Silhouette SD Craft Cutter Review & Giveaway!! $299 value (ends 11/29)

Yep – you read that right.  I said Giveaway and I said Silhouette SD in the same sentence ladies!!!

For those of you that don’t know what a Silhouette SD machine is, it is an electronic cutting tool that connects to your computer allowing you to cut fonts and images in all sorts of different media like papers, vinyl, heat transfer material, etc.

What makes it different from other cutters out on the market is that you DON’T need to buy additional cartridges to cut images – you can cut any image or font or picture that is on your computer!  ANYTHING!  And, you can even remove the cutting blade and put in a pen and turn it into an intricate drawing tool!

I was sent a Silhouette SD machine to try out and review earlier this month.  I was super excited to try it out, but of course, also extremely busy.  That said, as soon as it arrived, I opened it up, connected it to my computer and loaded the software.  I immediately browsed the images that came with it and cut out a sample project within 20 minutes – without really doing much research or reading.

But while it’s really easy to start using right away, it is also very apparent this is baby has a LOT of features that are amazing and are going to take a little training to use.  I really love how I am not limited by any cartridges – only my imagination (and skill at using the software! lol!)

So what exactly can it be used for, you ask?  Well the most common use is for scrapbooking.  Forget having to buy those kits at the store anymore – you can make your own now!  From shapes to letters and words to frames and borders to embellishments and even backgrounds.

The machine comes with a sticky carrier sheet so that you can even use your scrap paper pieces to make cutouts so that you don’t have to waste anything.

Another craft you can make with the Silhouette is closely related to scrapbooking – cards.  And I know you’re thinking – oh, you mean just the plain flat cards, right?  NO!  You can make folding cards, pop-up cards, gift tags, puzzle cards and even the envelopes as well!

One of the really nice features of the software is that you can connect to the online Silhouette store and download templates and projects that other people have created and uploaded.  What’s awesome is the price – the majority of things in the shop are only $0.99.  And since it’s not a cartridge and is fully editable in the software, you can make it bigger or smaller or add/change things so even downloading one thing for $0.99 can be used a thousand different ways.  This makes this machine VERY cost effective!  They also offer a free download each week :)

What about stuff to wear and show off?  Well you can get iron-on paper and even a rhinestone kit to create cut hats, purses, shirts, aprons – you name it!  I just love how versatile this machine is.

I love those baby onesies with cute or funny sayings on them.  They run up to $20 each.  Well now I can buy the 3 packs of plain colored ones from Target and make my own :)

My other favorite craft to make with this would be vinyl cutouts.  Great for decorating walls, you can also put them on glass jars or vases to make flowers extra special or organize your cupboard.

Or how about making personalized plates or some cute personalized family stickers for your car?

I’m also dying to try out glass “etching”.  It looks totally cool and fun!  Just use the Silhouette to cut out a stencil and then use etching creme to place the design on your glass project.

As you can see, with a little creativity the possibilities are endless.  I could easily get lost in hours and hours of playing with this machine and have had to put it on lock down so that I could get some work done instead :)

Want some more ideas of what you can make?  Check out the Silhouette Blog and website.  The blog is awesome and a great resource to help your creative juices flow.

Black Friday to Cyber Monday Special!

This machine normally runs $299, but from 11/26- 11/30 only, my readers have been given an exclusive discount code to receive $100 off!! Just use code CCM100 at checkout to get this HUGE discount!

GIVEAWAY!

The wonderful people over at Silhouette have put together an awesome package for one lucky Crazy Coupon Mommy reader to win!  The winner of this giveaway will receive a Silhouette SD Machine (a $299.99 value) to include:

- Software for Windows XP/Vista, Mac
- Power cable, USB cable
- Two cutting mats (one for thick media, one for thin media)
- One cutting blade
- $10 gift card to the Silhouette Online Store
- BONUS: 1 roll of vinyl, 1 roll of transfer, and 1Home Décor CD!

***NOTE*** – this giveaway is ending at 12:01am PST on 11/29 Monday morning (= first thing monday morning so all entries must be received BEFORE 11/29) and I will announce a winner around noon on Monday. This is so that if you don’t win, you can still take advantage of the $100 off coupon code – that’s a crazy price and you won’t want to miss it!

How do I enter?

PLEASE read and follow directions!! Must be over 18 to enter. US residents only.

Just complete the one mandatory entry below that is highlighted in the blue box – that’s it!

MANDATORY ENTRY – You MUST at minimum do this 1 task to enter. If you do not do this, none of the bonus entries (if you choose to do them) will count and they WILL BE DELETED.

1. Leave a comment here on my blog letting me know what project you’d do first if you won this amazing machine!

LOTS OF WAYS TO GET BONUS ENTRIES!! (This section is OPTIONAL and just a way for you to earn extra entries into the giveaway!)

Once you have completed the above mandatory entry, you can do as many of the below as you like for extra entries Good luck! Please leave one comment per task completed. (ie, if you do three of the following, you should leave three SEPARATE comments)

(If you already are a subscriber, follow on Twitter or like on Facebook, that counts as one entry, so be sure to leave a comment saying you already do so!)

1. Subscribe to Crazy Coupon Mommy via RSS Reader or email
2. Follow Silhouette on Twitter
3. Follow CCM on Twitter
4. “Like” Silhouette on Facebook and leave a note on their wall thanking them for sponsoring this giveaway.
5. “Like” CCM on Facebook
6. Share this giveaway on Facebook by clicking on the Share button on the pink toolbar you see at the bottom of your screen.
7. “Like” this giveaway on Facebook by clicking on the “Like” button on the pink toolbar you see at the bottom of your screen.
8. Enter any other open giveaway on my site and leave a comment saying which one you entered!
9. Tweet about this giveaway (just click on the retweet button at the very top right corner of this page – all the way up at the top! You can do this daily for extra entries! Just leave a comment each day you complete this task)
10. Become a public follower of Crazy Coupon Mommy (Scroll all the way down to bottom of this page and look for this button
11. Share this giveaway on your blog (or if you don’t have a blog, share it on a forum you belong to (BabyCenter, WhatToExpect, Bump, etc) and leave a comment with a link to your post (this earns you 3 entries! Be sure to leave a separate comment for each!)
12. Got a blog or webpage? Place my link button on your site and leave the URL of where I can see it.

***IMPORTANT*** You need to leave a separate comment for each of the above that you complete. Each comment acts as one entry, so if you only leave one comment saying “I did 1-3 above” then you’ll only get ONE entry instead of the 3 you deserve!

Contest will end 11/29/2010 at 12:01am PST. The winner will be chosen randomly via computer using “And the Winner is…” WordPress Plugin or Random.org. Winner will be notified by a blog post (so be sure to subscribe to my newsletter so that you don’t miss the winner announcement!). Winner must respond within 48 hours or another random winner will be chosen.

Many thanks to Silhouette America who provided me with a sample for the purpose of this review, as well as one to giveaway to a randomly selected winner. I was not required to write a positive review and no other type of compensation was received. My reviews are always 100% honest and 100% my own.

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