remind you that your goal is achievable. Photos are optional for the page, but if you have a suitable photo, of course, please scrap it.

To use for Step 2, here is a list of colors and their associated meanings / feelings:

Red
Excitement, passion, desire, energy, power, strength, love, challenge, intensity.

Pink
Femininity, sweet, quiet, shy, tender, delicate.

Orange
Outgoing, adventurous, humorous, balance, warmth, enthusiasm, vibrant, flamboyant.

Yellow
Happiness, imagination, idealism, hope, motivated, adaptable, optimistic.

Green
Quiet, reserved, contemplative, nature, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, loyalty, generosity, fertility.

Blue
Peace, calm, stability, sophisticated, harmony, unity, trustworthy, truthful, dependable, friendly, confidence, conservative, cleanliness, orderly.

Purple
Royalty, dignity, fantasy, spirituality, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment.

Gray
Modesty, reliability, dignity, maturity, intelligence, solid, conservative, practical.

Neutral / Brown
Simplicity, Earth, rustic, comfort, contentment, home, outdoors, reliability, endurance, stability.

White
Purity, innocence, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, youth, goodness.

Black
Classic, formality, elegance, power, sophistication, wealth, mystery, style.

Here’s my example. I went back to my page I made for TDC’s Jan 1 challenge – 10 Wishes, Hopes and Dreams for 2010. I chose my number one wish – that being seeking enlightenment, and found a quote that speaks to me about how to attain this wish. I looked up enlightenment on the color list and found its associated color to be purple. So I scrapped my page using mainly purple papers and elements.

This is my page, revamped down to a bookmark where I’ll see it every night at reading time.

You could add your layout as wallpaper on your computer desktop or call phone. You could have it printed onto a coffee mug. Our very own wildblueeyez LuAnn had a great suggestion about adding a downsized version of your Empowerment in your digital signature as a way to see it frequently. There are so many ways to keep your Empowerment thought in your daily routine. I’m sure you can think of even more.

If you need a little something to add to your page, Sinead has offered some lovely word art she made for a Motivational Album Workshop TDC hosted last year. Here is a link to that thread where you can see examples and find the download links.

I’m almost done, I promise! But you just have to see these gorgeous examples that our CT members came up with.

Here is Jacinda’ s project  that she will be looking at nearly every single day of the year — her calendar. She made an lovely page of journaling to go along and Empower her to keep her Priorities in line.

And check out this completely inspired self-made canvas by LuAnn.  What a beautiful print to hang on her home walls to Empower her to be the change she wishes to see!

The fine print:

- Create your Empowerment challenge based on the above three steps.

- You can use any designs you like — you don’t have to use something from the Digichick to qualify. We want you to scrap with us! And we want you to be making layouts that make you happy more than anything else. So, if you have something from another shop that you’d like to use, feel free!

- When you’ve finished your layout, come back to this thread and leave a comment with a link to your layout. (Feel free to use our open gallery here at the Digichick if you need a place to upload your layout.)

- The deadline for the challenge is Friday February 5, 2010 at 11:59 EST. To qualify for the grand prize, be sure to come and post your links before then!

Whew! Let’s get started. Scrap your Empowerment!

Today’s post is being sponsored by Ale of Madame Wing Designs. Ale is giving every participant a 30% off coupon plus a $5 off code to one lucky winner! Here’s a bit more from Ale:

I’m a mexican web designer/programmer. I have been married to the love of my life since 2005 and we have a 2.5 years old little girl. I love coffee, music and tattoos.

I discovered digital scrapbooking while I was pregnant and looking for ideas to make my baby shower invitations and album. I’ve been designing for a little more than a year and I’m here, at The Digichick, since June 2009. I love it here!!