In a fit of preparation for the New Year’s Eve party that PA Melissa, PA Kiki, and my husband Dan and I threw, I VERY impulsively bought a Silhouette SD Digital Craft Cutting Tool. It is not something I needed for the party at all, however I once I knew the darn things existed, I could not get the notion out of my head that I NEEDED one.

A digital cutter is just like a printer, except that instead of printing it cuts images.  Let that sink in: it cuts any 2D image you can think of. Now for my fellow PA ladies, this is big news. We are long-time personalized t-shirt makers, and I’m a sucker for anything that can take our t-shirt making to the next level (I have a box full of iron-on felt letters under my bed).

And, I am a huge fan of paper art. Maybe it’s the simplicity of the medium, but a good paper art piece or pretty die cut invitation gets me every time. Now, with my new digital die cutter, I can make beautiful paper art and crafts, without any talent whatsoever. Remember Tord Boontje’s $100 paper lamp garlands from MoMA?  And those vinyl wall art decals? I was obsessed with those! Now I can be inspired by both of those and dream up and/or copy ideas for projects for my digital cutter. With a few tools it can emboss paper and make patterns to use to etch glass. I think it might even cook me dinner if I ask it nicely. A dream project (to be made either with decals or glass etching) is a dope glass coffee table like this one by my favorite Dutch-born, France-based fantastical filigree wizard, Tord Boontje:

Um, yeah. I’ll let you know how that goes. But I will keep you posted on my Silhouette SD DIY crafting escapades. My first craft was the very simple cutting of numbers for homemade New Year’s Eve crowns and tiaras (post coming soon), which turned out quite well!

So basically, I did it. I crossed over to the dark side of crafting and spent lots of money on a crafting tool instead of clothes. Watch out my friends, next stop: scrapbooking.  (No.)

Check out the Silhouette SD Digital Craft Cutting Tool here. Or just email me if you want me to cut something for you and we’ll work out a deal. Let’s test this puppy out!

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