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If you {heart} Close To My Heart, then this challenge blog is for you! Please read our revised rules, above.

Monday, March 25, 2013

We're so Egg-Cited for Easter!

Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail.  Hippity, hoppity, Easter's on its way....

Easter is early this year, Sunday 31 March so its time to get hopping on your projects, gather supplies into your crafting basket and hatch some fun Easter projects with us this week because we are SO EGG-CITED for EASTER!   Our Design Team broke out the bright spring colors, the bunnies, the chicks and the eggs to help you catch the EGG-CITEMENT too!  

What a fabulous way to close out our March Madness contest here at Heart2Heart Challenges - see below for more information!






Don't miss your last chance at March Madness!   We have some great prizes this month including one for non-consultant first time players - just follow the rules and leave us a comment letting us know its your first time playing along with us.  We will randomly select a winner.

We will also have additional prizes for a Close To My Heart consultant and non-consultant who participates the most this month.  Just add a number to your name for each entry this month - if its my fourth link up to a challenge I'd put "Paige D #4" as my name on the entry.

Don't forget to visit our Design Team members at their blogs too because some of them may be offering prizes at their sites as well!

Heart2Heart Challenges Rules:
  1. Use Close To My Heart products.  Your project doesn't have to be 100% CTMH, but you must use some.  After all, this is a challenge blog created and sponsored by CTMH consultants.
  2. Incorporate this week's challenge...So Egg-Cited for Easter!
  3. Link your project back to Heart 2 Heart from your blog or online gallery.  If you are linking from a blog, you must link directly to the actual post, not your entire blog.
  4. You also need to mention Heart 2 Heart (H2H) in your blog post.  
  5. Finally, we ask that you consider turning off word verification, as it makes it easier for the design team (and others) to leave comments.
So now you have all the details and can get started hatching up some fun!  We can't wait to see what YOU create!  

Monday, March 18, 2013

We "Mustache" You to Join!

Thanks to all of those that joined us last week in the Go Green challenge!  If you didn't get a chance to play along, it's not too late. You have until midnight (EST) on Sunday, March 31st to submit your project for any of March's challenges in order to be considered for this month's Top Ten, to win a March Madness prize, and to be invited as an upcoming guest designer.

What's one of the hottest trends in the crafting world today?  Mustaches!  Of course, many of the trends we see in the crafting world originate in the fashion world, and this one may be no exception.  Mustaches are everywhere!  Just do a Google search.  There's mustaches on candy, straws, t-shirts, glasses, hats, mugs, jewelry and so much more.

So now I "mustache" you a question. :)  Are you up for the challenge?  Create anything you want that features mustaches.  Check out his week's design team creations for a little inspiration. If you want more details on the design team's projects, or you want to show them a little appreciation by leaving a comment, simply click on the designer's name to be directed to their blog.
Our March Guest Designer, Amie Kiger
Lucy Kelleher
Jody Gustafson
Carol Labuski
Angela Garcia
Haley Dyer
Tamytha Jenkins
Don't forget!  We have MARCH MADNESS going on this month.   During the month of March we are offering some prizes for those that play along with our challenges.  One of the prizes is for a first time Heart 2 Heart player.  To be eligible for the prize, you can't be a CTMH consultant, follow the guidelines of the challenge and leave a comment in our comment section of this challenge telling us that it is your first time participating on our challenge blog.  We will then randomly select one new participant to win!

But that's not all!  We will also have additional prizes for a Close To My Heart consultant and non-consultant who participates the most this month.  All you have to do is add a number to the end of your name to help us keep track of the number of times you play.  For example, the linky in the third entry of mine would look something like this..."Tamytha #3".  You don't have to do this, but you won't be eligible for the prize.  Should there be a tie, we will award multiple prizes...'cause we're cool like that. ;) 

Also, be on the lookout for even more prizes that some of our Design Team members may be offering on their blogs.  In order to find out who's offering prizes, you have to go to each designer's blog and check out their post. 

