Heat Things Up with Silhouette America

With springtime finally here, it is no secret that we are enjoying the outdoors every chance that we get. That being said, there are days like today where Mother Nature has traded our warm sunshine for an overcast day filled with wind and showers. While I am all for a good thunderstorm every now and then, for the most part, days like this are just dreary and I despise them. The only good thing about them is that I get an excuse to break into crafting mode. Growing up, I’ve always been the crafty one but, since having our own children, my craft time has become overridden with toys, potty training, ABCs, and other mommy duties. It has been difficult to find a way to work good crafting into the day while still keeping the kids’ interest. Thankfully, I recently had the opportunity to try my hand at a pretty amazing product and, yes, I’ve even been able to involve the kids with this one.

Meet Silhouette.

I’ve had my eye on this little darling for quite some time now and was thrilled to have had the opportunity to try it out. They sent along the Silhouette CAMEO for me to work with and I could not be more pleased with it.

“The Silhouette CAMEO is an electronic cutting machine for personal use. Like a home printer, it plugs into your PC or Mac with a simple USB cable. However, instead of printing, it uses a small blade to cut paper, cardstock, vinyl, fabric and more up to 12” wide and 10 feet long. The machine also has the ability to register and cut printed materials.”

Having had hundreds if not thousands of project ideas wander through my mind over the years that I’ve always put aside due to not wanting to frustrate myself with the tedious work of hand-cutting, I’ve been quite smitten with the CAMEO thus far. The Silhouette CAMEO package comes complete with the following:

• Silhouette CAMEO electronic cutting machine
• Silhouette Studio  software
• Power cable
• USB cable
• 12” cutting mat
• Cutting blade
• 1-month Basic subscription to the Silhouette Online Store
• Basic Instruction Guide
• 51 exclusive cuttable designs
  

I have already tried my hand at numerous projects with my new Silhouette – everything from simply cutting cardstock to making vinyl creations – and have loved every second of it.

Tonight, however, I wanted to share with you one particular project that can be done with the Silhouette that even got my little ones excited to join in on the fun.

Heat transfers!

I don’t know about you but, for me, heat transfers are a great way to personalize everything from your home décor to your own fashion and style. I have always been a fan of creating fun little items such as decorative pillows and even adding cute flares onto things like backpacks and handbags. Having dabbled in the world of iron-ons and regular desktop printer heat transfer paper in the past, I was satisfied with the end result but never all too impressed. Now, flash forward to today and my time spent with the incredible Silhouette CAMEO and it’s a whole new ball game!

In addition to the Silhouette CAMEO itself, they sent along their Heat Transfer Starter Kit to help me kick things off and get started on the right foot.

“The Heat Transfer Starter Kit contains heat transfer material and all other supplies needed to get started with your first heat transfer project. With your Silhouette and this kit, you’ll find it incredibly easy to make your first heat transfer craft.”

This kit includes the following:

• 3 sheets of smooth heat transfer material
• 2 sheets of flocked heat transfer material
• Silhouette Hook
• Exclusive download card good for 10 heat transfer designs
• Idea booklet and instruction guide
• Instructional DVD

With all of this now on hand, we went right to work.

After looking through all of the available designs, my little ones decided on a “fishing shirt” now that the weather is getting warmer. I pulled out a plain white t-shirt from the kids’ closet and let the kids choose from the included color options. From there, it was just a simple process of following along with the step-by-step instructions. We set the correct cut setting, loaded the designated heat transfer material into the Silhouette CAMEO, altered the size of our design, and sent it off to the machine to watch the magic happen. After all was said and done, the quick peeling of the backing, using the hook to remove the smaller cut pieces, positioning the design on the shirt, and setting down the iron resulted in a rather amazing shirt for our little guy. Just take a look!

I absolutely love how well this turned out and I am so very excited to be able to work on a slew of projects and make a plethora of crafts from here on out. The possibilities with the Silhouette CAMEO truly are limitless.

BUY:
The Silhouette CAMEO and the Heat Transfer Starter Kit can be purchased for $299.99 and $39.99, respectively, directly from the Silhouette website as well as from numerous craft stores, both, online and in-store nationwide. Right now, however, they are running a special April promotion for the set.

• Silhouette CAMEO Bundle – $269.99 (a $364.96 value)
  • 1 Silhouette CAMEO
  • 1 Heat Transfer Starter Kit
  • 1 Printable Heat Transfer Material for Dark Fabrics
  • 1 Printable Heat Transfer Material for Light Fabrics
• Silhouette Portrait Bundle – $139.99 (a $244.96 value)
  • 1 Silhouette Portrait
  • 1 Heat Transfer Starter Kit
  • 1 Printable Heat Transfer Material for Dark Fabrics
  • 1 Printable Heat Transfer Material for Light Fabrics

 

In addition to the special value bundles, all Heat Transfer materials will be 30% off! To take advantage of this sale, simply click on the following promotion photo and be sure to enter the promotion code “80MPH” at checkout. Sale prices end on April 30^th at 11:59 pm (MST).

CONNECT:
Be sure to keep up with Silhouette via their social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest to stay up to date on all of the latest news, new product releases, giveaways, sale prices, and more!

And, speaking of giveaways, if you head over to the Silhouette Facebook page, you can try your luck at winning a wonderful goodie bag in honor of their 100k Facebook Fan celebration! Entries will close on May 1^st at 11:59 pm (MST).

My experience with Silhouette thus far has been a spectacular one and I am certainly looking forward to many more good times, great projects, and fun crafting to come. Be sure to keep an eye out as I will definitely be sharing all of the excitement along the way.

*Randi received the above product(s), free of charge, to facilitate this review. All opinions are those of the reviewer only.