Technique Time for Team Twilight!

It's Technique Time for H2H Team Twilight this week and “Sponging” is the technique.  There are many ways that sponging can be used in papercrafting,  as you can see by checking out our fabulous Design Team and Guest Designer examples.   We are excited to have you join us in sharing how you do it.   We do ask that you use mostly Close To My Heart products (stamps, inks, papers, Cricut cartridges, etc.) on your entry--if you don't we'll have to banish your entry to the neverlands of cyberspace.  (You won't be "banished" if you use other products as accents but we do require that you use some CTMH products!).  Unfortunately last week we did have to delete 2 entries.  We would like you to have FUN with this challenge and post your entry by 11 PM November 30.  Please remember to leave a link back to H2H so others can find us too!

Here's the beautiful card our guest designer Hansi made:

Marie Flayer

Carol Labuski

Haley

Shirley Ross

Now it's your turn to inspire us with your sponging techniques.  You can also enter the other November 2013 challenges by the end of the month to be eligible to be selected as Top Chick or weekly winners.  Our Design Team and Guest Designer love it when you can make the time to leave them comments.

2014 DT CALL!

Don't forget that we're scouting for designers here at Heart 2 Heart for January-June 2014!  You can read all about it HERE.   Applications are due by November 20.  With Close To My Heart going strong in the U.S., Canada, and Australasia, we would like to have an international design team with a passion for CTMH.  Send in your application!  {This post will remain at the top until 11/20.  Scroll down for our November challenges and InLinkz link up tool.}

Game On...

This week at H2H, we're challenging you to show us a project inspired by one of your favorite games!

We've got our Team Sunset and our Guest Design Team Member, Hansi, to help you out. 

Here's what Hansi created...can you guess what game inspired her fabulous card!

Hansi Brittain

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Amie Kiger

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Melinda Everitt

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Paige Dolecki

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Katy Taylor

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Pam Korte

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Shirley Ross

Don't forget to visit each Design Team member's blog to see additional pictures and to leave a comment.  You have until the end of the  month to link up your own game-inspired project.

You can also play along with any of our other November Challenges by linking up before November 30th.

• Grateful For You
• Seeing Double

Thanks for stopping by this week!

October Addicts & Top 10!

You guys continue to amaze us with your gorgeous creations and your love of Close To My Heart (and Heart 2 Heart Challenges too).  It is so much fun checking out how you interpret our challenge themes. Our "addicts" are those dedicated participants who submitted an entry for each and every challenge in October.  Here are our October addicts, in no particular order...
*Katrina
*Debbie Bonczek
*Merri
*Hansi
*Sarah

Thank you, Addicts!  Now, our Design Team has visited all of your blogs and narrowed down the beautiful creations to the following Top 10 winners.
Au Naturale:

Kim

Kristine

Little Black Dress:

Debbie

Mary

Shape Up:

Rema

Jody

Lace:

Debbie B.

Allie

Lots of Layers:

LaJeania

Hillary

From our talented Top 10, we narrowed down our favorite creation sensation, our Heart 2 Heart Top Chic...

Debbie Bonczek!

Winners, please be sure to grab your blog badge from our sidebar.  Congratulations!

Remember that there is still time to play along with all of our November challenges.  We hope to see YOUR name here next month!

Seeing Double

We're back with our next Heart 2 Heart November challenge, but first, we are really grateful for all of your gratitude contributions from last week.  Remember that you have all month to play along with any of November's challenges.  Also, don't forget about our 2014 Design Team call.  You can read all about it HERE.

So what does this week's challenge mean?  As always, it's open to YOUR interpretation.  Check out guest designer, Hansi's double take:

Now Team Twilight's inspiration:

 Carol

Brittany

Marie

Haley

Are you ready to take the double vision challenge?  Get crafting, post your project by 11/30, and link it up right here!  We really appreciate all our players who follow our one and only rule: use some CTMH products in your project and mention Heart 2 Heart Challenges in your post.  Thanks!

Grateful for YOU...

This week's challenge at Heart2Heart is all about Gratitude - the feeling of thankfulness and readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.  I often ask the people in my family to tell me three good things - these things can be something that happened in their day, a funny joke, a book they read, being happy about doing good in a subject at school - just about anything counts as long as its something that makes them feel good.  I started it long ago to help us focus on cultivating an "attitude of gratitude" and keep our hearts and minds positive.  While my family might groan a bit when I ask them to do it, I've yet to see someone walk away grumpy after focusing on the good in their life.  Try it this week with your family members and see what kind of responses you get - the answers can be quite illuminating as to what is going on in your loved ones lives!  (Feel free to share your three good things in the comments section!)

