Silhouetting for Classes

In the past few weeks I've been prepping for several classes. Having taught for many years, I've pretty much had my routine down...that is until I bought my Silhouette! With my August classes, I started incorporating Silhouette cuts into my class projects. Of course, I still love and use my Big Shot for many of the pieces I use on my cards. The Silhouette just provides me with more options!

Because of the Silhouette cutting, I've had to add a few steps to my normal class prep routine. The first thing I need to do is format my cut files and save them an SD card so that I can take them to Memory Bound and do the cutting on our store machine. 

This process has worked very well, especially now that my friend Katie suggested using two cutting mats. This is a little like using two cookie sheets when you're baking. While one batch of cookies cools, you can put a second batch in the oven. Using two cutting mats allows me to "scrape" off my cuts from the first mat while sending the second mat through the machine. And once the machine starts cutting, I can keep working on other parts of my kits. Minimal time wasted!

I love the little coffee cup...

 ...with steam! For someone who is used to doing Big Shot die cutting one or two at a time, it is so exciting to be able to cut an entire SHEET of pieces with the push of a button.

 For this class, I also cut mason jars with outlines and lids. This is a very fun and versatile cut file. 

  You can see the cup and jar on the completed cards.

I'm so happy I bought the Silhouette. It gives me many additional design options and, with a little more tweaking to my routine, I hope it will help me be more efficient, too!

jp