I mentioned wanting a Silhouette SD a few months ago after reading Melissa’s review of it, and much to my delight the company sent one to me to try out. Well I’ve been having so much fun with mine that I thought you might want one too, so I’m giving one away! Details are at the end of this post, but first let me show you a couple of things that I’ve made with it and tell you about my experience with the machine.
You know the little vinyl stick figure families that mark the back windows of minivans throughout suburbia? Yeah, this is my take on that. More modern, less cutesy.
I used Adobe Illustrator to trace a silhouette of us, basing it on a photo from the shoot by James Julius. Of course, it’s only going to be accurate for another six months and then I’ll have to make a new one for my family of four.
I also framed Eleanor’s silhouette (the same silhouette I drew for her first birthday invitations) against a sheet of patterned paper.
So cute, right? And I could think of a million more things to make too… I especially like the idea of using it to make a stencil for decorating a pan of brownies with powdered sugar, but I think that’s just because I’ve been craving chocolate lately. ;)
My Review of the Silhouette SD
The machine itself is small, sleek, and well-designed. The interface is easy, and I had no problems following the directions to get the machine up and running. The software is not Mac friendly, but there is an Adobe Illustrator plugin for Mac users (and a helpful tutorial here). I like to make my own designs anyway, so the Illustrator compatibility is perfect for me.
I was impressed by the Silhouette SD’s accuracy and ability to cut finely detailed images. I found only two drawbacks: the machine is noisy when cutting, and the sticky cutting mats attract hair and dust particles like crazy. Certainly not deal breakers, but worth mentioning.
I’m pretty excited about all of the things I can make, so I’m really pleased with the machine. There are tons of ideas and tips on the Silhouette SD site, shop, and blog. I’m not sure how the PC software works, but if you use Adobe Illustrator like I do then you can use any font or vector image you like. Nice.
Enter to Win a Silhouette SD
If you would like to win a Silhouette SD of your own, just leave a comment on this post (one entry per person). This giveaway, open to US residents only, includes: A Silhouette Machine (a $299.99 value), software for Windows XP/Vista, power cable and USB cable, two cutting mats (one for thick media, one for thin media), one cutting blade, $10 gift card to the Silhouette Online Store. One winner will be chosen randomly on August 31.
And if you just can’t wait to see if you’ve won, I also have an awesome promo for you (good from August 23 through September 1 at midnight). If you buy a Silhouette cutting machine and enter the discount code “lovely“, you’ll get all of the above plus the following for $249.99: $50 off the Silhouette Craft Cutter, fuzzy white vinyl (valued at $7.99), light blue smooth heat transfer (valued at 14.99), yellow flocked heat transfer (valued at $14.99), and a home décor CD (valued at $50). That’s a total savings of $137.97!
You can also use the code “lovely” from September 2 through September 4 for a good discount of $50 off your machine, two cutting mats (one for thick media, one for thin media), one cutting blade, $10 gift card to the Silhouette Online Store, plus two free rolls of heat transfer (a total savings of $79.98).
Good luck! I’d love to know what you’d make with your Silhouette SD. And what did you think of my projects? Would you rock a family car decal like mine? Too close to the ubiquitous stick figures? Or do you (gasp) prefer the stick figures?
August 31: Comments (and entries) are now closed. The randomly chosen winner is Renanda (renparks). Congratulations, Renanda!
2,034 comments
Olivia D
Well, this is just the coolest thing ever, how fun! Oh, the possibilities are endless:)
Danielle
I really want to try the vinyl decorative stuff with the Silhouette. My sister is having a little girl and wants butterflies around the nursery. Of course I have lots of ideas of how to use it for my business – would love to try to make cupcake wrappers!
Thanks for the chance to win!
Danielle
kristen
This giveaway is for the brownies right?? I don’t like prints with a lot of detail so I have plenty of projects for the Silhouette SD.
Jennifer S
My students and I would have so much fun using this in my art classroom.
Julie
my girls would love me for the tattoooss
Jenni
yes, yes, yes please! been wanting one so baaaad! :)
angela r j
Thanks for the great giveaway. I love all the possibilities that a Silhouette would open up for me and my home decor, which is seriously lacking…
Lacy Cox
I really really want this beautiful little machine….my life would totally be complete!!!
Lindsay
I would LOVE to win, I really want to start an etsy shop and this would get me there! Love the giveaway!
Karen
Love this things….I would love to make some vinyl subways signs….I would try everything…..I would have words and birds EVERYWHERE…..really
Christina Harger
Wow! That’s cool! How fun…thanks for the giveaway!
Andrea
That is awesome! I could do some real damage with that! :)
Megan
What a cool prize! Hope I win!
powwlita
gimme gimme! Please, of course :D
Chris Burrus
REALLY hopes to win this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ashley
All the walls in my house are blank!!!!!! This would help change that :)
Emily
This would be so much easier than tracing and cutting by hand!
courtney
this would be awesome!!
Susan K.
