What is the difference between the Making Memories Slice and Slice Elite Cordless Digital Design Cutters, you ask? Well, lets start with the basics!

Both are comparable as far as looks; size is less than 5″, weight-2 pounds, and both have a 2″ preview window. Both run either on rechargeable batteries or can be plugged in with the power cord, which allows total flexibility for taking it to crops, vacation, etc.! Both take the same design cards and are offered in blue or pink!

With the Slice, you can  select from thousands of high-style images and instantly convert them into die-cuts up to 8 sizes ranging between 1/2 inch and 4 inch tall.

The Slice Elite has a hardware upgrade which allows the ELITE to cut more precise, 40% faster and twice as deep. Cut textured cardstock, vellum, vinyl, acetate, foam sheets, thin metal sheets and photos up to 1mm thick. Cut 1 inch to 4 inch designs in 1/2 inch increments anywhere on any size media.

WHY CHOOSE THE SLICE OR SLICE ELITE, you might ask?
1. Because it’s on-the-go just like you. Weighing less than two pounds, this 5″ square wonder goes everywhere you go. And because it’s cordless you can cut anywhere on any size media.

2. Because you can easily do it all at the touch of a button. Just insert a design card, select a shape from the friendly graphic interface and watch it work its magic.

3. Because the designs you desire come from one place. Enjoy Making Memories’ top-notch designs including the popular styles of the Noteworthy and Animal Crackers programs. Cut your favorite designs in one-to four-inch increments to compliment projects both large and small.

SLICE CUTTING CAPABILITIES:
The Slice is designed to cut through media in varying thicknesses including:
- Textured paper
- Cardstock
- Vellum
- Textured cardstock
- Photos (up to .5mm thick)
- Vinyl
- And Acetate

SLICE DESIGN CARD FEATURES:
- Design cards expand the Slice shape offerings many times over, and are currently available in four themes including Basic Shapes I, Basic Shapes II, Basic Shapes III, Noteworthy and Animal Crackers.
- Includes equivalent of thousands of design cuts including:  Upper & lower case alphabets
Monograms
Numbers
Scrolls
Flourishes
Photo Corners
Journaling Spots
Frames
Flowers
…..and much much more! All in our store!

I hope that you will also watch the video on the Slice Elite! Just click on the “More Details” button of the Slice Elite Cordless Digital Design Cutter and scroll down to the video!

Thanks and Happy Scrappin’!

Carrie

Hooray! The big day has FINALLY arrived! Today is the day that we are showing you ALL of the new releases from Heartfelt Creations, Lifestyle Crafts, Spellbinders, and Quickutz! You will be inspired beyond your wildest dreams with these amazing new products!

Heartfelt Creation’s Dutch Iris and New Life Collections are perfect to celebrate the coming of spring and Easter holiday!

The exclusive Spellbinders Decorative Dutch Iris die coordinates with the Heartfelt Creations Dutch Iris Collection of pre-cut rubber stamp sets: Distressed Leaves, Flora Grande 1, Flora Grande 2, Dutch Iris Medley, Dutch Iris Frame and Dutch Iris Oval.

The New Life stamp set coordinates with the exclusive Spellbinders Decorative Oval Window die-cut made just for Heartfelt Creations and the Heartfelt Creations pre-cut rubber stamp sets: Easter Lilies, Egg-citing Day, Vintage Life Background, Outside My Window, Decorative Vintage Cross, and Stained Glass Background.

Lifestyle Crafts has 5 new amazing Letterpress Printing Plates for the Letterpress Combo including the Nautical Printing Plate Set and Striped Printing Plate Set.

Quickutz’ delightful Fresh Start Collection includes an adorable 4 x 4 Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs that will definitely keep the smile on your face as you create your spring cards or layouts!

Spellbinders additional items bring their new release count to 45! Your head will spin as you make your wish list! They are absolutely incredible!

Most of the New Releases are expected to begin shipping the beginning of February! If you ask me, this is the best CHA Release ever! So many wonderful products to choose from! I want them all!!!! You can see these and much more under NEW PRODUCTS in our store!

Here are a couple layouts I did using just a few of the new Spellbinder Dies.  I used pieces from the S5-043 Fleur De Lis Motifs as well as S5-042 Fleur De Lis Accent and the S5-030 Fancy Tags Two for my first layout, along with the DCWV Black Currant Paper Stack.

For my second layout I used pieces from the S4-318 Fleur De Lis Squares, S5-051 Fanciful Flight and S5-030 Fancy Tags Two. The flowers are Glittered Layered Daisies from Petaloo.

I promise that you will LOVE this release as much as I do, so have fun shopping! You’ll be glad that you can just sit in your chair and push a button to put items in your cart and not have to push that heavy cart around!

Thanks for looking and Happy Scrappin’!

Carrie

The Silhouette SD is flying off the shelves especially at the GREAT price we have on it right now for a limited time.  We have been receiving quite a few questions about this AWESOME digital cutting tool and so thought we would blog about it and hopefully help those who are interested in answering all those questions. YES, we do NOT carry a lot of digital craft machines that connect to a computer, but we could not pass this one up. First off it connects to your computer just like a printer, but instead of printing designs it cuts them with a small blade. With the machine connected to your computer, you’ll get access to all of the fonts on your PC. Another question that is asked if it can cut vinyl? YES absolutely, in fact home decor with this machine is a breeze. We offer the adhesive vinyl too in white and black currently. Can it draw? YEP! If you purchase the sketch pens these can replace the blade and click into place and now you have a printer that is drawing for you in all types of inks! What can it Cut? Paper and Cardstock, Vinyl, Heat transfer material, Rhinestone templates, and specialty media. Who is Silhouette America? This is a great question. They branched off from Quickutz,who is now Lifestyle Crafts to exclusively offer digital die cutting to this specific market. Lastly, What else can it do? Well… I will give you some ideas: scrapbook pages, cards, custom apparel, vinyl decor as mentioned, etched glass, sketch designs, temporary tattoos even, and paper crafts of all sorts! I hope this helps a little bit.

