AllStar Review and a Giveaway

Aloha friends!  I hope you all enjoyed your long President's Day weekend and eased back into school this week.  I was lucky enough to spend a few days camping on the beach with some friends. Three day weekends always make it a little difficult to get back into the routine.

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Ellison Education to do a review of one of their products.  If you know Ellison they have been providing great die cuts for education for years.  I remember when I first started teaching and I wondered where everyone got all those cute cut outs!!

So I was really excited when they sent me their AllStar Superstar Machine.


I pulled it out of the box and had it set up in just a few minutes.


They let me pick a few die cuts to use.  Since Valentine's Day was last week I went with their heart frames and an envelope cut out.


I also received this flashcard wheel and a puzzle die cut.




The machine was super easy to use.  Just sandwich your paper and the die cut between the two protector sheets.  Crank it through and voila, you have your shape.  


I used some pastel colored card stock that I purchased at Target, along with the cute little buckets from the dollar section.  In about 15 minutes I had a variety of fun paper cut outs that I wanted to use in my writing and word work centers.



My students could not wait to get their hands on those little envelopes and write Valentines to their friends and family.




They used a little heart shaped sticker to close up their envelopes.

I also placed some puzzle pieces into the writing center.  I had the students write a riddle on one piece and the answer on the other.



They loved this and couldn't wait to mix them up and read them all! I can see this coming in handy for so many different activities.


The flashcard wheels are really cool and could be used for so many things.  I made some samples for my students to start with.  I placed these in the word work area and they were really excited to fill them in.  I didn't have any fasteners so I used a pipe cleaner to hold the pieces together.


We did synonyms last week and this was a great way to review and challenge them to write their own.  Super simple and very engaging!  It's amazing how motivated students can be when you add in something new and fun to the routine.

I was really happy to test drive Ellison's Superstar machine. It was super easy to use, lightweight and easily storable in my classroom.  They also have such a great selection of die cuts that I may be in trouble!  I also discovered that Ellison has a blog with great tips, lesson plans and more!





Just click on the pictures to take you right to their site for some crafty ideas to use in your class.

Now the fun part! Ellison is generously letting me give away an AllStar machine to a lucky reader! 

Just fill out the Rafflecopter and leave me a comment telling me whether you have used Ellison products before.  I will choose a winner next week.  Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

32 comments

  1. This is great, we have an older machine at school, I never thought of one of my own.
    Sara
    Frampton's FUNdamentals

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  2. We have a really old Ellison machine at school. I love Ellison products.

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  3. We have a really old machine at school with just the basic shapes and letters. One in my classroom would be heaven sent!

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  4. We have Ellison die cuts at school, but with only one die cut machine it can be nearly impossible to get to. It would be amazing and a huge time saver to have a personal machine in my class!

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  5. I have not used an Ellison machine but would love to try one out! We have just moved into a new school and I would love to use it to decorate my room and make cute review games!

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  6. I miss having a die cut machine. My old school had one, but my new school does not. It makes such a difference. I love the flashcard wheels.

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  7. We have an older die-cut machine. It's popular with our student teachers, our RA's, and our librarians that create displays and bulletin boards.

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  8. As a teacher for many years-usually at more than one school at a time-I always made use of the school's die cut machines to save time when preparing Bulletin boards and activities. They are awesome!

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  9. I have been using the Ellison Press for years and years and years and can't imagine having my own. What a dream come true! Thanks for the opportunity to win!
    Lori
    Teaching With Love and Laughter
    luvyorkies@gmail.com

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  10. I have used the Ellison die-cuts for years but never had one of my own. I love the things you can make with one. Thanks
    lindnerlisa@yahoo.com

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  11. Love Ellison machines. Have been using them fir over 20 years. Terria310@aol.com

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  12. We have the Ellison machine in the teacher work room but a personal one would be awesome!

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  13. We have a machine in our staff lounge that could use a little sprucing up! One of my own would be awesome and a nice bday gift. They are such great tools!

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  14. I have used Ellison machines for years, but I have never seen these newer designs and I am in LOVE! My mind is spinning with possibilities. Thanks to you and Ellison for giving us the chance to win! :)

    Jenny
    Luckeyfrog's Lilypad

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  15. We have two old ones at the school where I work.

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  16. Wow, Corinna!! This is SUCH an awesome giveaway!! That little machine looks like SO MUCH FUN! I love crafting :) AND to be honest, I've never heard of the company before!!
    Courtney
    Teaching in Paradise

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  17. Our district has a materials center that we use. They have ellison die cut machines and dies. We have both large and small sizes and many of the dies for themes, letters, numbers and math concepts as well as bulletin board borders.

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  18. Yes I have used an Ellison. We have one at our central office. This would be wonderful to not have to travel.

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  19. I've used an Ellison. A former school had the machine and dies and it was wonderful having it in the building.

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  20. We have an old Ellison at school and I still use it all the time! Would love to get a few new ideas!

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  21. I love using die cuts, however ours is older and dull :( I still love to use it but the dull blades sometimes result in frustration on my part. wish we had a shiny new allstar machine with new die cuts ;)

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  22. I love Ellison products. Wish I had better access and time to use it at school.

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  23. What an awesome giveaway! Thanks! :)

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  24. I have never heard of this before! We have an old worn out die cut machine at school, but I don't know what brand it is. I'm a scrapbooker too, so I'll have to check out the Ellison products and blog. Thanks for sharing!

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  25. I have been using them for a long time. When I was in college I worked in the teacher center and fell in love with them.

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  26. Our school has an old Ellison machine that still does a good job of cutting paper. I love it!

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  27. My school has a VERY old set of Ellison die cuts...It would be so nice to have a new one of my own! Thanks for your ideas!

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  28. We have an Ellison machine at school and I love it! I use them for cute notes to give to my students and obviously decorations for my boards!

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  29. What a great giveaway! We have a machine at school and I love it. This would be great to have, and I hope that I am the lucky one!!!!!!

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  30. What fun!! I would love this and yes, I will be sadly addicted!

    :) Shelley

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  31. I use the older version at school constantly. From individual dies (bear, tiger head and paw prints, apples) to use as matching pieces to make centers. The larger puzzle maker is a favorite too

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Mahalo Nui Loa For Commenting!!

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