Here at Heart2Heart we are grateful to be part of the Close to my Heart family - now an even bigger sisterhood as we are joined by Australia and New Zealand!  We are grateful for the beautiful products and awesome tools (so, so grateful for my Cricut) we get to share with our customers.  Most of all we are grateful for YOU, the people who play along with us during the week and share your time and talent with us on this blog!  Your linky contributions are what keep this challenge blog going and we are very grateful to the many who play along!  THANK YOU!

Now, we'd like to share our interpretation of the gratitude challenge with you.  First up is our talented November guest designer, Hansi Brittain.

Team Sunset's grateful projects:

Pam Korte

Amie Kiger

Melinda Everitt

Katy Taylor

Shirley Ross

Paige Dolecki

Welcome Our November Guest Designer

We are excited to welcome Hansi Brittain BACK again as Guest Designer!  She earned a guest spot on the DT earlier this year, and if you've seen her work, you can understand why she's frequently been in the Top 10.

Here's what she has to say:
The creative process soothes my soul.  Who can think about the complications of life when you are creating?  I fell in with a group of amazing women who get together for fellowship, fun and paper crafting.   One day, a friend invited me to a monthly group to which she belonged ...just for fun.. .no need to buy anything…  Yeah, right!  I loved the Close to My Heart products and have been a very good customer ever since.  It was in monthly group that I discovered card making which has become both therapy and ministry.  After I get the pleasure of making something, I can brighten someone’s day by giving it away.  By participating in challenge blogs, I have learned so much from fellow crafters who share their work and techniques and have also been inspired to the Close To My Heart team. Because I am still in the process of setting up my business, I have not yet announced this on my blog, so other than my consultant/upline, y'all are the first to know! I am honored and humbled to be the guest designer this month.

Oh, and about the picture: There are very few pictures of me, the family photographer, so my husband snapped this one of me dressed up to give out Halloween candy. It might explain why I love the Eek and Shriek stamp set so much!

Design Team Call for 2014 (January-June)

Do you love Heart 2 Heart Challenges?  Do you want to step up your crafty game?  Do you want to share your Close To My Heart love?  Then consider applying for our Design Team! The end 2013 will be here before we know it, and we have several openings on the design team for 2014.  It's time to apply for the January-June Design Team here at H2H.  If you’re still interested after reading through the requirements, send your application to h2hchallenges@gmail.com.  

We will continue to have TWO Design Teams! The teams will both have 6 month terms but will split the responsibilities with Team "A" inspiring us one week and Team "B" inspiring us the next. This allows the team members to get a little "break" and gives them additional time to get artwork ready for their week's challenge.

If you would like to be considered for one of the teams, here is the application process:

* Email h2hchallenges@gmail.com with your name, state/province/country, blog address, email address, and a little bio about you. Be sure to tell me why you want to be a part of the team and how long you have been a consultant. (Jr. Consultant status is acceptable.)

* You must like us on Facebook and follow us on Pinterest.

* You MUST know how to write and publish a post on Blogger. Each DT member will have a few weeks in which they will be responsible for creating the Monday challenge post.  (It works out to be about once every two months.)  Don't worry - you will have help out with this as well but please only apply if you are comfortable blogging.

* You must also be able to check the H2H DT Facebook page at least a few times a week.

* You must send photos of three of your pieces of artwork. DO NOT send me a link to your blog to look at your artwork there - I want you to pick what you consider three of your best and include them with the application.

ALL applications must be received by November 20.  We will make the selection of the new team members by December 1, and the new team will start on January 1!

Here are some more things to keep in mind about a position on the DT.  You are committing to:

*Participate in every challenge for your team's week (posted by 3:00 am on Monday mornings) and have your artwork for each challenge posted to the DT Facebook Group the Saturday before the challenge begins.

*Make an effort to post your artwork on any other boards/galleries you belong to and advertise our challenge blog whenever and wherever you can so we can continually grow in numbers of participants. We currently have a group at Paper Craft Planet and on Facebook that I would like DT members to join but this is optional.

*Participate in any extra programs that we may decide upon as a team.  (These are minimal and FUN!)

*Send in on your choices of winners in monthly awards (Top Ten) at the end of the month.

*Join a Facebook Group set up specifically for team members.  This group is how we communicate with each other and share our projects, etc.

*Visit the blogs of the challenge participants and leave comments.

*Be a member of Pinterest to help keep our boards active there (during your hostess week).  You only have to help on Pinterest when you are hostess (about once every other month), but you can help there more often if you like.

What you get in return:

* Commitment to producing artwork once every 2 weeks gives you an opportunity to create on a regular basis!

* Increased blog traffic which will hopefully lead to an increase in your business!

* Fun and fellowship with the entire team and a chance to meet new consultants and CTMH fans!

I think that about wraps it up. What are you waiting for? Send in your application today!! (Any questions can be directed to me a th2hchalleges@gmail.com.)