November Challenge Winner

Sorry for the long delay but December is always a little bit crazy around here so I thought it was best to announce the reminder today ahead of tomorrow's new challenge instead...

So if you can remember that far back, our challenge was to make a project using your favourite Christmas carol/song or movie as inspiration and it was clear that lots of you love a Christmas movie and sing-a-long as we had lots of fabulous entries.

Our winner this time around was Karin with her classy creation.  We loved the classy white-on-white background and super detailed colouring of her mistletoe.   Drop me a line to get your winners code Karin.

Our runners up this month all feature Santa and his elf - it was a very popular theme!

We loved how Dasha created her naughty and nice list for Santa - showing how busy he will be!

Eva created a fabulous scene based on the movie Elf - we loved how she added the New Year skyline to really get across the story of the movie.

Finally we loved the fun roof top dancing Santa that Kristina created - he looks so pleased with himself!

 

Do take your winners badges for your blog and make sure you come back tomorrow to play along in our new challenge for a brand new year - we have simple sketch this month which we hope you'll like.  Details coming tomorrow afternoon.

Our favourite projects of 2016

In our final of our favourites series, we thought it would be fun to look back through all our posts and pick our favourite makes from this year to share again.  It's quite fun to look back through and see how you've grown as a crafter over the year don't  you think?

Esther

I still think my first project for Seven Hills Crafts was my favourite! I love those flowers, watercoloured with my trusty Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens and set against an autumn/fall background. It was also a marked improvement in my photography, something I've tried hard to maintain since then.

Gemma

As I'm new to the design team, I thought I'd look back over the year on my personal blog to choose a favourite to share. I've chosen a very different card for me. I'd never made a circle card base or a spinner card before, so this is definitely a favourite of mine from 2016.

Jill

I still really enjoy this card so have chose it as my favourite project of the year.  It was the first time I had ever made a card solely from ink blending, and I still really love the gentle simplicity

 it created.

Jenny
I love to stretch my supplies so my favourite project by far this year are the
Coffee Coasters I made using Altenew's Coffee Love stamp set with the great
 sentiments and quotes from Coffee Talk

Lydia
So hard to pick a favourite (I've been kind of sneaky and added some to my favourite stamps and dies posts hehehe)! I though I would choose one that reminded me of the little summer we had.

Tara
It's really hard to pick a favourite project, I changed my mind about 6 times!  However in the end I opted for this fun interactive card with slider dies and a fun dogs from Newton's Nook.

That's all of our favourites for now, but I will be back tomorrow to announce the winner of our November challenge ahead of regular posts beginning again on Sunday 1st January with a new project and an update on what new stock to expect when we open again at 9am on Monday the 2nd January.  We will also launch our January challenge on Sunday too so you can craft away your New Year's Eve hangovers!

Our "must have" product

Today's edition of our favourite things is even harder than our previous ones, as I told the DT they could only pick the ONE product they can't live without.  Can you answer that question?

Esther

For me, it's got to be my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens. I use them on so many projects and they create an amazing range of looks. Use them for solid colour, like you would with Copics or Promarkers. Use them as watercolours. Blend them with each other for a fantastic ombre effect. Their fine tips get into the smallest corners with no mess! I really can't recommend them enough!

Gemma

I've chosen the MFT Premium Dye ink cubes as my 'can't live without' product. I'm a fan of mini ink cubes as I have limited space for craft supplies. MFT recently started releasing their premium inks in mini cube sets of 4, and I think they are a perfect way to collect all the fabulous colours.

Jill
I love a good die-cut sentiment to be the focal point on my card, so Stick-It has to be my 'must-have'.  It instantly takes the frustrating 'fiddly-bit' out of adhering intricate pieces in place.  As if that wasn't already enough...it's pretty much invisible behind vellum!  What more could you ask from a product?

Jenny
Aside of the usual contenders for this spot I think alphabet stamps are a must have. When you need a sentiment that you can't find or it needs to fit in a certain space, alphabet stamps come to the rescue :) Quite a few of the stamp companies make alpha sets but I think my favourite has to be Mama Elephants Bella Letters... they're a perfect size for card making and easy to use too.

Lydia
Ink has to be my 'must have'! My favourite go-to inks are Altenew Crisp Inks .... I just love them all but my favourite this year has to be the Sea Shore Collection.... swoon... I swear I have to tell myself not to use these on every project I make.

Tara

My choice is quite a practical one- my favourite colouring medium has always been copics, and despite several attempts over the years, I have never been any good at watercolour.  However, since trying the quality waterbrushes from Kuretake, complete with valves to stop the water flooding your paper, I have managed to do a half decent attempt at it both when using zig color clean pens and gansai tambi paints, so my "can't live without" for this year is going to be my waterbrush!

Tomorrow we will all be back to share our favourite projects from the year with you.

Our Favourite Dies of 2016

We're back for another in our series of our favourite things, and today we are looking at our favourite dies from this year's releases.   Again, we could pick no more than 3 which is almost impossible!  Did we miss your favourite?  Do tell!

Esther

I try to buy dies that are versatile and can be used with lots of different designs. (I do have a weakness for matching stamp and die sets though, as I hate fussy cutting!) My top general dies three at the moment are firstly My Favorite Things Blueprints 29 Dienamics which has so many pieces you can use on almost any card. It's incredible value for money! Next up is My Favorite Things Essential Cover Up Vertical Dienamic. Again, this can be used for layered or shaker cards, and pretty much any occasion whether birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, etc. Finally, a great birthday die for quick but impactful birthday cards is My Favorite Things Happy Birthday to You Dienamics. Make it a shaker, layer patterned paper underneath, watercolour around or behind it, add an embellishment... it can be dressed up in so many ways!

