I am absolutely on cloud nine today because I get to introduce you to a new product that I have fallen in love with- the AllStar SuperStar Machine from Ellison Education!
This post is sponsored by Ellison Education, but all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.
What is a Die Cut Machine?
If you’re a teacher, you most likely have heard of Ellison Education and used their die cut machines at school. (I think we’ve had them in every school I’ve taught in!) For those of you unfamiliar with die cut machines, they are basically machines that can cut all kinds of shapes, designs, and letters from various materials.
Die cut machines cut materials much more quickly and in a greater volume than just using scissors alone. They are a huge timesaver!
What I Thought about the AllStar SuperStar Machine
When Ellison Education asked me if I’d like to review the AllStar SuperStar Machine, I was absolutely thrilled to try it out!
The first thing I noticed when I took it out of the box was how lightweight and portable it was. It has a handle right on top so you can carry from one place to another easily. I currently store it in my “office” (which is a corner of my bedroom) and bring it out to the kitchen to use. I can imagine a classroom teacher could easily store this in a cabinet and pull it out to use at any time in the classroom or even bring it home to prep. Super convenient!
It’s also a cinch to use. Simply sandwich the die and material to be cut between two cutting pads and use the handle to pull the sandwiched pieces through the machine. Voila! That’s it!
I was surprised to learn this machine can cut more than just paper. It can cut felt, thin balsa wood, magnet sheets, foam sheets and more! I love the idea of being able to easily make all kinds of felt sets and crafting supplies.
What can you do with your own die cut machine?
I had actually been wanting to do some activities with my kids that required lots of little shapes, but the thought of cutting them all out had kept me from doing them- so reviewing this machine was perfect timing!
The kids love playing with pattern blocks, so I wanted to provide them with a way to create on paper using the same pattern block shapes. I used some dies to cut out all kinds of pattern block shapes from construction paper. (For this activity I made sure the construction paper shapes matched the color of the corresponding pattern block.)
We had fun creating all kinds of pictures and designs! You can use the shapes to make rotationally symmetric designs like these…
… or just create your own picture like my six-year-old did.
Even my 3 year old had a blast using the paper shapes. He loved using a gluestick to stick each shape onto his paper. It also provided a wonderful opportunity for using the names of shapes as he worked. He was so happy he learned a new shape, a hexagram, and felt so proud being able to identify it and say its name.
More Shape Activities
What I love about this die cut machine is you can individualize each activity. I wanted to use the pattern block shapes for creating fall pictures. Instead of cutting the shapes out from the usual pattern block colors, I cut out the shapes using fall colors, and we used them to make fall pictures.
My next after school enrichment class session is going to be all about robots, so I have robots on the brain constantly. I decided to cut out shapes in gray, light blue, and red and create a shape robot on some graph paper. This activity was so much fun that I’ll definitely be using it in my upcoming class!
How to get your own AllStar SuperStar Machine
Head on over to Ellison Education where you’ll find the AllStar SuperStar machine, as well as all kinds of accessories for it. (You’ll go crazy over the all the dies there are to select from! I already have a list of more that I want.) You can also find the SuperStar Machine on Amazon!
You can find Ellison Education on: Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter
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Wow – I could use this for SO many projects!
How fun! I love the open ended opportunities presented with all the colored shapes! Oh & all the felt pieces and foam shapes…would love to get one!
This looks SO FUN! My kids love playing with shaped magnets, so I know making art with shaped paper would be a total hit. What an easy way to make tons of shapes all at once – there’s no way I’d have the patience to cut that many. Thanks for introducing me to such a cool product!!!!
Ooooh, how cool! I would love to own one of these!
I would LOVE having a home Ellison machine… so many possibilities!
Whoa! That looks amazing, and I’m totally in awe of all the different die options. We would have so much fun with this if we won!
I have been a fan and user of Ellison die cutting machines and their dies for many years. Their products are sturdy and help promote creativity in children!
This looks like an awesome tool to have in our pre-school classroom!
Great giveaway!
I love these! I even used them with middle schoolers (science).
Fun!
I work with a group of kids learn to love reading. They learn social skills as well.We do a lot of
crafts to compliment the stories we read to them. Right all the cutting is done by hand by me. This little baby would sure make it easy.The kids could do cutting themselves. I just love this machine!!!!! Thanks for this chance! Lynn
Wow! That’s an awesome giveaway. So many possibilities.
Wow! What a great tool when you’re tired of cutting with scissors! Sooo many possibilities….
Umm ,Okay What blogger should be without a die cut machine? I think none! This blogging, homeschooling mom needs one of these! Oh the projects that could be thought of!
This would really be fun to use with my grandchildren would really get those creative skills flowing.
very cool giveaway!
That looks awesome. I would really love to win it.
Thank you so much for the giveaway and for sharing your pattern blocks ideas.
HOW CUTE!
I could really cut my prep time using an Ellison all star superstar machine.
Always wanted one of these! Many thanks for posting a review.
So many fun ideas…but those pattern blocks! Those would be perfect for my firsties!
Thanks for sharing about this!
Jen 🙂
I would love to win a die cast for our three children
wow thus is awesome! would love to win
I have been a children’s librarian for many, many years. My library owned an Ellison machine. It was absolutely wonderful. It made making flannel stories, displays, and craft programs a snap.
This looks like a fabulous new product! Can’t wait to try it!
Oohh…you got me with those paper pattern blocks! I was just looking to see if I could buy some for my kids, who adore pattern blocks. No way do I want to cut all those out! I’ve also got some felt-story ideas waiting to be made, but haven’t had the time yet…
I would love to have my own die cut machine. I am a teacher of students with special needs. I only have the option to use a machine and a variety of dies 1-2 times a month for only a 2 hour time period. There are multiple lessons and activities that I could create with my own die cut machine that would enhance my students education. I think a die cut machine would benefit my students education while allowing then to be creative.