To see more questions that customers have asked click on this LINK: Silhouette SD tips and tricks.

Thanks!

Marcie

WHAT IS SCORING: Scoring breaks down the fibers in the paper and allows it to bend and fold accurately without creasing other part of the paper, making your fold EXACT!

From Scor-Pal to Crafters Companion to Scor-It-All to Martha Stewarts Scoring Board, we have had many questions flying about what is the BEST scoring tool out there or if there is really a difference in which one you should buy.

So here at CutAtHome.com we did our own investigation visiting forums, talking to owners, designers, and of course most important YOU the PAPER CRAFTERS! Here is what we found out. Many like the Crafters Companion because of its options (i.e. envelopes),but complain that it does not have the deep channels like the Scor-pal. With deeper channels the score line makes for easier scoring and not having to press so hard. The Scor Pal is lines with a scoring tool, thus the “learning curve” is much easier. The crafters Companion is geared towards the paper crafter that is okay with complexity and a large learning curve. It is also double the price of the Scorpal because of everything it comes with and does.

Okay lets talk about the new MS scoring tool (Martha Stewart Scoring Board). This is the newest scoring tool on the market and is less in cost than all, but also has the most complaints. When scoring it tends to jump out of the tracks if you don’t push down really, really, hard. This is due to the flimsy material it is made out of. If you are planning on doing ONE project and then will never do card folding again, then this is an option. The other thing we’ve seen across the message boards is that eighth inch marks are VERY confusing. Here is another good article on Scor-Pal & Martha Stewart Scoring Board

There was NOT much talk about Scor-It-All (Scor-It) Tool that we could find other than what the owners say, which is it comes in 5 different styles ranging from 6 inches to 36 inches. It has a ruler function that seems to be useful. We also read through a bunch of reviews online and Scor-Pal still was favored by majority and that the Scor-It-All was more sturdy, but more difficult to use. If you are wanting to score chip board or other REALLY hard materials this could be an option. Here are what other people are saying that had a debate on Craft Critique: Scor-Pal vs Scor-It

Why Cut@Home chose to carry the SCOR-PAL over the others?

1. More sturdy with two side rails, which help with stability and compatible for right and left handed people.
2. Wider Deeper Grooves so tool does NOT jump rail. And helps with scoring thicker materials. Has been tested for depth perfection over & over. (see image to the right)
3. Quick measurements at every half inch making it SIMPLE to score.
4. Easy access to the tool on top of board and Multiple scores w/o having to move the paper.
5. Many accessory items also offered like the Scor-Mat and Scor-Bug.
6. The Price is affordable for the excellent quality you receive &  so much more!!!

CONCLUSIONS:

If you don’t need anything fancy and want a scoring board and tool that is EASY to use and practical, but built with quality and durable enough to score through MOST materials for an affordable price, we feel the Scor-Pal is the BEST OPTION! Read more about Scor-Pal… or see the NEW Scor-Buddy, which is portable and ideal for card making, invitations, and small gift boxes! Grooves are at every 1/4 inch. (Arriving in second week of June, but available for Pre-Order).

Cut@Home Team

Feel free to comment below!

Have you been wondering about the upcoming Quickutz Epic 12 die-cutting machine? Are you not sure whether you should buy the Epic Six now or just wait for the Epic Twelve? Are you happy with your Revolution and not sure you want another machine? If you have been asking yourself these questions, then this post is for you. Read on!

Yes, the rumors are true. I confirmed it today with a QK marketing rep that Quickutz is indeed releasing a new machine, the Epic Twelve. Quickutz is still not sure on a few things so some of the details are still a little sketchy. Here is what we know so far.

Quickutz does not have a release date yet for the Epic 12. They are projecting first or second quarter of 2010. They also have not decided on the price. My rep told me it will be priced at “well over $200.00.” And that is a direct quote from him. The Epic 12 will also weigh twice as much as the Epic 6, which will make the Epic 12 over twenty pounds. It will not be very portable.

So, you say you love your Revolution, and are not sure you need another die-cutting machine like the Epic 6? Some things to consider are the functionality of the Epic Six is much greater than the Revolution. The Rev does not cut the steel ruled dies, Cuttlebug folders or the Sizzlets. The Epic Six will cut all this and much more. The openings are different, with the Rev opening at four inches and the Epic 6 at six inches. Also, the Epic Six has the larger platform and will cut the twelve inch dies. Also, it may not look like it, but the Epic 6 actually has just as many metal moving parts as the Revolution. While it is true the first batch of Epic 6′s had problems with the pressure cutting the middle of the 4×8 alphabets, this problem has been corrected.

Die-cutting machines are all about personal preference. If you are happy with your machine, then stick with it. If you think you may like to try something a little different, then this post gives you some things to think about.

Happy Scrappin!

Marcie