Welcome! Was in Caledonia not long ago for a shop hop. Stopped in to Chestnut Bay and Mt Pleasant -- wish they were a little closer, but it was a pretty ride from Buffalo since we took all back roads. As for your Slice questions, I've had mixed results with it. I actually had better results using my Cuttlebug. And, Sizzix would work well. Here's a link, with step-by-step photos, of someone's review of the machine. Her results were better than mine:
http://www.craftcritique.com/2011/04...way-slice.html . Good luck!