Before you head off to create some fan{tache}tic artwork, I have to remind you of the "rules", because failure to follow them, may cause your linky to be deleted.
  1. Use Close To My Heart products.  Your project doesn't have to be 100% CTMH, but you must use some.  After all, this is a challenge blog created and sponsored by CTMH consultants.
  2. Incorporate this week's challenge...MUSTACHES.
  3. Link your project back to Heart 2 Heart from your blog or online gallery.  If you are linking from a blog, you must link directly to the actual post, not your entire blog.
  4. You also need to mention Heart 2 Heart (H2H) in your blog post.  
  5. Finally, we do ask that you consider turning off word verification, as it does make it easier for the design team (and others) to leave comments.
Now enough of the rules and on to the fun, creative stuff. :)  We can't wait to see what you come up with for this week's challenge.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Go Green

Hello everyone and thank you for joining us at H2H!

Our challenge this week  is to Go Green!  Now what does that mean?  Well you could "go green" like a leprechaun since St. Patty's day is next weekend and you could create artwork with a St. Patrick Day's theme.  Or you could "go green" as in repurposing, recycling, or reusing something in your artwork.  Or you could create something that is green.  That is just some of the things that come to my mind.  What comes to yours?

Before I show you what our Design Team has come up with for this challenge, I wanted to remind you  that we have started MARCH MADNESS here on our challenge blog.   This will add some fun  to our challenges for you our readers, subscribers, and crafty peeps.  Now you do have to play to win and follow our usual challenge guidelines.  We have a couple of prizes that are not just for our usual players - we're looking for YOU -- our first time players!  

That's right, our first prize is for a first-time H2H player!  We're looking for someone who joins us for the very first time ever. To be eligible for this prize, you must NOT be a current Close To My Heart consultant, you need to follow the challenge guidelines, AND you must leave a comment in our comment section of that challenge telling us it's your first time participating at H2H challenges.  (One randomly-selected lucky newbie will win!)

We will also have a prize for a CTMH Consultant who participates AND the non-CTMH Consultant who participates the most in March!   Every time you link up, add a number with your name to help us keep track of the number of times you play, starting with your second time in March.  So, my second entry might look like "Melinda#2" in the linky.  If you don't number your entries, we won't be able to count you for the prize.  (In the event of a tie, multiple prizes will be awarded.)

AND to make this even MORE fun, some of our craft Design Team members may be offering prizes on their blogs -- who is doing that you might ask???  Well, you will just have to check out each DT's blog for the details on their project to see who might be offering some blog candy.   You just never know who will be doing a giveaway throughout the month.

So are you ready to see our Design Team members' interpretations of our Go Green Challenge to inspire you to join us in this challenge?  Please don't forget to click on the Design Team member's name under their creation to visit their blog and see additional photos and details and don't forget to leave them some love -- they just LOVE to read your comments:


Our Guest Design Team Member:








Don't forget to read the guidelines at the top left and use the 'linky tool' below with a link that goes DIRECTLY TO YOUR H2H CHALLENGE POST!  You must use some CTMH products in your project or your link will be deleted.  Thanks for understanding!

Thanks for playing along...you'll have 'till the end of the month, March 31, to link up to ALL of the March challenges.  Get your green on!

Sunday, March 10, 2013

February H2H Addicts & Top 10!

February might be the shortest month of the year, but we had a record number of participants sharing their beautiful artwork and creative projects with us here at H2H!  We love seeing what each of you are doing, so please continue to play along with as many challenges as you can.  (A little March Madness can't hurt to entice you to join us this month, either!)