Would love to own a Silhouette SD. Thanks for having this giveaway!
shelley
I would love to create with one of these!
Martina
So cute! Love all the ideas the silhouette offers! I’m dying to get one now!
Jessica
I would love to win, I need to label totes in the basement and label the school items that will travel along with the kiddo.
Jessi
I would love to make heat transfers all day long for my daughter’s preschool wardrobe. These look like too much fun.
Eva
I would love one of these!!! Thanks for the great give away!
Ellen
This is great! I could have so much fun with this with my students. :-) Thanks!
deborah
THanks for the chance to win the awesome giveaway and for the inspiration!
Lora Joy
I’ve been wanting this soooooo bad! I would love to WIN! pretty please! hehe!
Lucia M
This project is just awesome! Great idea to use it on the car and thank you for the giveaway:)
Liz
I love seeing your fun project ideas! I would love to win this giveaway so much–I have too many project ideas rolling around in my head that need doing. Thanks for the chance to win!
Some Lucky Dog
I love your projects! I prefer your decal overt the stick figures. I’d love to do glass etching! Thanks for the chance to win!
Ashleigh
Love it! Hope to win!!! Looks like sooo much fun!!
molly
ohmilordy! the competition is FIERCE! :) i would so love to win one of these. that silhouette of your daughter is just too sweet. i’m in LOVE.
p.s. i vote the car sticker is cute. so there.
:)
Lindsay
Pick me….pick me! I have visions of projects dancing in my head! :) Thanks so much for the giveaway!
Kelli
I have been to the Silhouette site and dreamed of all the goodies that I would be able to create, and I think the first would be the etched glass, or maybe the vinyl wall art, oh with so many possiblites it is hare to decide.
Kelli
Thank you for the opportunity to win a silhouette! I have wanted one for a long time! I would love to have one of my own (although I would share with my daughter and daughter inlaw)
Cheryl
I would love to win. I so want one of these things.!
amy b
fingers crossed…so many projects, so little time
kelli
pick me!!!
Paola
I would love to win this prize. I hope I win :)
Renanda
Thanks so much for the giveaway! I want one of these so bad!
Found you via Hope Studios.
Gina
I want to make a vinyl sticker for my Saab of my husband, my cat and me :)
Melanie
Great prize!! it would be great!!
Susi
I would love to win a Silhouette! I would use it in my scrapbooking, cardmaking, making stencils for home decor and gifts, and probably a zillion other creative projects. Thank you for the opportunity to win. I love the modern family window decal you made.
Kayla Wagstaff
Oh my goodness, the framed silhouette of Eleanor is sooo adorable! (Her name is so pretty, too!) I would be in HEAVEN if I won this amazing machine! I can already see myself pulling many all-nighters getting my craft on! Thanks for the opporunity to enter!
mybelleboutique@hotmail.com
Sarah
Oh, this would be so awesome, I don’t even know what all I would do with it!
Morgan
I would love this machine for my scrapbooks! Thanks Nicole!
Katie
want want want. this would be so fun to own. xoxo
syndi
I would SO love a Silhouette! I love the flexibility and wide range of things you can create. I’m keeping my fingers crossed xxx
Amy
I would love this machine! I love the silhoutte you made, very neat! There a 1,000 ways I could use this!!
Amy B.!
Becky
I’ve seen these giveaways all over the blogosphere. How lucky you are to be chosen! I’d love to have one to call my own.
Jen M.
I would love to win this! There is so much you could do with it.
Ashley Baker
I would love to try this machine out! It looks really great and I have so many ideas that would make my home so cute! It’d be great for parties. I really want to learn to etch glass. :)
Bonnie
Oh my goodness…the possibilities are endless! I am loving the vinyl cutouts!
Kelly
I would LOVE to win! How exciting!
Callie
I love this machine!! Can’t wait to get one!
~Callie
Melissa M.
That machine looks fabulous! Love what you did with the silhouette window decal. :)
Michelle
Oh, I really want one! Where to begin with all of the ideas in my head? This would be crafting heaven!
Karly
OH!!!! I NEED/WANT this sooooo badly! Hope I win!
Btw…I have an Eleanor too!!
Andrea Iensen
I loved your projects and Silhouette SD possibilities, awesome! I want to start my own businnes as a party planner so I’d love to have one of those! I’d use all of it’s possibilities on my projects. I really want to win!
Bonnie M
I’m obsessed! I love how unique and creative this machine allows you to be.
If I think it, it will come!
Susan O
Ooh this looks like fun…lots of fun projects come to mind!
Kaylee
Oh I would LOVE this! I would use it for so many projects!!!
Brittany Anderson
Love it! I’ve been asking my husband to let me have one for months, I hope I win! I LOVE your vinyl family decal, adorable!
Deece
I am so impressed with the Silhouette! I love your family decal! Just this morning on our way to school, my daughter told me she would like a sticker of our name on our car. If I could be so blessed to win this, I would definitely be doing some glass etching, some stencils for printing on clothes, vinyl decals. Can the Silhouette cut fabric? Because if it can, I would use it for appliqué too. Aw yeah.
