Cut it out.

{ETA: Giveaway is now closed.}

Before I begin...have you entered the giveaway yet? I will be announcing a winner tomorrow 7.15.10. (You can enter until you see the winner announced!)

Also, I know you guys have seen my blog on its worst behavior for the past 24 hours. I finally figured out some simple things that I've been meaning to learn in Photoshop. I came across someone with my blog background (again!) and always get such an icky feeling when that happens. (With over ten million blogs out there, it's hard to imagine how many blogs look alike- especially when you're not paying for someone to design it for you.) So, after some Google reading and lots of trial and error, I finally made my own blog background. I didn't realize how easy it would be! So while I was at it, I made a new header. And then some new tabs. Next on my list is a new background for Twitter and a new Fancy 4 Fridays button. Maybe I should make backgrounds and headers and sell them in my Etsy shop uber cheap? Thoughts?

Okay...back to the point.

A few months ago, I found an ad on Craiglist for a "Cricket Machine" for a seriously good deal. It even came with rolls of vinyl, two cartridges, a craft organizer bag, and tons of ribbon and scrapbooking goodies. Notice the spelling?

A young man bought it to start a car decal business that fell through.

My Cricut machine is still one of my most proud purchases.

We had to drive farrrrr to get it, but it was so worth it.

Hubby did some research on Cricut cartridges and we came across something called the Sure Cuts a Lot.

{lifesaver for people who want to save money}

There are free programs that you can download that coordinate with the SCAL program, but I haven't had to use any yet.

If you do a Google search for "free SVG files" you can cut out any of the images you see with your SCAL.

{awesome}

Have you seen the freezer paper stencils everyone is doing these days?

Think of what you could make if you had endless images at your fingertips.

I know...it's amazing my kids are still alive, really.

{Hi, CPS. I'm joking.}

The amount of crafts possible for me to do with this machine is endless thanks to SCAL.

So, if you own a Cricut, stop wasting your money on cartridges that give you limited images.

Do your research if you don't trust me...YouTube, Google, and several hundred blogs can tell you how wonderful the program is.

And since my friend Erin just used her Cricut for the first time today, I figured I should spread the news.

Happy Wednesday, friends.