As many of you have your own personal Cricut machine, I'm sure you've noticed how quickly the mats loose their "sticky". There are a couple of things you can do do liven them back up and extend their use:
-Scrape any leftover paper bits and fuzz off of your mat with the Cricut Spatula. Sometimes this trick alone works at making your mat more sticky, but it's mostly to help prepare you for the next step...
-Spray your mat with spray adhesive! It's important that you tape the edges off first so you don't get spray adhesive on the parts that aren't supposed to be sticky! Once you have put a decent amount of spray on your mat, take the tape off the edges and let your mat dry.
-An alternative to the spray is to use a Zig 2 Way Glue Pen. I literally just found this tip recently and have not tried it myself, but the writer of the blog Imperfectly Beautiful says it works even better than the spray! It will take a lot longer to apply and let dry than the spray does, but it might be a good thing to try!
-A tip I read at Psycho Moms Society said to wash your mat with Dawn dish soap. This is supposed to remove the dust and dirt but leave the adhesive! (Who knew?!)
-Extend the life of your mat by using more than just the main corners for cutting. Most people know you can flip your mat upside down and load it from the "bottom" to have it cut on the opposite corner it usually starts on, but did you know you can put it in "portrait" mode and it will start cutting in the top left hand corner? This can help you spread out the wear and tear to all 4 corners of your mat, helping it to last longer!
-Another way to extend your mat life is to put your paper and blade toward the center of the mat to cut. This works best if you are making smaller cuts, since you will have less room to work, but it will help keep your mat in top shape!
Other tips:
-Make sure the little arrow on your blade housing is facing directly out toward you. This helps it cut the best.
-Another one from Psycho Moms Society: Air Cuts
"Have you ever had a scrap piece of paper and didn't know if you had enough room to cut a design from your cricut? Place the blade depth to 1 and the pressure dial setting to 1, then cut your design. The Cricut is designed to not apply pressure to the paper in this dial setting, so it will perform an "air cut". Make a mental note of the results. If you are satisfied, then return the blade to the original position, pressure, and depth, and repeat the cut. "
-A great tip from Obsessed With Scrapbooking is to use this Cricut settings table to make sure you always have the correct blade and pressure setting with the paper you are using. She also has a YouTube channel with more fun tips, tricks and tutorials to check out!
-When you cut out something really tiny, like letters, the best way to glue them down is with either a Xyron Sticker Maker, a Glue Pen, or some Adhesive Sheets from Scrapbooking Adhesives (all available at Capture!)
If you have any Cricut tips you'd like to add we would love to hear them! Just post in the comments section below.
Happy Scrapping!
-Jessica
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