Jeran McConnel
I love how you have used the silhouette. My fave might be the car sticky. I’m so sick of the micky ears, and cartoon figures – yours is way too cute.
Jules
I had no idea this machine even existed! I would Love to own one!
Kristin
LOVE this! I just found out about these recently and have been wanting one so badly… so many craft ideas for this. Fingers crossed!
Kelly
I’m in love!! I’d be heaven with one of these! This excited me to pieces!!
Thanks for the chance! I’m loving this giveaway and i’m new to your blog!!
Staci
oooh, my birthday is the 31st! what an awesome gift this would be.
Kim
I have always wanted to try this! I have hand cut silouhettes and it is easy but this just looks like fun to use!
Karen
Oh goody….I would love another reason to craft and silhouette sounds like hte Mac Daddy of the crafting world! Pick me!!! THanKS!
Beth
I’d love to win this. After reading about it I have so many ideas running through my head of fun projects that I want to make with it!
Christy
The Silhouette is amazing! I want one SO bad! I would make window stickers for my daughter’s cheer and son’s football teams. I would also make wall stickers to decorate my boring white walls! I’d also love to try the glass etching! If I had a Silhouette, I’d be busy with it for weeks! :) Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
Shaun Stevenson
I would love to win this machine. I’m already planning the 101 cards I need to send and DIY home projects. I can’t even begin to wonder how awesome my classroom would look using this machine. Crossing my fingers :)
Amnah
Cool! Oh the possibilities!
Amber B
I would love one of these! So many project ideas!! Thanks!
MMW
Ohhhh. Here’s what I did with a BORROWED silhouette SD. I’d love one of my own to make more and more SILHOUETTES.
http://never-without.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-silhouette-photo-wall-part-v.html
Sandye
I love silhouettes, so many things to do with them. I would love a grouping of colorful silhouettes of my girls (doggie and two cats); an actual photo of that group will never happen.
Flavia Alvarez
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE one of these because the possibilities without cartridges are endless!
I currently own a Cricut and feel so limited by the cartridges :(
wendy
Oh my, the possibilities are ENDLESS! My mind is already racing for b-day gifts, christmas gifts, gifts for no reason…..
dana
We have been scoping one of these out for ages – I am so tired of the xacto knife and cutting mat for making stencils and cute signs – I love what you did with the brownies – super cute!
Celeste Waters
I am sooo excited about this giveaway! I have really gotten into crafting lately and I cannot imagine everything I could do with this!
LeeLa
Oh my would I love have this amazing machine!! I love the ability to take simple products and dress them up. I’m newly married and my husband is in Law School. I would love to have the Silhoutte to help me with our Christmas presents extraordinary on the slim budget. I love the art on square canvas. You would be paying hundreds for this at a modern home store. The Silhoutte would help cut those cost to a fraction.
If we had young ones, I would definitely rock the modern silhouettes. I think I will definitely do a cling of my precious rescue pooch until we are ready to start our family. I also LOVE the brownies. My office would die if I brought those to the next staff lunch.
Thanks for this amazing giveaway. I’m so crossing my fingers for this one.
Bronwyn
I want one of these so bad. I hope it wil be my lucky day!!!
Cara
I am already putting togehter my list of 101 ways to use the Silhouette
Ariana Tollefson
I would love to win the Silhouette!
Noelle Mink
Wow that would be amazing to win!!! I could make all my Christmas presents with that!!!
Courtney
The family decals on cars normally make me shudder, but yours is so charming! A Silhouette is definitely on the crafty wish list – amazing machine!
Lesley
Wow, what a dream it would be to win something like this. Very cool.
Kay
I would love this! You have such great ideas on your blog. You are a great inspiration for many. I really love the passion you have for your family and home. This nifty gadget would help me do the same for mine!
Keep blogging and I’ll keep reading.
Thank you.
Amanda Fellers
I can think of about a thousand things I could do w/ this product! Thanks!
Amber
I love the Silhouette and have been wanting one for a long time! Thanks!
Robin
What a wonderful giveaway! I would love to win!
Anni
Crossing my fingers…and toes! My list is long and endless of what I could create!
Tami
I would love one of these! Thank you for giving one away:)
Tracy
What a great giveaway! I love the decal you did for your car…I too am not a stick figure kind of girl. I would definitely love using the Silhouette to make silhouettes of my two little punkins.
Jess
i would love to win this! it would definitely enhance my crafting projects!
Nikki in CT
I love the silhouette in the frame. As a elementary school teacher I would use this SO much.
Amy
OH. MY. WORD. I want one so bad! My birthday is coming up, what a perfect b-day present this would be for me! I have so many signs and vinyl wall decals I want to make!
lynne
I so want to win this! I want to help my son’s new eagle -scout frat make t-shirts for rush. This will make them look professional and Not home made.
Comments are closed.