Stay Crafty with A Blog Named Hero: March Challenge and Design Team Introductions

Mar 11, 2022 Michelle Lupton

Hello! The March challenge at Stay Crafty with A Blog Named Hero is here, and the theme is "Send a Hug" – this could mean an encouragement card, a sympathy card, a thinking of you card, or simply a card with "hugs" as the sentiment!

We've been introducing our new design team on Instagram, but here they are all together, with their inspiration for the Hugs challenge!

BreAnn Loveland

"Hello! My name is BreAnn. I live in central Indiana with my husband and two kiddos. I started making cards in 2014. This industry and the people in it mean the world to me." You can find BreAnn on Instagram.

Ceal Pritchett

"Hi, I'm Ceal. I live in the mountains of North Carolina with my husband and our little Shih Tzu puppy, Wally. I have been a crafter of some sort since childhood. I started with scrapbooking, however cardmaking became a quick favorite. I am a huge fan of Hero Arts and super excited to be a part of this team." You can find Ceal on Instagram, Facebook and her Blog.

Essie Cards

"Hi I'm Essie, a teenage summer camp arts and crafts specialist who grew up to be an Air Force officer. These days, I'm a civil servant and mom by day, but at night...I'm a cardmaker on a mission to surprise and delight my recipients. I love cards that are bright and high impact, and use supplies in new and unexpected ways." You can find Essie on Instagram and her Blog.

Jennifer Kotas

"Hi! I’m Jen Kotas. I live in Broomfield, Colorado with my husband, two kids and two chocolate labs. I’ve been a paper crafter most of my life and huge fan of Hero Arts for more than 20 years." You can find Jennifer on Instagram and her Blog.

Kailash Naidoo

"Hi, I’m Kailash, originally from South Africa but now live in the suburbs outside of Chicago. I have always enjoyed being creative, however I became passionate about card making after buying my very first stamp 10 years ago. I am so grateful for being part of this amazing community who are willing to share, support and inspire each other!" You can find Kailash on Instagram.

Kanan Pandya

"Hello!! My name is Kanan and I live in Ottawa, Canada. I have always been interested in arts & craft activities and this is something I absolutely enjoy doing from the heart. I was introduced to card making a few years ago and I’m passionate about it. I love this beautiful community." You can find Kanan on Instagram and on her Blog.

Kate Deignan

"I’ve been a card maker for over 18 years. My passion is to make cards to donate to charity. I love that something I love to do makes others happy." You can find Kate on Instagram.

Lara Rizzotto

"Hi, I’m Lara and I was born and raised in Italy but now I live in Ohio with my husband and daughter. I'm a biologist by day and a card maker by night! I started making cards a couple of years ago and I'm so grateful for all the amazing people I have met in this community, so kind and supportive. I like to make colorful cards and I'm a big fan of glitter!" You can find Lara on Instagram and on her Blog.

Michelle Lupton

"Hi, I'm Michelle, and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I'm a member of the Hero Arts Global Design Team, I've been with A Blog Named Hero since 2013 and I've been a fan of Hero Arts since I began making cards! I am so excited to be coordinating our new design team for 2022!" You can find Michelle on Instagram, on her Blog and on YouTube.

Michelle Peckham

"Hello I’m Michelle Peckham. I live in north Alabama. I’m a busy Mom to four kids. I’ve been making cards for almost 30 years and love every minute of it. I cherish my crafty time and the crafty friends I’ve met over the years." You can find Michelle on Instagram.

Now it's your turn – how will you interpret the challenge theme? Use the InLinkz tool at the very bottom of this post to link up your card, and you will be entered into our drawing. We will be giving a $50 gift card randomly to one person who plays along, and another $50 gift card to one of our favourites!

To link up your project, you need to share it publicly somewhere you can grab the link – this can be your blog, Instagram, a Flickr account – anything that allows you to have a URL or website location to link up.

We would love for you to use your favorite Hero Arts products, but all projects that fit the theme can be entered and will be included – finding joy in crafting is what's important! Entries must be submitted by Sunday, April 3rd at 5:00pm PT to be eligible for the giveaway. Scroll down to find the linkup! If you share your project on social media, we'd love if you'd use the #heroarts and #staycraftychallenge hashtags.

We love leaving comments on your entries, but sometimes that is not possible. Please be assured that we have visited each of your posts, whether it be a blog, Instagram, Flickr or somewhere else, but some platforms may limit comments or only allow comments from members.

Enter our contest by linking your project below! Please enter your name in the caption area. By linking your project, you are giving us permission to feature your card on our blog, social media or newsletter, crediting you as the artist.

In February, our challenge theme was "Anything Goes", and you blew us away with your entries!

Our random winner of a $50 Hero Arts voucher is Sintang Mayumi! She made a set of three cards using the US Mailbox Fancy Die.

Our Design Team favourite winner of a $50 Hero Arts voucher is Trina P! She used the Togetherness Flower Bouquet on her gorgeous card, coloured with Copic markers and with some ink blending in the background.