Use Coupon Code: SASMC9
Promotion Ends on: 12/31/09

Which is better, Silhouette SD or Cricut Expression?

I just spent hours comparing the two machines word for word, feature for feature. I’ll tell you what makes them so similar, then I’ll list out 5 reasons why the Silhouette SD is better than the Cricut Expression.

How are they alike?

They’re alike in many ways actually. They’re both personal digital cutting machines that work very much like home printers. Except instead of printing, they cut. However, both machines can use pens instead of blades to draw the image if you don’t want it cut out. Both the Silhouette SD and the Cricut Expression can cut fonts as well as pictures. They are both very portable and can be taken to scrapbook parties. Both machines can cut many different kinds of materials including paper, card stock, and vinyl. 

So what makes the Silhouette SD better?

The Silhouette SD is loads cheaper. The Cricut Expression is regularly $499.99. However, I saw it at A Cherry On Top, Scrapbooking Shoppe for $299.99. The Silhouette SD is regularly priced at $299.99. But A Cherry On Top, Scrapbooking Shoppe has it for $249.99.  Use coupon code SASMC9 before 12/31/09 to save 40%! That makes the Silhouette SD cost around $149.99 . So the sale price of the Cricut is what the Silhouette SD’s original price is! 

The Silhouette SD doesn’t require cartridges! Let me say that again, no cartridges required! With the Cricuit Expression, you have to use cartridges. Each set of designs requires its own cartridge. These cartridges are expensive! The Silhouette SD connects to your computer (or you can use the on-board SD card reader) so it’ll cut almost anything you ask it to! The Silhouette SD comes with an installation CD for your PC. As soon as the software is installed on your computer, you can immediately start cutting any font you have! That right there is worth hundreds of dollars in Cricut cartridges, except you can cut other things on your computer also!

The Silhouette SD has an online design store. If there’s something specific you’re looking for, chances are, it’s in the Silhouette store. You can purchase individual designs for $1.99. With the Cricut Expression, you have to buy the designs in big groups that come on a cartridge. So if you don’t need all the designs on the cartridge, you still have to pay that terribly high price for the whole cartridge. With the Silhouette SD, you can buy individual designs or, if you think you’ll be doing a lot of downloading, they also have an unlimited subscription.

The Silhouette SD is not limited to cutting out solid shapes. It can also cut out images and clip art. If you have a graphic or clipart on your computer that you want to print and cut out, why not let the Silhouette SD cut it out for you? All you have to do is open the image you want to print in the Silhouette software. Get it all lined up the way you want it and print it out. When the Silhouette  software prints the image, it prints it with little tick marks outside the image. This tells the Silhouette SD how to get lined up and where to start cutting. You’ll never see these tick marks on the cut out and you’ll be so impressed with the accuracy of the cutting the Silhouette SD makes.

This might be a minor detail to some people, but there’s less little accessories you need to store, transport, and keep track of with the Silhouette SD. There’s no cartridges or funny keypad overlays, you can keep all your designs organized in the Silhouette software on your PC. Overall, the Silhouette SD is 5 times better than the Cricut Expression.

Check out the Silhouette SD

First, you should decide on what sort of scrapbook you would like to make. There are various sizes that are available in bookstores and on the Web.

The most common sizes are the 8×12 and the 12×12 inch formats. These formats are a bit costly but they have good qualities and can hold a giant amount of collections.

The 8×11 format works the best since it can fit the inkjet printers that are generally of the same size. You can also use three ring binders, which is a great option for a scrapbook.

You’ll even position the pages similar to the format of a post type binder where you can create a double outline. The pages are attached closely so that they can be used as 1 outline. You can compose footage on that format even if they are not separately placed on the printer.

Also available are far more inexpensive scads that you can get in the 8×12 format. They can be employed as college supplies, art, and office supplies too.

You can have more room from the pages if your choice is to use three ring binders for your memory book. But it is better to have top quality binders to help arrange the collections on the pages before arranging them in a post type binder.

It’s not sensible to use a spiral non-removable scrapbook because you’ll be limited on one special page and you may wish to rearrange the pages. Some folk are still purchasing this type of format because they specialize on a specific compilation. This allows them to categorize the collections from each page.

There are scrapbooking themes that may exhibit those fun memories. Your youngsters may enjoy having a look at the pictures so they can see how styles and trends looked years ago. Neighbors and friends visiting your home might enjoy flipping through the pages instead of just having a look at old photograph albums.

Naturally it is always pleasurable to remember the moments in your life by looking at your memory book. Making a scrapbook with more than one themes is straightforward to organize particularly if you use inexpensive scrapbooking supplies.

