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!
Nina
August 24, 2010 at 10:40 amThe family in the back of your car is so cute, much better than stick figures. I could have lots of fun with a machine like that…
rachelle
August 24, 2010 at 10:44 amWoah! That would be incredible :)
Christy
August 24, 2010 at 10:46 amWow! Love the decal! Most family stuff is annoyingly twee but you make stuff that looks stylish. The first thing I’d use the machine for would be to make some cute, hip invites for my baby sister’s baby shower. :)
Tracy
August 24, 2010 at 10:47 amMy husband and I just put together an art and craft room so we could pool our creative energy. The Silhouette machine would be an amazing tool to explore. Thanks so much for the opportunity to participate in this amazing giveaway!
tmguhr@att.net
Teddi
August 24, 2010 at 10:47 amI can’t stop thinking of the things I could make with that machine.
Taryn
August 24, 2010 at 10:50 amWhat a wonderful giveaway! We are expecting our first baby on February 13 – one day after you! I can think of so many baby/nursery projects with that could keep me busy over the next 6 months with that machine :)
Kimberley
August 24, 2010 at 10:59 amI am always making cards and neat little gifts for my friends, especially those with new babies. I would love something like this!
Alyssa Coberly
August 24, 2010 at 10:59 ampretty much obsessed with your vinyl stickers for your car – – its amazing.
Danielle S
August 24, 2010 at 11:10 amOh I would LOVE this!! I have been wanting silhouette’s of my 3 kids!!! :)
Martha Orona
August 24, 2010 at 11:14 amI could die for one of these……….! I picked up crafting when I had my daughter, I sew and redesign furniture….I hope to share this hobby with her when she is older! :)
I would use it to make decals for my daughters room, the furniture I redesign and to help my husband who DJ’s promote himself. :)
p.s I loved your decal :)
Ally
August 24, 2010 at 11:19 amWow. I check your blog every morning and you already have 810 comments. Giveaways are a good way to get advertising! Anyway, the odds aren’t great it looks like but if I won this would be awesome for my art. I’m crossing my fingers!
Melis
August 24, 2010 at 11:41 amThis is terrific! My sister and I have been wanting one of these for ages… What an excellent giveaway.
Bree C.
August 24, 2010 at 11:42 amLove both of your projects! I have been trying to get myself to make silhouettes of me and my husband for awhile now to frame, and this little machine just might get me motivated. Fun!!
Angie
August 24, 2010 at 11:43 amI would love to win this! I remember seeing a pic (I think in Domino) of a silhouette of “man + woman = baby” and I’d love to make that of me, my husband and son. One of the many pieces of art I’d like to make someday…
Love your blog – it’s one of my absolute favorites!!
Ashley
August 24, 2010 at 11:44 amLook amazing, I love the decal, I want to make one.
Shelly
August 24, 2010 at 11:48 amI would love one of these!! I have been wanting to make silhouettes of the kids for a while.
Ruth Trujillo
August 24, 2010 at 11:51 amHow lovely! Love your projects.
Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
Kate
August 24, 2010 at 11:54 amCute! Love the car sticker!
Danielle
August 24, 2010 at 11:56 amThe stencil idea for brownies is an awesome idea, it would come in handy since I bake a lot.
stacy
August 24, 2010 at 12:00 pmI hadn’t seen this product until your post, so intriguing! I think it would be fun to use for kids’ projects, as well as organizing and home decor. Thanks for a chance!
Diane B
August 24, 2010 at 12:05 pmLove the decal! Oh . . . and the brownie stencil is a nice idea, but at my house they get eaten right out of the oven, so I’m not sure I would even get a chance to put a lovely stencil on them! I’d use one for T-shirts . . . I imagine adorable Onesies . . . but only imagining because this price is just a little out of my budget. Thanks for the chance to win one, though!
Catherine
August 24, 2010 at 12:05 pmThe things I could make!
lisa stok
August 24, 2010 at 12:10 pmooh nice. I love silhouettes.
Kacey
August 24, 2010 at 12:11 pmI’ve had my eye on one of these for a while. My fingers are crossed for a win!
Allison
August 24, 2010 at 12:16 pmlove, love, LOVE the car silhouette!
Jayna
August 24, 2010 at 12:16 pmI, too have had my eye on one of these!!
Laura
August 24, 2010 at 12:16 pmI LOOOOVE this machine! I have been wanting one for a long time! Hope I win!
Rebecca
August 24, 2010 at 12:19 pmOh, that would be just too much fun to play around with.
Rebecca
August 24, 2010 at 12:22 pmI love your decal. Not a fan of the more “traditional” ones, but yours are super cute! Feeling the Silhouette love!
anthea
August 24, 2010 at 12:30 pmYour car decal is absolutely adorable; I’d like to make one of my family too. Thanks for the great idea!
becca
August 24, 2010 at 12:40 pmGreat giveaway…thinking of all the great things to do with one….
Thank you!