   

Gemma

As well as standalone tags, the MFT Stitched Traditional Tags die-namics can be used on cards as a sentiment tag or a main focal point. 

Cover dies are a favourite of mine for adding pretty detail to a card. They are ideal for clean and simple designs. I love the Lil'Inker Designs Quilted Swirl Stitch Pattern die.

The MFT Stitched Triple Peek-a-boo Window die-namic is perfect for little critters to peek out from on a card. Add printed papers or inked backgrounds behind the windows to coordinate with your colouring.

Jill

I held off buying the Cross Stitched Rectangles  from Lawn Fawn as I wasn't sure I really needed them...I was wrong, I did, and I now find it hard to make a card without using them! They create the perfect mat with that little added detail, creating the perfect finish.  MFT Scribble Roses Overlay are just divine, so pretty and delicate, I love using them as a subtle detail to my background.  Then we have this Celebrate sentiment die from Sugar Pea Designs, Oh my...that font though..., it is just truly gorgeous and perfect for so many occasions.  An absolute staple in my stash!

   

Jenny

I don't tend to use lots of dies but three sets that stand out for me this year are the Woodland Basics dies from Wplus9 (you knew I'd say that!) Avery Elle's Card Easel dies... very useful for helping your cards stand up, and MFT's Peek-a-Boo Wonky Windows which are a fun shape for windows on your card front.
  
   

Lydia
I don't really seen to use dies all that often, my go-to dies are often coordinating ones that go with stamp sets. Although I do have a few favourite generic die sets that I go to again and again....
Concord & 9th Beautiful You Dies
Lil Inker Stitched Circle Mats
Altenew Bold Alphabet Die Set

Tara

I think I probably have more die sets than stamp sets, I do love die cutting!  Picking my favourites from this year has been almost impossible but I've just about managed it.
Firstly I picked the Tree die from Avery Elle as I love the versatility of it and know I will be using it frequently as you can make any tree you like with it.

I also love the texture that a background die can provide and I had several favourites of those this year, but pushed myself to pick one, so settled on the Quilted Stitched Spirals from Lil' Inker Designs.

Finally I opted for a paired die set (yes a little bit of a cheat!) but it's such a fun set and brilliant for awkward teenage cards.  Pixelated Circles and Pixelated Faces dies from Neat and Tangled.

  

 Tomorrow we will be back again with our single "we can't  live without product" which I am sure will provide interesting results!

Our Favourite Stamps of 2016

Whilst we're taking an official break from the blog whilst the store is closed, we thought it would be fun to come together as a Design Team and share some of our favourite products from this year with you.

We're kicking it off today with our Favourite Stamps and I made the girls pick no more than 3 each, which has been REALLY difficult!  We'd also love to hear about your favourites so do leave us a comment below.

Esther

It really was hard limiting myself to just three favourite stamps... there are so many I love! First up is My Favorite Things Beary Special Birthday. Those bears are adorable! I've used them on so many cards, both birthday and Christmas.
Next is the Concord & 9th Lace Leaf, one of the most stunning releases of this year in my opinion. The leaves can be used for birthdays, Christmas (try silver or gold embossing) and occasions cards such as autumn/fall, anniversaries, thinking of you, etc.
Finally, a great birthday set is the fun My Favorite Things Make a Wish. Perfect for mum, dad, brothers, sisters, kids, relatives and friends. Pretty them up with hot pinks and oranges, or take them cool and stylish in blues, greens and purples. So versatile!

Gemma

Sentiment stamp sets are a favourite of mine and the MFT Label Maker Sentiments are really fun.
Altenew Birthday Greetings is another sentiment stamp set that I'm always reaching for, as it has such a great selection of fonts. I also love the layering balloon stamp included.
Mama Elephant Tiny Ninjas really did sneak their way into my heart!

Jill

I mean, how can you choose?  I've gone for my current favourite's as it changes all the time...if I wrote this post again tomorrow it would probably be different!  The recent Page Huggers from Mama Elephant melts my heart, you can't beat a good background stamp and MFT Geometric Grid Background is absolute knock-out, and Soak Up The Fun from MFT is a little different to my normal tastes, which made playing with it all the more fun!

             

Jenny
You won't be surprised to to see that Avery Elle's Hat's off stamps are one of my favourite sets this year, those hands and arms are such useful stamps!! ;) I have to include a Lawn Fawn set in this section and the Pizza my Heart set has a great number of uses too..... even interactive!!
My third favourite set is a floral builder set by MFT, Beautiful Blooms is such a versatile set and helped me mass produce my Christmas cards this year :)
  

   

Lydia

Yikes..... it's sooooo hard to pick just 3 favourite stamp sets of this year!
Concord & 9th 'Wildflower'
My Favour Things 'Pretty Posies'
Mama Elephant 'Organic Blooms'
Yep..... all floral sets from me!

Tara

It's so difficult to pick favourites - often my favourites change with each new arrival!  However, my first choice I know is going to be a perennial favourite.  I LOVE a humorous sentiment and Laura the owner of Lil' Inker Designs obviously shares my SOH as she often brings out ones I just love and Moody Santa combines that with 4 faces to create 4 different Santa - what's not to love!

My second choice goes narrowly to Avery Elle's Viking - I LOVE to colour that beard!

I thought I might go for one of the great versatile sentiment sets for my 3rd choice but a quick flick through reminded me about one of Wplus9's floral sets which I adore.  I don't think Dawn's floral designs can be topped and I really love the new range of Botanical Bouquets so have settled on Ranunculus as my 3rd favourite for this year.

We'll be back tomorrow with our favourite dies so make sure you pop by again and do let us know if we missed your favourite!