Blogiversary Giveaway: ScanNCut & Me

In March 2013 fate dropped me into the path of the ScanNCut.  The good folks at Brother asked my Scrapbook Soup TV Producer if she knew any papercrafters in the Tri-State area.  I lived in NYC, so she gave them my name and contact information.  They invited me to be a part of a focus group for a super secret new product. 

I can't remember exactly, but I think there were 12 or 16 of us papercrafters.  We sat in a large room with four tables.  On each table was a ScanNCut and all around the room were tons and tons of people -- engineers from Japan, Brother executives and employees -- from the US and Canada, ad agency people.  It was a little like being a lab rat.  They told us that the ScanNCut was an electronic die cutter with a built-in scanner and then said, "Go."

There were piles of materials on the table and so we just started pushing buttons.  And yes, we did all the things you've done: cut through mats, cut but didn't cut all the way through, had material get eaten by the machine, and so on.  But this is why I tell you to push all the buttons.  Don't be scared of the machine!  I'll be 100% honest and say that I've never read a manual for the ScanNCut because everything I've learned has been based on trial and error.  Lots of error.  Remember, you always learn more from a failure than from a success!

As soon as I played with the ScanNCut I knew I wanted one.  All I could think about was making stencils and stamps at the speed of light, cutting scrapbook page titles, and coming up with new ideas!  Here are a few (and believe me, it's just a few) of my favorite ScanNCut projects I've made over the past three years: 

You can find all of my ScanNCut posts and projects from this blog HERE.  You can find all of my ScanNCut videos HERE -- and divided into projects HERE and techniques HERE.

When I was poking around the archives looking for ScanNCut projects I was kind of bowled over by how many things I've made with this magical machine.  I actively have to stop myself from sharing ScanNCut content too often because I know not everyone has one.  I can honestly say that the ScanNCut has changed the way I think about creating things.  

And, because I think it's really important, I want you to know that like so many of the other companies I work with, Brother is a good company staffed by nice and kind people.  My experiences with the people there have all been positive.  After some negative experiences early in my career, I made it a real priority to only work with people and products that were good and did good.  I'm so glad to include Brother in that circle.

Speaking of good people, I asked Myriah...

...my point person at Brother and general awesome lady, what her favorite ever ScanNCut project of mine was.  This is what she said:

"I love the fabric horse project because it showcases the scanner in the cutting machine that is unique to Brother.  Who else can say take this clipart and/or coloring book page and scan it in to create a cut file.  Plus it is so versatile you can not only cut but draw on fabric using the universal pen holder."

Follow the link to find the original post from April 2016.

And now, for this week's giveaway!  Yay!  Brother USA is giving a CM350 to one lucky blog reader (US Residents ONLY).

To win: Leave an answer to the following THREE questions in the comments section of this blog (your answer must be posted on the blog itself, not on Facebook and not in an email reply):

Which cutting machines do you currently own, if any?  

What state do you live in?  

What would you use a ScanNCut to create?

This contest will remain open until Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 11:59 EST.

Thanks for being part of the blogiversary celebration!!

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P.S. The winner of last week's Art Foamies giveaway (Shadow Alphabet, Dinoskin and Inner Struggle stamps) is...

Congratulations, Christine.  E-mail balzerdesi[email protected] with your snail mail address to claim your prize.

REMEMBER: This entire month (January 2017) you can place an order at artfoamies.com and if you mention my blogiversary celebration in the comments section, you will receive a FREE surprise stamp with your order!  This promotion only applies to new orders.  And remember, the prices on the Art Foamies website are in Canadian dollars.