Before we get to our Top 10, we'd like to recognize all of our H2H "addicts" who played along with all of the February challenges. We are so proud of you! Be sure to grab your badge from our sidebar at left. (If I've left anyone off the list, it is certainly an accident.  I do get a little cross-eyed going back through each week's link collection.  Did I mention the drool on the keyboard over your amazing work?  Please email me at h2hchallenges@gmail.com if I've made an error. Thanks!)
Here are our amazing addicts for February:
*Pam Korte
*Debi Davis
*Wendy Coffman
*Amie Kiger (our marvelous March Guest Designer and January Top 10 winner)
*Ashlee C.
*Kristin Holm
*Sarah Stone
*Kelly Brandt
*Lillian Yeh
*Amy Moore

Now, if a few of these names seem familiar to you, that's because Amie, Pam, and Kelly have met every challenge so far this year.  Wow, ladies!  You rock!

You all managed to challenge our Design Team to narrow down their favorite submissions to only ten!  Congratulations to our Top 10 February winners!  (Don't forget to snag your cool badge for your blog.)
Home Decor (2/4):
 
 
 

Love Is in the Air (2/11):
 
 
Tag, You're It (2/18):
 
 
 
CAS (Clean & Simple) (2/25):
 
 

Now, if you thinking picking the Top 10 is hard, you can see the competition is fierce to be the Top Chick here at H2H!  Congratulations to our February selection, the talented...

Thank you again to all of our February H2H participants!  If you'd like to be featured next month, be sure to play along with any (or all) of our March challenges (which close 3/31 @ midnight).  Don't forget about the fun March Madness prizes we are offering this month too!

Monday, March 4, 2013

Spring Forward with H2H!!

Good Morning Everyone!

We are "springing forward" here at Heart 2 Heart Challenges!  Why you might ask?  Well that's because next Sunday, March 10. is Daylight Savings Time.  Usually this time change leads people to just DREAD this day BUT here at Heart 2 Heart, we thought it was a GREAT time to pose a challenge to you!


That's right our challenge this week is all about "springing forward" and EMBRACING the upcoming time change!   Your project can be anything that has to do with Daylight Savings Time or Springing Forward -- clocks, time, sun, spring, etc.- the possibilities are endless!

What's even better is that we have started MARCH MADNESS here on our challenge blog which means great things for you our readers, subscribers, and crafty peeps.  Now you do have to play to win - you know, like the lottery - and follow our usual challenge guidelines.  We have a couple of prizes that are not just for our usual players - we're looking for YOU -- our first time players!  

That's right, our first prize is for a first-time H2H player!  We're looking for someone who joins us for the very first time ever. To be eligible for this prize, you must NOT be a current Close To My Heart consultant, you need to follow the challenge guidelines, AND you must leave a comment in our comment section of that challenge telling us it's your first time participating at H2H challenges.  (One randomly-selected lucky newbie will win!)

We will also have a prize for a CTMH Consultant who participates AND the non-CTMH Consultant who participates the most in March!  Every time you link up, add a number with your name to help us keep track of the number of times you play, starting with your second time in March.  So, my second entry might look like "Susie#2" in the linky.  If you don't number your entries, we won't be able to count you for the prize.  (In the event of a tie, multiple prizes will be awarded.)

AND to make this even MORE fun, some of our craft Design Team members may be offering prizes on their blogs -- who is doing that you might ask???  Well, you will just have to check out each DT's blog for the details on their project to see who might be offering some blog candy.   You just never know who will be doing a giveaway throughout the month.

Now, on to this weeks' crafty creations from our Design Team members to inspire you to join us in this challenge.  Please don't forget to click on the Design Team member's name under their creation to visit their blog and see additional photos and details and don't forget to leave them some love -- they just LOVE to read your comments:

Our Guest Designer:  Amie Kiger

Angela - Angela's Craft Closet

Carol - Scramping with Carol

Haley - The Inky Scrapper

Tamytha - Paper Heartist

Jody - Cr8n' Memories

Lucy - Love 2 Create

Don't forget to read the guidelines at the top left and use the 'linky tool' below with a link that goes DIRECTLY TO YOUR H2H CHALLENGE POST!  You must use some CTMH products in your project or your link will be deleted.  Thanks for understanding!

Thanks for playing along...you'll have 'till the end of the month, March 31, to link up ALL of the March challenges. 
 

