Can't stop, won't stop

I have a new obsession. It consumes me and the sentence "screw this, I quit. I'm off to follow my passion" has run through my head more than once.

I have been a crafting fool! Back in the wedding planning days there were brides on the internet who had and loved die cutting machines. And they were awesome. But they were CRAZY expensive. Like $300 expensive. So it wasn’t even a serious thought to get one. And time marched on and I forgot about it until I was pregnant. An old family friend used her Silhouette to make Andrew cute stuff and I was again SOOO TEMPTED but TOO CHEAP to spend $300 on one.
Now mind you, I had many die cut needs throughout this time. One year I got into glass etching and was only held back by having to order stencils off of Etsy. I also made do with what I had access to and made myself at home at the local craft store and their huge and awesome die cut center (like the teachers’ lounge at my Jr. High had for bulletin boards). I used it to craft my way through hosting a baby shower and throwing Andrew’s 1st birthday party. But I still pined for the ability to cut out anything I desired at any time using any material.

the outfits I embellished for his first birthday using the Ben Franklin die cutter



Around Thanksgiving, through an RSS feed for a coupon website, my life changed. Turns out in the past year Silhouette has made an entry level cutting machine that retails for $120ish and IT WAS ON SALE beyond that. It was serendipitous because I was in the middle of a craft project that would be vastly improved with a professional looking stencil. So I got it and I have had so much fun since.

I got a Silhouette Portrait which has a cutting width of 8”. It can cut most types of media such as paper, vinyl, chipboard, fabric (with interfacing). Unlike some of the earliest machines this one does not have preset cartridges you buy. Instead there is design software which allows you to design or trace any image or text and send it through to the cutter. The software has some quirks but is pretty user friendly. The machine itself is basically a printer but with an exacto knife rather than ink (though it can carry a pen instead of a blade).

My main problem now. It is so awesome I want to ignore my work and family and just play around with new features.

some of my projects
A Christmas ornament I made by tracing my Niblings signatures and cutting them out


Appliqué I made for Andrews curtain.


Silly T-shirt I made for my sister


The original project that justified the purchase


Vanity plates (first time tracing and layering vinyl)


My first paper craft


First attempt at freezer paper stencil (current obsession because it is so cheap, fast and will last better than the vinyl shown above)


Even Andrew can get in on the game. I put a stencil down and let him paint then pulled it up to make a gift for Speedy's new baby.



Another problem I have. I'm running out of people who want personalized crap. I told Andrew's daycare teachers that they are in big trouble because they are the easiest targets for junky gifts.

Case in point. Already made them cutesy bad sanitizers for V-day.



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