ScanNCut: Quick! It’s a party!

Disclosure: I am a paid consultant for Brother International Corporation and have received a ScanNCut from Brother to evaluate. However, the opinions expressed are entirely my own and based on my use of the product.

It’s no secret that I’ve been doing some work for Brother + ScanNCut. It’s super fun stuff and I really love being able to share what I’m up with here on my blog with you as well! I will say that if you’ve been considering a ScanNCut… exciting things are coming! This month I’ve been working on a video + some party projects for the Brother site and today I wanted to do a blog post sharing the quick tips I’ve been coming up with as well as how I get the kids involved. They aren’t always – but when I take over the dining room to create a faux party? Well they want in on the action!

I taught Becca how to cut designs I already had set up on the ScanNCut. She changed the paper, pressed cut, and kept flowers rollin’ out of that machine! I am not ready to try and explain the whole “how the machine works…” but letting her watch me set it up then putting her in charge of supervising the machine while it cut? A great success.

Input on treats! This is always a favorite of the girls. A tip- sometimes 1 homemade treat mixed with a few store bought ones? The perfect time saver of a mix! We made and decorated cookies (I got pre-made dough) and dipped strawberries – but had some store-bought desserts as well so the kitchen stayed clean and things moved along quickly.

Ideas and input like “hey can we have tags like in Alice in Wonderland? with magical candy pills?” plus a ScanNCut? brilliant! It allowed for fresh ideas plus designs like tags are in the machine and ready to make your projects a reality.

Use candy coating instead of frosting on sugar cookies! Trust me. It dries completely. Is yummy. And doesn’t make nearly as much mess when kids eat those cookies.

Need that table to shape up without a lot of expense or fuss? Grab a bunch of one thing. In my case – balloons and doilies. Ok so in my case this actually took quite a lot of time to make just right… but it would have been a lot longer without all those balloons filling up the big unattractive gaps of wall showing up in my photo shoot! The kids had a BLAST blowing those balloons up as well.

The final and most important thing? Have FUN with it! I believe that whether you’re staging a party for a photo shoot (as I was) or you’re rushing to finish up a birthday party – have a good time with the details. My ScanNCut machine (for about 2 years now) has helped me with every party!

• shapes from small confetti sized to big splashy décor for the wall cut out of cardstock and patterned paper
• letters for banners
• flags & tags for toppers (gift bags, party favors, cupcakes…)
• stencils for cookies!
• place cards (letters, shapes, etc)
• shaped banner pieces

and more! Things that used to be impossible or require way too much hand-cutting? Now a breeze! Got to love that.

Thanks to my kiddo helpers (and teenage visitor who was pivotal in helping me pick the colors, and dessert for this set-up!) that assisted in this dessert wonderland table in being made. Don’t worry – they all got to share plenty of the treats!

I have a “luau” birthday to plan later this month – I know the ScanNCut will come to my rescue then as well! Got party questions? DIY requests? Be sure to let me know! I’ve got several ideas planned but I’m always happy to take requests!