I forgot to post about my mat experience. My mat had certain spots that weren't sticking anymore...most of the mat was still fairly sticky but the spots that got used the most and had some wear, the paper was coming loose. I read several posts about scrubbing them good in warm water and dawn dish soap and they would be sticky again....so I tried it. Well, I think it must have meant rub them lightly in soapy water...and not scrub them. I scrubbed every bit of sticky off the mat. Maybe this would be a good idea when the mat is all the way done, but my attempt was preemptive. So first mistake, check. Also I don't think that my mat was loosing it's stick because of small bits of paper but rather the grooves the blade cuts into the mat. Okay so the mat is not sticky anymore there are several posts about what to do...I decided to tape off the edges and spray it with a repositional spray adhesive. This is a great idea....in theory. Ha ha maybe I went a little over board. I sprayed the whole thing then doubled up on a few spots that looked like they had got missed...my mat is so ridiculously sticky! If I put my hand on the mat, I can't even get it off. I decided I needed to unsticky it somehow anyway so I might as well try a cut. The paper didn't come off and the mat got everything else sticky, my rollers and the machine. What a mess. I tossed the mat aside about a month ago and haven't bothered with it since. I just pulled it out to see if a picture would do any good. It seems less out of control, but I gently put a paper on it, and still had a hard time getting the paper off. What a mess I have made....it reminds me of the first time I used the x xyron...it had some sticky parts around it so I tried to de-sticky it by putting it on my sweater....my sweater was very frilly. So then I had a hard time getting the pieces off, but they were so covered in fuzzies that they were useless!
Since this mat experience I have found other methods that seem to work better. The first one is painters tape. I just tape around the edges of the paper to hold the paper in place and it works wonders. Even when my mat was sticky it seemed like the paper would slip when I cut letters or eyeballs, so I would have to keep re-cutting them...the tape holds it well enough that it doesn't slide.
I have a sillhouette and I read that some people use the cricut mat with it. So I tried this also...I like the cricut mats much better...besides the fact that they are much cheaper (you can get a 2 pack for less than one sillhouette mat, plus I happened to find mine at 50% off) they are also more durable. I have used the cricut mat for more cuts than my sillhouette mat, and it is still going strong. I have on occasion used some tape when doing small cuts, just to make sure...but the cuts don't seem to distract from the hold of the mat as well. Some people have talked about cutting their mats down, but I don't see a need to do that. I do have to adjust the paper into the recommended cutting area though as it seems to cut about a quarter inch higher and to the left. So, much like my testing of glues...I have now tried a few different methods for the mats. If you have any questions...or suggestions, I would love to hear them. I will let you know if I decide to try my original mat again. Thanks for stopping by.
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