Monday, March 22, 2010

A little Slice of heaven

You may have seen several of us mention our Slice - I'm pretty sure that we all love our Slice, most of the time!!



Picture from Making Memories

I got my Slice when they first came out and couldn't wait to play with it!! I started off with just the Slice and the Design Card that came with it. I eventually got the Basics 3 card and Fa La La. I was also lucky enough to buy my Slice at the right time and get the offer for the free Design Card - Seasons. So within just a few months, I had enough Design Cards to keep me busy!!

I made several fun things right away - like this December Daily Album and our Christmas Card for 2008! I made this Countdown to Christmas and decorations for out little Alabama tree, too!



I really loved cutting things out - since this was the first die cutting system I had, I went a little crazy, obviously!! But, it was so fun!!

I had a few issues with my Slice, mostly operating issues on my part!! I wasn't always patient and when it wouldn't do just what I wanted, I tended to just unplug it and walk away!! I did end up watching several of the videos on the Why Slice website and that helped a lot. I still tend to have a few problems with it now, but sometimes you just have to give the machine a rest and take a break!!

Now, I've added several Design Cards to my stash! I have Basics 2, Spooky Alley and Mix and Mingle. I've used my Slice for accents on layouts, cards and altered items. I've used it for Banners - for Birthdays and Baby Showers. I've used it on three diaper cakes now, too!

Here's the breakdown on my thoughts on the Slice:

Pros:
  • Super portable
  • with the recent upgrades to the machine, it's much faster
  • design cards are affordable, especially when they are on sale
  • endless options with the extra things they've added recently - shadowing, mirror imaging, etc
  • cuts paper and cardstock easily
  • cuts vinyl

Cons:
  • battery runs out quickly to me, so even if it's portable, you still have to plug it in to get the best results
  • temperamental - sometimes I really do just have to unplug it and walk away when it won't cut all the way through the paper, or cuts wonky - coming back to it later seems to make it work again though
  • the Design Cards and accessories aren't on sale often enough for me (although I've recently discovered that the accessories aren't excluded on JoAnn's coupons - YAY)
  • when cutting tons of designs, I hate that I have to hold the machine, but the good thing is they've now come out with a Hands free option and I'll be looking into adding that to my stash soon!
  • adhesive is pricey and my last tube clogged up and was a pain to fix
What I hope they come out with in the future:
  • the ability to cut your own designs (I've heard this will be available in the future though)
  • the ability to use the new features (mirror image and shadowing) on the old design cards
  • Disney design cards (oh my gosh - I hope this happens!!!)
Things the Slice does that I haven't tired:
  • embossing (I really want to try that)
  • drawing (I don't know if the pens are out yet, but I know they showed it at CHA)
Overall, I love my Slice!! I love that I can cut out any title for a page (that is, when I'm not using all the alphabets that come in my Scripts kit - Thickers are tough competition for the Slice). I love that I can cut multiple sizes of shapes and layer them for some fun accents. I love that I can cut vinyl now. I cut out a name and stuck it on a cute pink pail for my future niece. Her first Easter bucket is ready (she isn't arriving until after this Easter, but I just couldn't help making a cute pail for her). I've also cut my initials for my back window on my van. I feel like the options are endless - there are so many things I get excited about doing!!

Making Memories sales vinyl that's marketed as Slice Vinyl, but it's patterned and that doesn't always work for what I want to cut. They haven't come out with solid vinyl yet, that I know of. The Slice does cut the vinyl for the Cricut and Silhouette. I also picked up a scrap of vinyl from a sign shop and it cut that, too!

So, back to the OVERALL part, I love it!

3 comments:

Heather @ Girl Gone Mom said...

I love scrapbooking, both digital and "real". :)

I'm a new follower from Friday Follow. Please stop by and follow The Penny-Pinching Mama. :)

SavannaLea said...

I love my SLICE too, I am on my 3rd one (defective battery issues) but so far it seems to be the charm. I love the portability and all the great cartridges too choose from. Making Memories has great customer service too, just call and they will do all they can to help.

lucysinspired said...

I love my slice, too. It is the best little cutting machine around!!!