"Draw-Your-Own" Christmas Cards

So...when I first saw the Silhouette and Cricut sketch pens, I was excited.  Now I could have my machines draw, in a variety of colors, all these absolutely adorable images that I had?  Sounded like way too much fun.  So to test them out, I decided to make a simple Christmas card for a friend.  

First, I picked some whimsical images that I liked from my Silhouette library, and positioned them where I would like the image drawn on the paper.  This grouped snowflake image reminds me of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas for some reason, already looking hand sketched and about ready to fall onto Cindy Lou Who's little head, which had just the feel I wanted. I then made sure the image measurements were correct for the size of card I wanted (needed to fit in an envelope for mailing).  I love that Silhouette shows and tells me exactly what size my images will be.   

Although I did not plan on having both images drawn by the Sketch pens, I did want to get the correct size for both images, so I also positioned my image to cut where I would have it on the card to check sizes and design.  Once I decided that I liked it, I copied the second image and then deleted it from the page so that it, too, was not sketched by the pen. Putting in the sketch pen to replace the blade was a piece of Christmas cake--not even worth telling you just how easy it was.  After that, it was just a matter of letting the sketch pen do its magic, and to await the result.  

And the verdict is... I liked it and was surprised at how perfectly the image was drawn.  (I wanted to fill in the bottom snowflake and dot ends, so if it looks a little messy, that's why--it was me.) Now I just need to play around more with having the pens do more filled-in images, and see what more these pens are capable of! If you've used them, share some of your favorite ways to use these pens!

 Here's to some fun new crafting capabilities. :) 

 Hint:  You need to be sure that the color pen you pick will show up on the color paper that you choose for it to draw on.  You can always just test it on a corner of paper by drawing on it with the pen yourself.  Also, pay attention to the thickness of the paper. I found that my thick, slightly textured paper seemed to soak up some of the ink after it dried.