I had some unfortunate luck with my junior prom and senior ball dresses in high school and promised myself I would find and LOVE my wedding dress one day. I was okay with spending $1,000 on a dress and actually budgeted for $1,200 just to be sure I would get something I loved. Well, I was able to find a dress I love for $200 and my budget breathed a big sigh of relief. That didn’t last too long as I figured out new ways to spend wedding dollars.
I love scrapbooking and crafting. I have had my eyes on a Cricut for as long as I can remember – a papercrafting machine that cuts intricate designs and text at the push of a few buttons. It costs a couple hundred dollars plus the cost of the cartridges with the designs. I’ve never felt okay with taking the leap in purchasing one.
Fast forward to a couple of years ago when I found one of my favorite blogs, I Heart Organizing. Jen Jones is a great writer, has amazing organization ideas and does great things with something called a Silhouette Cameo. I had no idea what this machine was until I started reading her blog religiously but I immediately began to swoon over it. It’s similar to the Cricut but you can purchase images based on what you need and at a much lower cost than a Cricut cartridge. Plus, you can use fonts already on your computer and there is a computer program the entire thing runs off of. The more projects of Jen’s that I saw, the more I pined for a Silhouette.
The design on the tray and the cute fish on the container are vinyl cutouts made with the Silhouette. // Source: I Heart Organizing
Jen transformed plain vases into amazing home decor using vinyl from the Silhouette and some glass frosting spray. // Source: I Heart Organizing
Even though the Silhouette had its perks over the Cricut, I still couldn’t bite the $300 bullet and purchase one. Well, that was until my wedding dress savings created wiggle room in my budget and splurged on one! I found a great bundle deal on Amazon and a couple of days later, the Silhouette was at my door!
Just a girl and her Silhouette Cameo (and a Christmas valance that needed to be taken down) // Personal photo
One of the main reasons I could justify the purchase of the machine was the amount of things I can use the Silhouette for. I’ve been playing around with it and have come up with a couple of great ideas already including pocketfolds and belly bands for the invitations. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have purchased the machine due to cost but so far I love it! Once I get the hang of things, I’ll be sure to share some of the awesome ways I have found to use it.
Did anyone else splurge a little when they saved money on a wedding-related expense? Any brides out there have a Silhouette and care to share projects they completed with it?