My Cyber-Monday Splurge

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Confession: I'm a bargain shopper.  I'll sniff out a good deal anywhere; bloodhounds ain't got nothing on me.  This means I rarely pay full price for anything if I can help it.  It also means it's pretty much impossible for me to resist a bargain when I come across one.  (If you've been following my posts and have read the ones about my wedding band, this probably doesn't come as a surprise to you.)

Take this year's Black Friday, for example:  Naturally, my sister and I braved the crowds, forgoing sleep in favor of scavenging for steals and deals (my body clock is still screwed up!).  But we're no amateurs: we did our homework first.  We made lists, timelines, and researched advertised prices to make sure we were actually getting a good deal.  All that work may sound ridiculous, but it kept us from running around and screaming at strangers like so many other shoppers we encountered that day.  See, getting a good deal is about more than buying things when they're on sale: it's about strategy.

Our trip was a success, and we got some great items, including a set of Oneida flatware for B and me (now we won't have to register for any!), a Xyron Creation Station, a fabulous pair of Bandolino leather boots, and some festive holiday decor -- all of which were at least 50% off!  I almost caved and bought myself a Cricut (there were so many deals on these this year!) but ultimately decided it wasn't quite the gadget I was looking for.  All those cartridges scared me!  I'm not a big scrapbooker, and couldn't justify spending all that money on an item that I really wouldn't use much (if at all) after the wedding.  I had resigned myself to the fact that I'd probably never find a die-cutting device that didn't require paying for a whole bunch of features, fonts, and cartridges that I'd never actually use.

But on Cyber-Monday, the stars aligned and I found the answer I'd been searching for.

On a whim, I decided to peruse a few of my favorite online bargain stores.  And that's when I saw it - an incredible deal on Overstock.com for a Silhouette SD digital cutter.  Have you heard of these?  They're amazing.  Hit up their website detailing the specs, and check out all the projects she can handle:

Cards:

Vinyl adhesives:

Etched glass:

Paper crafts:

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Plus, you can interchange the blade with pens to draw your image instead of cutting it, and there's also a "Print and Cut" option, which basically means you can print an image, then load the page into the Silhouette and it will cut it out for you.  Simply amazing.  But I think my favorite feature is that it works with any TTFs you already have on your computer, so there's no need to buy font cartridges.  And any other design you might want can be found on their website, for the low, low price of just 99 cents!  That way you only pay for the things you need.  I'm sooooo excited!

Hurry up and get here, UPS man!

Are you a sucker for a great bargain, like me?  And do you have any gadgets you're using to DIY your wedding?  I'd love to hear about them -- this whole crafting world is brand new to me!