Heather @ Lucky Star Lane
August 24, 2010 at 12:41 pmWith the day I’ve been having, I probably won’t win…but it sure would turn things around if I did ;)
Mrslimestone
August 24, 2010 at 12:44 pmOh pick me! I’d love to have one for some fun projects.
How do you think it would work if you needed to make a lot of the same shape? Is it a one shot kind of thing?
Sarah
August 24, 2010 at 12:44 pmI would LOVE LOVE LOVE this – that car decal is too cute!
Rachel
August 24, 2010 at 12:47 pmI’ve never been fond of family decals on cars but yours is quickly changing my mind- it’s great!!
Lydia
August 24, 2010 at 12:52 pmOooo, yes please! I love your silhouettes.
Ryan Green
August 24, 2010 at 12:53 pmIf I win this my fiance should be a little scared…everything we own is going to be decal-ed.
Dana Beth
August 24, 2010 at 12:55 pmholy moly i wanna win one of these so so bad.
Megan
August 24, 2010 at 12:58 pmOoooo!!! I would LOVE to win this!
Ali
August 24, 2010 at 12:59 pmI’ve been eyeing these machines for weeks. I think it would be fantastic to cut out cupcake wrappers from cute craft paper.
Anna
August 24, 2010 at 12:59 pmGreat giveaway! I can already imagine so many awesome things to make. I love the idea of brownie stencils – I like to decorate my favorite vegan chocolate cake with stencils and powdered sugar. So fun! I love your non-stick figure family too. :)
Sara W
August 24, 2010 at 1:00 pmOoh … I would LOVE to own one of these! Your modern family car decal is too cute.
Julie
August 24, 2010 at 1:10 pmMy fingers would be spared from anymore x-acto knife incidents (too many to count, although thankfully I still have all my fingers to count them on)! Who knows how long that will last though…
Annie
August 24, 2010 at 1:13 pmI would LOVE THIS! Pick me!!! :)
katherine
August 24, 2010 at 1:15 pmthis would be so much fun to have!
holly
August 24, 2010 at 1:23 pmwhat a fantastic little piece of equipment! Love the blog.
Debbie
August 24, 2010 at 1:25 pmOMG – would love to have one of these. What a great giveaway!
Kim
August 24, 2010 at 1:25 pmI would love to win this! I’ve been looking at it for months but haven’t saved the money for it yet…so….I’ll be saying my prayers!!
Courtney
August 24, 2010 at 1:30 pmI LOVE your family silhouette, so chic!
Maggie
August 24, 2010 at 1:34 pmThis looks like it could lead to hours and hours of fun for me! Thank you for reviewing this product! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your blog!
Beth
August 24, 2010 at 1:36 pmThanks for the great giveaway.
I love your take on the car silhouette. I haven’t been a big fan until I saw your version of it! I also love the idea of silhouettes of your children. I have two daughters and would love to create images of them before they get any bigger. i could also see using it for making wedding invitations or save the dates with the couple’s silhouettes. Very fun!
Krysta
August 24, 2010 at 1:41 pmI would LOVE one of these machines! I love the idea of creating decor for my home (love your silhouette of your daughter) and would probably use it to create one-of-a-kind decorations for my husband and my new home!!!! :)
Chris
August 24, 2010 at 1:45 pmLooks like a fun new tool for my scrapbooking projects!
Bethany
August 24, 2010 at 1:46 pmI would love this :)
Darcy Terry
August 24, 2010 at 1:47 pmThis is a fabulous giveaway. I would love to have one of those. I would definitely make myself new car details. I love what you did with your picture. You should have the guy that did the first photo shoot do the next family pictures too because they were precious.
Krista
August 24, 2010 at 1:50 pmI’ve gotta have one of these! Fingers crossed! (toes, too!)
Pumpkin Petunia
August 24, 2010 at 1:53 pmOh my gosh, I HAVE to have one of these!!!
Little Paper Dog
August 24, 2010 at 1:54 pmWhat a sweet little machine! Thanks so much for taking the time to review it — I greatly value your opinion :)
Rebecca
August 24, 2010 at 2:00 pmI can think of a 1,000 things I’d want to make with this. I hope I win!
Dina
August 24, 2010 at 2:02 pmWow! What a great giveaway!
Jess
August 24, 2010 at 2:04 pmOh how I’d love a Silhouette! I adore your project ideas too–way better than stick figures!
JLR
August 24, 2010 at 2:06 pmI would love to have this – your family decal beats the pants off those stick figures!
Lauren
August 24, 2010 at 2:09 pmWow! this is amazing. I didn’t know it even existed. All the possibilities….
Letty
August 24, 2010 at 2:12 pmYou are so creative! I’m not a fan of the stick figure decals, but I love your take on it! Classy.
neysa
August 24, 2010 at 2:12 pmrock on, family sticker!
Valerie
August 24, 2010 at 2:12 pmI love silhouettes! My two kittens would look adorable in silhouette :)
Jenni
August 24, 2010 at 2:16 pmI want this more than you can EVER know! Thanks for the post and I love your images!
jeanfrances
August 24, 2010 at 2:16 pmI’ve heard so much about this machine and now after seeing what you create with it…I definately want one!
