We're having a slow morning... which is so amazing! Lil' A is off from school today... the poor teachers have to go, but we've been laying in bed, Lil' A playing on the iPad, me working on the computer... now there's a space shuttle about to take off down by the foot of my bed... "5-4-3-2-5-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-0-BLASTOFF!!!" Don't worry, I haven't forgotten how to count, but he's still learning how to count backwards so it's a little bit of a zig-zaging countdown!
I'm almost done getting ready for the Penelope Lane Boutique this weekend...
I have all of my pillow covers, table runners and clutches packaged and tagged... I still need to do the napkins, dish towels, camera straps and pumpkins but I'm feeling really really really good about where I'm at - hence the laying in bed morning.
If you've been following my blog at all, you know that I love my Silhouette Cameo! I love using it for all the typical "crafty" adventures - card making, scrapbook layouts, holiday decor... but I've also been using it a ton for my small business - which is what I wanted to share today!
Of course I use it to help make products...
But I've also used it to save money on my products...
But the biggest way my Silhouette Cameo has helped my business is with packaging... it can get so expensive to "brand", I am constantly trying to figure out how to make Kutz.Paper.Scissors a recognizable brand without spending tons and tons of money... using my Silhouette I've been able to make product signs, belly bands, even tags with the KPS logo on them!
I designed the belly bands to limit confusion for customers at boutiques and to have a nicer presentation when I ship my products- I think this is going to be a huge help! When the pillow covers and table runners are on display in my booth, it's hard to know what they are - some people have asked if I'm selling fabric instead of a finished product. The belly bands have my business name, my shop website and the name of the item - BAM! How did I make these with my silhouette? Well, I designed them to be print and cut files instead of cut files - this saved me a huge amount of time because, instead of cutting different pieces from different paper and then layering/gluing them all together, I was able to create the look I wanted all in one piece and then print them out with my computer, cut them with my silhouette and all I had to do was add the band to the label with double sided tape!
The Product Name Plaques are done the same way - I turned a few cut files into print only files, filled the images with colors/pattern, added my product names and then printed them out - I bought inexpensive frames from Target and slipped in the product signs - these will be next to each of the product display - hopefully cutting down on any confusion again! And they're pretty! I love pretty! And I printed them off from my printer, late at night while in my pajamas when it was convenient for me!
I cannot recommend the Silhouette highly enough! I am not affiliated with Silhouette, I don't work for them, I just love their products! And I know that purchasing an electronic die cutting machine can be a huge investement - but I honestly think the Silhouette is worth the money paid! There's just so much you can do, the only limits are knowing how to do them, and Silhouette has the best tutorials with full videos and everything!
I guess it's time to get our of bed now... time to start the day, finish getting ready for tomorrow and spend some time with Lil' A! I hope to see you at PLB tomorrow! Let me know if you read my blog - I'll give you a little something special!
Have a great one!
Andrea
Hi! Just got here from the Silhouette blog's challenge page. I too am a Silhouette fan and I just wanted to drop a line to say I really liked your post and all you have created with with your machine in terms of branding :)
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