Mini product review, Elite Slice, and some other cool links

Good morning to you!  Our tree is up, house sparsely decorated (still undergoing construction) and we are slowly getting our tasks done before Christmas (can anyone say last minute shopping?)  Will post pictures next week.

And yes, I have been making a few things, here is a card I did a bit ago, was just able to get a picture taken:

From 2010-12-13

Close up (a bit blurry) :

From 2010-12-13

Love the stamps (CC Designs), image is colored with copics and then with colored pencils for the shading.

Now...onto the product review.  Last Friday my brand new Elite Slice arrived and by Saturday it was back in the box and I am awaiting a "ticket" from Making Memories to send it back.  First of all, I was able to get maybe five "good" cuts from the machine, and yes, it is much faster and from what I can tell cuts more accurately then the old one.  The Elite is also "quieter" (not as many harsh grinding sounds), sadly, after saying all that, I have to also let you know that there are some bad machines out there.

My machine started ripping/tearing the paper after those five cuts, first I used the "Under the Sea" design card and tried a shell design on four inches, no go, the blade did not retract all the way and the paper was torn to shreds.  Then I tried another card, "Mistletoe" and that gave me even worse results.  The designs that would cut were "wonky," and yet again a majority of the cuts were ruined by a dragging blade.

I adjusted the blade, changed the blade, tried the design cards on my old machine (which cut them all perfectly), so the machine is back in the box.  I wrote to Making Memories and was told to "lubricate" the machine, however the Elite does NOT have the small holes in the bottom to allow for this.

In addition Making Memories also told me that the problems I was having were due to "user" error, ie my adhesive was on the glass mat wrong, the blade was not new, and I told them that 1.) I cut on the same glass mat with my old machine and no ripping of paper (so the adhesive wasn't the problem) and 2.) I had only used the machine for about five minutes, had changed the blade as well as adjusted it.

I should have a ticket today to send the machine back, and truthfully am not sure that I even want to keep the new Elite Slice.  If you are considering purchasing one of these new machines I would highly suggest you wait for at least six months to give Making Memories time to once again fix the "bad" machines they are selling to the public.

Making Memories does not pay for you to ship the machine back (they instead send you embellishments for your trouble.)

Sadly, my "bad" experience is not the only one (one other online reviewer had to send a machine back as well.) When I get my machine back I will be doing another review, but for now, hold onto your money.

And before I forget, our family went on an outing together Saturday night, dinner and then we went to what is called the "Fantasy of Lights," a WONDERFUL display  of thousands of lights set up at one of our local county parks.  We had to wait in line for about 45 minutes (if you go during the week I am sure there is not such a huge wait), the park opens at 6pm and the cost is $15.  If you are in my area I HIGHLY recommend taking the time to attend.

Here is a video I found online of the display (have no idea who the people are who put this up, but the video gives you a good sample of what you will see if you attend the Fantasy of Lights.



Now, onto some links!  Yes, I do eventually get around to the links : )

Making punched Vellum Flowers:  loved this tutorial, makes some absolutely gorgeous flowers! Update: link is fixed : ) Thanks to Cathy : )

Deconstructing Jen:  Amazing cards here, you are in for a treat and TONS of inspiration!

Making your own borders and medallions:  WOW!  All you need is a Martha Stewart corner punch and then you just punch away.  I make a few of these in various sizes, 5 inch circle, 4 inch circle, and this really works GREAT!  You will need to play with it a bit, and I found that punching with the bottom of the punch face up works best, so you can see exactly where your punch lines up.

Colored Pencil Tutorial from Deconstructing Jen:  You will love this video, it is easy to follow and should help you get a more finished look with your colored pencil coloring.

Cherry Lynn Designs:  Lots of interesting sets of die cuts here, similar to Spellbinders, but a bit different and these are made in the USA.


Daisy Trail:  A community for digital scrapbookers, very cool.

Hero Arts:  The new 2011 catalog is here, though I have yet to see it available for download.  Can't wait to get my hands on this new catalog : )

Free printable scrapbook pages:  Loved this site, has all sorts of wonderful things to download for FREE!

Ok, that is it for this week, take care and see you again next week.  And please know how much I appreciate your continued support of this little ole blog, it means the world to me.

Have a fantastic week!