Whoa, I love using this at the school, but to have my own would be so convenient!
Oh, I would LOVE to win this! What a fantastic giveaway!
wow! That would be an awesome thing to have in my PreK classroom!!
This machine is a teacher’s dream. Endless possibilities!
What an awesome giveaway!
This would be such a time saver to use in my Pre-K class. Also for scrap booking!
This would be so fun in my first grade classroom!
This is a great giveaway!
I love all the great ideas you have for using a die cut, it looks so fun!!!
I could really use this!!!
So exciting…between this and my laminator, my Grammy crafting would go to a whole new level!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sooooooo many possibilities! Love this 🙂
This is so nice and would come in handy for so many projects with my 6 children 🙂
We love our wooden pattern blocks but this looks amazing! And such a time-saver! Adding one to my Christmas wish list!
Ooohh! We could really use this in our preschool co-op! Hope to win it!
Wow! This looks like so much fun. I can’t wait to try it out.
would love to win!! 🙂
This would be great for crafts
Would love to use this machine for my little one and her play date friends. Also a great craft to have for birthday party, for all age groups. Thanks for sharing the idea. Would love love to have one.
I want this to make the robot!!!
We had one of these at the first school I worked at. It made making centers, name tags, and decorating a breeze. I would love to have a personal one.
I could so use this for my classroom!
What an awesome giveaway! I would love this, and so would my kids!
Awesome giveaway, I could use this for a ton of projects!
Great looking machine! So many craft possibilities!
great for school!!
thanks so much for this awesome chance i could make so many awesome things with this oh the possibilities
This looks amazing! This would really help me out in my preschool.
My twins would love this.
What a great giveaway!! The possibilities are endless!!
This is so neat! I played with TanGrams as a child and this would be an awesome way to make homemade ones!
Would love to have, looks like so much fun. 🙂
I would love to have this die cut machine! My family and I would have such a blast making crafts with this.
Very nice giveaway!
Need this for a start up church preschool.
What a fantastic giveaway…..Ellison is a great time saver with professional results.
This would be so cool to have to do art projects with my daughter! Of course, I think I’d enjoy it even more than her!! Thank you for this amazing giveaway!
Wow! I didn’t know this existed until now. these shapes are so wonderful for all ages and for learning about so many concepts in math, design, and more. I paid for paper geometric shapes, but to be able to cut my own would be wonderful!
I would love to win an AllStar SuperStar die cut machine. I belong to several scrapbooking clubs and this would not only aid me in making great scrapbook pages but I would be the most popular person in the room. I also like that the die cut machine is so portable and I can take it anywhere. As we all know craft supplies are so expensive and $100 worth of dies is like hitting the lottery.
Love this! I teach homeschool arts and crafts classes – it would be awesome to have this.
What fun to have my own personal di cut machine! You can do so much with it.
What a great idea! The possibilities are endless!
Wow! This looks SUPER great!
My kids would love doing art projects with this and it would also be great to cut the felt circles for the headbands I make.
I love this, lokks so much fun!
SOOOO AWESOME!!!
Many many many thanks
This would come in super handy for kids school! Thanks
I love these craft ideas, so fun.
This is so neat,,,there are tons of craft ideas for this..
This s really neat! I would love to win this for my sister.
This is amazing. I could use it for so many projects!
This looks like fun.
I would LOVE one of these! As a preschool teacher, we make alot of paper art projects so this would be a great addition for me so my prep work isn’t so overwhelming. I could also use this to make manipulatives and use them in my classroom!
I never even heard of this machine till now. the possibilities are endless with this for my daughters and myself
looks very cool
I NEEDED ONE OF THESE WHEN I TAUGHT A CRAFT CLASS
I would love this to use for homeschooling my daughter!
what a cool crafting tool , the kids would have alot of fun with it
I would love one of these to work crafts with my grandchildren.
My mom would love to have this in her classroom.
Amazing machines and soooooo want one for my quilting as well as crafts My 3 daughters and I go to our local school and use theirs when they are not busy and owning one of our own would be a grand gift to us. Thank you for the chance at winning such a fantastic product.
I could do such fun projects with my granddaughters
This looks like it would be great to use! I would love to win and donate it to my daughter’s teacher for class!
This looks soooo fun! Wow! My kids and I would have a blast making stuff with this!
This looks soooo fun! My kids and I would have a blast making stuff with this!
Awesome!!! I can think of so many fun things to do with my kids with this!
This would save my daughter so much time.
This looks super cool and would make craft time awesome! Thanks for the giveaway! 🙂
This looks amazing for crafting with kids. It would save time over hand cutting shapes and money over buying pre-cut designs.
Thank you for the chance to win!
This looks like a lot fun for arts and crafts time.
Oh how I LOVE Ellison die-cut machines! 🙂 You can use the dies for so many playful learning activities! I adore all of the learning and creating you’ve done with the die-cut shapes. 🙂
I hadn’t heard of these before, but they look like so much fun!
Thank you for the review and giveaway!
My mother in law would make so many things!
This has so many uses!! I would love to share it with my children.
Great giveaway! I also would love to win and try this awesome Ellison die cutting machine
Thank You for the chance
This is such a cool way to use this product! I love some of the different ideas you and your kids came up with.
This would be absolutely perfect to do craft projects with my little girl and some friends 😉
ihave so much i ould use it for and then hodiay coming up make ornament out of hte page of the boodk
What a neat product love it thanks for the chance to win one and the information on the product.
That die cut machine is certainly handy! Thx for linking it up at the Thoughtful Spot!
What is the dame of the die cut you used for the pattern blocks? I can’t seem to find them anywhere.