Each page can have a different theme. Actually, you can save more money and time when you apply an identical color on the background if you want. There are so many scrapbooking supplies obtainable that the possibilities are limitless limit when it comes to design.

With the Cricut, there’s expensive cartridges right? Like video games, you have to buy them separately, they don’t come with the machine. I looked them up, these cartridges are like $80! I noticed that you can get 40% off of any Cricut item at A Cherry On Top, Scrapbooking Shoppe in September with coupon code SEPT947. Even with the discount, I think that the cartridges are expensive.

I don’t know a whole lot about the Silhouette yet, but I do know that it hooks up to your computer. You can make it do anything you want without the extra costs of buying the cartridges!

The cricut has one advantage however. It’s very user friendly. So you don’t have to be a computer junkie like me to use it. But I think that anyone reading online for information regarding scrapbooking is already a computer junkie like me and can probably handle the Silhouette just fine.

Please, leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts! I want to hear from people who have used either of these machines. Tell me what you like about them.

Just knot pieces about 3 inches long to the spiral spine of the book. The looks great on albums, notebooks, journals, and more. It looks really cool when the colors coordinate with the cover of the book. However, it’s still a lot of fun to make it wild and crazy with all the leftovers you can find no matter what the colors are.

You can get all the materials required at ScrapbookPal. They always have good prices.

You’ll need a stamp, colored ink, clear embossing powder, and a heat gun. Take the lid off the embossing powder and keep it close by. When you stamp your card or project, you’ll want the ink to still be wet when you sprinkle on the embossing powder. Otherwise it won’t stick. This is very much like sprinkling glitter on a line of glue. It’ll stick where it’s wet. Then you can pour the rest onto a piece of scrap paper and then back into the jar. 

When you’re satisfied that all the ink is covered with embossing powder, hit it with the heat tool a couple inches away with even strokes until the powder is shiny. Let it cool and you’re done!

You can also do the same thing with clear embossing ink and colored embossing powder. This way, you can sprinkle more than one color on the same image.

Wal-mart carries the ink cartridges I need for about $35. I just checked the ClickInks.com price…It’s only $12.35 for my brand and type of printer! Not only that, but I was able to get free shipping PLUS I bought 2 and got the 3rd for FREE!

See how much the cartridges are for your printer.
Leave me a comment when you find out.

So you’ve started a couple scrapbooking projects a while back and right now, you’re out looking for layout ideas so you can jumpstart your creativity and get back to those projects. First, I’ll give you 3 main reasons why you won’t finish your scrapbook projects. Then I’ll explain how you can overcome these tremendous obstacles easily to help you enjoy  scrapbooking again.

1. You’re Just Too Busy

Scrapbooking is a lot of fun! When you don’t have kids screaming, laundry piling up, mouths to feed, and don’t forget the job! Right now, you probably think that in order to get any real progress made on a scrapping project, you need a big chunk of time where you can sit down, uninterrupted, and work on just that. Like there is such a thing… You’re just too busy! Later, I’ll tell you why you don’t need huge blocks of time to complete a scrapbook.

2. Scrapper’s Block

The second reason why you never finish a scrapbook is because you run out of layouts and design ideas. You may have already run out of layouts and design ideas. That’s how you found this site in the first place! Let me tell you from experience, it doesn’t matter how creative you are, everyone experiences scrapper’s block. It’s okay. This site has some pretty cool ideas for jumpstarting your creativity.

3. It takes too long

The third reason why you won’t finish a scrapbooking project is because it takes a very long time to complete. So let’s say you have 20 pages in your book and you’re trying to fill them all. If it takes you 2 hours to do a page, it’ll take you 40 hours to get the whole book filled. 40 Hours?! But I have a job! I have kids! I have to run errands, clean the house, and make dinner! I don’t have 40 hours to spare!

Don’t give up just yet!

So you agree with me now. You’ll never finish your scrapbook. WRONG! All you need is a little encouragement and some really great scrapbooking layout ideas. Really good scrappers (the kind that do it for a living and pretty much always finish their projects) use what are called sketches. A sketch is like having a scrapbook pattern. It’s a drawing of a scrapbook page with placements allocated for pictures, trim, embellishments, titles, journal sections, and so on. The best sketches can be used several times in the same scrapbook without anyone ever noticing that it’s the same layout, just with different paper, colors, trim,  and other embellishments.

Maximize your time

Scrapbook sketches help you to make the most out of the little time that you have. You don’t have to waste your time pushing around embellishments trying to find the best layout. Just choose your pictures and embellishments, pick a layout, and set your design according to the sketch. You could cut your time by up to 75% just by using the sketches! So now instead of 2 hours per page, you’re spending 30 minutes!

No more scrapper’s block!