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Introducing Our March Guest Designer

We're thrilled to welcome Amie Kiger as our March Guest Designer!
"Hi! My name is Amie (with an “ie”) and I was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. Now, my hubby and I are raising our three daughters here as well. I am a self-employed home child care provider with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and a Doctorate in the Close to My Heart Training Academy. ;)
 
"My crafting craziness was set in high gear when my fabulous friend gave me my very first Cricut Personal Cutting Machine for Christmas one year. Once I set up a dedicated room for my scrapbooking, (thanks, honey!) I was able to finally put it to use. It didn't take long for me to realize that I was hooked on paper! I upgraded to an Expression and then the E2 so I could use the Cricut Craft Room wirelessly. My wonderful in-laws added the Imagine to my now crowded craft room and my Cricut family is now complete! I started my blog, Mimi, Myself, and I, in November of 2011 to post entries in different contests for the Cricut Circle. Soon, my obsession with all things Cricut led me to discover the Close to My Heart Art Philosophy Collection. I signed up with Close to My Heart three short months after purchasing the cartridge, and my one-year anniversary with Close to My Heart is this month! I am definitely a scrapbooker-at-heart-turned-cardmaker and never imagined I would be so amazingly blessed to be able to turn my hobby into a business. I thoroughly enjoy holding card workshops and recently had my first Scraptacular Memories Workshop for scrapbookers.
"As long as I can, I am trying to do my best to use the ability that God has given me to make people smile and add a little sparkle to their day. My theme for the year is“Never Let Anyone Dull Your Sparkle.” Wherever there is shimmer trim or glitter paper, you will be sure to find me as well!
 
"I am absolutely humbled and amazed to be the guest designer this month, and cannot wait to see all of you talented crafters get your sparkle on!"

Thanks, Amie, for joining us this month!

(Our monthly Top Chicks are offered an upcoming Guest DT spot, so play along and you could be featured here too.)

Friday, March 1, 2013

March Madness @ H2H!

We're getting wild and crazy here at Heart 2 Heart Challenges, and you're the ones who will get LUCKY!  We're offering three prizes for some March Madness here on the H2H blog, plus some of our design team members are adding to the madness at their blogs too. 

First, here's how the H2H March Madness will work.  You have to play to win, and of course you need to follow the challenge guidelines along with the prize eligibility guidelines!  You MUST be an H2H follower too.

Our first prize is for a first-time H2H player!  We're looking for someone who joins us for the very first time ever. To be eligible for this prize, you must NOT be a current Close To My Heart consultant, you need to follow the challenge guidelines, AND you must leave a comment in our comment section of that challenge telling us it's your first time participating at H2H challenges.  (One randomly-selected lucky newbie will win!)

Our other two prizes will be given to the (1) CTMH consultant and the (2) non-consultant who participates the most in March!  Every time you link up, add a number with your name to help us keep track of the number of times you play, starting with your second time in March.  So, my second entry might look like "Haley #2" in the linky.  If you don't number your entries, we won't be able to count you for the prize.  (In the event of a tie, multiple prizes will be awarded.)

To add to the fun, several of our Design Team members will be offering prizes on their blogs, but you'll have to visit them to find out!  It will be like an Easter egg hunt to find out who has a special giveaway, so don't spill the beans in the comments section here please.  Be sure to check out the details of each DT's projects this month, because you never know when one of us announces a special prize only available through our personal blogs.  Each Monday when we announce the new challenge, click on each of the Design Team members' names to go to their blogs and check them out.  You're going to have quite a few chances to get lucky!

I must give a big THANK YOU to my co-captain Shirley for helping me sponsor the March Madness prizes here at H2H.  I also want to thank the DT members who are surprising you this month, but of course I can't name them here personally- yet.  Happy hunting and good luck!

We hope that you'll join us for our H2H March Madness!  Our first March challenge will be announced on Monday, 3/4.  (You've still got a little bit of time to play along with any of February's challenges if you haven't already.  We love to see your work!)

Good luck!