Happy Tuesday!!! Emily here with another Quick Tip for you!!!
I have had my Expression for almost 2 years now and I have had the same 2 mats the entire time!
I simply can't justify buying a new mat when I can re-stick them over and over and over again!
You have probably already seen the ways to re-stick your mat, but thought I would go over them anyway.
Option 1. Clean your mat with soap and water. I just use Dawn Dish Soap and warm water to do this. Pat them somewhat dry with a towel then let them air dry all the way. Then take a Zig 2 Way pen - the big fat one - and run the glue over your mat. The pen is almost an inch wide, so you can just go down each column/row with it and pretty much coat the mat entirely.
Then let it dry - Easy Peasy!!!
Option 2. This comes from my friend Laurie over at
Hiding In My Craft Room. I copied this info directly from her blog. I haven't tried this myself yet, but am going to soon enough :)
Laurie says, "The solution I use it 1 to 1. So equal parts of Aleene's Tack it Over and Over and water. Yes, it has to be that glue! I find it at JoAnn's or Michaels but not every one I go to has it in stock or carries it. If you ask someone that works there about it they will look at you like your crazy! Lol!
I've also seen it sold online.
When my mats start loosing their sticky about half the time all I need to do is give my mats a could scrubbing with foamy kitchen soap, rinse, let them air dry, and they are back to usable! This gets the debris and bits of paper off and reveals the wonderful sticky again! Other times I just add the sticky solution following the video below. I do get asked about 'cleaning' the mats. You know, getting all the gunk completely off and making itcompletely unsticky. A little of the residue or discoloration doesn't bother me. They might look old but they work better than NEW! Buuuut, if it bothers you then you can use any glue remover to throughly clean it then apply sticky solution. Let me warn you, it is messy and don't get it on the carpet. Learned that the hard way. I just used goo gone and the scraper in the Cricut Essentials tool kit but I wish I hadn't, it's still a little sticky. I wish I had used instead a pampered chef scraper. I have so many of those, I wouldn't mind just throwing it away afterward."
The link to her YouTube video is HERE.
Hopefully you find one of these ways useful in re-sticking your mats and getting the most life possible from them before buying new ones!!!
Until next Tuesday...