When you use scrapbooking sketches to design your scrapbooks, you don’t have to worry about coming up with a new design every time you start a new page. I used to spend most of my time staring at a blank page trying to get ideas to come to me. I don’t have that problem anymore. I can sort my pictures ahead of time and when I get a free moment, I open up an ebook I bought called 500 Scrapbooking Sketches. The book is sorted by number of pictures. So if I have 3 pictures in my set, I just go to the section of the book that contains layout sketches for 3 pictures. I usually don’t spend too much time staring at them. They’re just black and white drawings. Until you put them together with pretty paper, stickers, rub-ons, titles, and of course, the pictures, they’re not much to look at. But once you get it all together, it just comes to life! The pages look very professional.

You don’t have to have huge chunks of time

When you’re using a sketch, you don’t need to do the whole page in the same block of time. When I choose a sketch, I just leave it up on my computer screen. Then I can come and go frequently. As long as I have the sketch to go off of, I can’t lose my place or my train of thought. It’s very easy to leave the room, go run an errand, come back, and pick up right where you left off.

My favorite sketches

Not all sketches are great. Most are okay, but there are some sketches out there that can create wonderful scrapbook pages no matter what the colors or theme. A really great sketch is versitle enough to be used in a baby scrapbook AND a new house scrapbook AND a vacation to Rome scrapbook. These are the kind of sketches you want to hang on to when you find them. They’re what will make you a really fantastic scrapper. 500 Scrapbooking Sketches has more of those really great sketches than I’ve ever seen in one book. Big thanks to the author, Jennifer Gormly. Her sketches are really awesome!

image by: meglet127

The scrapbook theme can be easy or complex. It could be a special event such as a birthday, a baby shower, a wedding, Christmas, or Halloween. Scrapbook themes may also be customized to the scrapbook recipient’s individual interests. Themes could include sports, fave TV programs, music, the out of doors, or cultural influences.

What is the general purpose for your scrapbook?
Who is the scrapbook for?
Who is the scrapbook regarding?

The feedback to these 3 questions are all factors in selecting an appropriate scrapbook layouts. For instance, the scrapbook you are giving your nephew as he graduates from medical college is maybe different than the grandparent book you send your mother. Your nephew will often enjoy a scrapbook with photos, poems, books, and more masculine embellishments The theme of the scrapbook might be medicine. You could create embellishments that looked like knifes and tweezers around various photos of your nephew during his school years.

Your mom, on the other hand, will like a mess of baby photographs fancifully embellished with flowers, ribbon, and baby fingerprints. This scrapbook theme will generally be your baby. Photographs could include baby and gramps with the baby. A nice journal about your baby’s birth could also add a nice touch

Don’t forget to create a title for your scrapbook. Though adding a title might seem to be apparent or trivial, a title outlines the entire basis of your scrapbook. The title immediately tells the spectator what your page is concerning. In one word or one short phrase, the title tells the reader the scrapbook theme and point.

Titles can be as basic as the date of an event, the name of an individual, or a specific event. They also might be more engaging and exciting. Titles can entail quotes, sayings, fillers, or simple phrases. The best places to have a look for title inspiration are in greeting cards, advertisements, and commercials.

Color choice is also critical. Color coordination and contrast will accent and highlight your scrapbook theme. A well thought out color palette can help define the theme of a page, attract attention to precise items, or detract away from mistakes. Poorly chosen color schemes, on the other hand, may cause your scrapbook page to look bad.

Background color can either be matched, coordinated, or contrasted with the colors in your photographs, or elaborations. Matching colors supplements the continuity of the color palette. Coordinated colors add depth to scrapbook pages. Contrasted colors focus the eye. In this manner, color can be used to make the effect you wish.

A great way to see how colors look combined is to gather and check out color wheels from your local paint or hardware store. Paint wheels are usually attainable free to take away in nearly any paint dep.

Almost all scrapbooks will contain photos. Even the most disinterested reader of your scrapbook will glance at the photos. Photos truly are worth one thousand words. , it’s critical to select footage that are of top quality and obviously illustrate your scrapbook theme.

Any photograph can be employed in a scrapbook. Even instant photographs can be used in scrapbooking. Just take care the chemicals in the picture don’t spill out on the remainder of your scrapbook. Digital footage can easily be printed right onto lignin-free and acid -free paper.

Always keep in mind that scrapbooking is permanent. , it is probably preferable to use copies of your sole image of Great Grandma rather than risk spoiling the photograph forever. Simply scan the picture on your computer scanner and print the photograph on lignin free and acid free paper.

Scrapbooking is enjoyable and delightful. You are creating a scrapbook of momentousmemories that is more impressive than a regular picture album. So select your scrapbook theme, get the basic scrapbooking supplies, choose some photos, and get started.