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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Quick Tip Tuesday

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...
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4 comments:

  1. I clean the mats eith soap and water and clean it with a brush. Then I tape the outsides of the mat (you don't want to get sticky on the edges. It will get sticky in the machine) Then I use Krylon easy tack spray and spray the mats. I also have used the same mats for two years. I have several mats so I don't have to do this every time I need a new mat.

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  2. I use the Aleene's Tack it Over and Over method of re-sticking my mats, and it works perfectly for me. After re-sticking a couple of times, I do clean them thoroughly with Goo Gone and then start all over with 3 or 4 coats of the diluted Aleene's. I don't find it to be that messy, and it works perfectly!

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  3. Useful tips. I too clean & reuse my mat. However I did buy one of the new style and find that the stickiness of the new one is better than the original one that came with my Cricut.
    Melissa
    "Sunshine HoneyBee"

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  4. Hello Thank you so much for the tips you give in your blog i have served as much i have a cricut expression of second hand and want to know if you have any tips for recruiting the cutting knives and how to make homemade cutting mat for the cricut thanks

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