Reading your ‘blog-site’ is always a highlight of my day, thanks!
Sarah Bradley
August 24, 2010 at 2:21 pmI can’t believe how much I want this, especially considering that I didn’t know it existed before reading this post!
justine tamayo
August 24, 2010 at 2:23 pmI think that this would be so much fun.
Sarah Stoudt
August 24, 2010 at 2:24 pmI would make long-overdue window logo signage for my shop. And then just about a million other fun things. What a great machine!
Malinda lloyd
August 24, 2010 at 2:27 pmI really like the design – I have a Roland Stika but it’s more for vinyl than paper or card. I would love to have a dedicated “paper only” machine that I could use for my personal designs.
anyone compared the two machines?
kali
August 24, 2010 at 2:37 pmOh, I love it! I’ve been making silhouettes for a long time, this would be really fun!! thank you!
Circa1972
August 24, 2010 at 2:38 pmLOVe your family sillhouette! Looks fantastic. I have three cats and one dog and would very much like to do a quad of sillhouette images of them for over the fireplace. They all have lovely mugs! After that, I can think of a million more uses, as I would cut my own vinyl stencils with it!
Gina P
August 24, 2010 at 2:39 pmLove it. I have been lusting after this machine for months. It’s a definite on my Christmas list (if I don’t win it of course). Thanks for the awesome give away!
jung a
August 24, 2010 at 2:45 pmlove the vinyl sticker on your car! too cute!
Abbie
August 24, 2010 at 2:45 pmThis looks like so much fun!
taralee
August 24, 2010 at 2:49 pmi’ve been wanting one of these for awhile now…i didn’t realize they are mac compatible. thanks for the opportunity!
Michele
August 24, 2010 at 2:56 pmI love the crafts you’ve posted and if I had a family, I would totally commission one of those adorable car decals! Every time I see the stick figures, I cringe. Thank you for the chance to win one of these, this is an amazing giveaway!
Jen
August 24, 2010 at 3:00 pmI have been admiring this beauty for sometime. Thanks for the chance to win!
Angela Miner
August 24, 2010 at 3:00 pmI hope I win, I hope I win!! I’ve been wanting one of those things forever!!
Ashley
August 24, 2010 at 3:02 pmMy fingers are crossed :)
Megan Lovely
August 24, 2010 at 3:02 pmI would love doing this for my family! Especially since we all live far away from one another and none of us particularly like photographs of ourselves, thus our fmily pictures are ususally relegated to books and photo boxes.
Cute idea!
<3,
Megan
Robyn
August 24, 2010 at 3:04 pmVery cool. I could see the being used in a variety of ways. I’d like to get started!
Brandi
August 24, 2010 at 3:06 pmI love this! I made silhouettes for my whole family based off of the tutorial Making it Lovely provided. Hope I win!
Martha
August 24, 2010 at 3:09 pmI would love to win this! I have a toddler and am just getting ready to have another baby in 4 weeks. I’m avoiding actual work right now because I’m dreaming of all of the ways I can use this machine for projects in the kids’ rooms!
Suz
August 24, 2010 at 3:12 pmI have been seeing these pop up all over blogland and I am seriously in awe of anyone that has one. My daughter and I would be crafting crazies if we had one of these!!
Leyla
August 24, 2010 at 3:12 pmI would love to win one of these. The family sticker you made is so cool!
man
August 24, 2010 at 3:15 pmlove silhouettes! cute car decal, much improved over those stick figures!
Brooke
August 24, 2010 at 3:21 pmso cool that you are giving one away… thanks! I can think of a thousand projects to try!
kimmie
August 24, 2010 at 3:27 pmOMG I’d love to win one, I’ve been wanting a silhouette! If I dont win, I’m going to have to use one of your codes to purchase one :)
Alexandra
August 24, 2010 at 3:30 pmI would absolutely love one of these, I already have a bunch of ideas swirling in my head!
rachael gregg
August 24, 2010 at 3:31 pmA crafty girls dream! fingers are crossed.
Sadye
August 24, 2010 at 3:39 pmHaha…I actually do like the stick people :)
bridget b.
August 24, 2010 at 3:41 pmvery cool! hope i win.
kribss
August 24, 2010 at 3:50 pmi SO want one of these! i need to re-label all my stuff : )
Kristi H.
August 24, 2010 at 3:50 pmOMG! I’ve been wanting something like this for awhile. Except it’s called a Cricut machine. The Silhouette SD sounds even better!
Stephenie T
August 24, 2010 at 3:56 pmThis is such a great giveaway! I would love one!
Emily Sandberg
August 24, 2010 at 3:57 pmPlease include me in this amazing giveaway! *Fingers crossed* Thank you for the great review! & thank you for making such a cuter version of the car family silhouette! :)
~Emily
Gemma
August 24, 2010 at 3:59 pmI think I could get quite a bit of use out of that between scrap booking, templates for applique/quilting, and 3 little girls (paper dolls, anyone?)