Save BIG $$$ on Cricut Mats!!!

Guess what I did yesterday? I went and bought Cricut Expression Mats (12x12 cutting mats) for my regular sized Cricut(which only takes 6x12 sized cutting mats).

I brought them home and cut them in half. Because they come in packs of 2, this means I got 4 mats! I bought them at Walmart for $12.97 (Canadian $) Now that is a deal in my books!

WAHHOOOO!! It works! I feel so clever right now. Hope that this helps to save other crafty cutters some moolah! PM me - I'd love to hear your feedback on this or if you have any questions/ comments/ concerns!

Danielle

Great idea!

What a smart lady! Thks for the tip. Nice to know if and when I get the machine.

so you only use 6x12 size?

See that wouldnt work for me because I use the whole 12x12 mat sometimes.

HOWEVER you can buy the 12x24 and cut THOSE in half to make two 12x12~

haha i was just about to post that! i read this because i would LOVE cheap cricut mats and sadly i have the expression... BUTTT then i was like wait!! cut the 12x24 mat!!! =)

Great idea!!! Thanks! I just started using my circut and the mat already lost it's stickiness. How long are they really suppose to last?

I personally think that each Cricut mat I have ever purchased varied in it's stickiness, probably based on the different batches manufactured. Some were extremely sticky at first, others not quite as much. I'm just so pleased that I figured out a way to "beat the system" so to speak! lol

One trick that I tried and it worked pretty good, on a worn out matt, I tried quilting reposionable basting spray and it seemed to work pretty good and you get about 3 or 4 uses before you need to respray it and it only cost about $4 a can which will last forever. It is quite tacky so make sure you cover up surface area with news paper or such.

• Nejinmo Said:

I wipe my mat with a baby wipe and let air dry. It seems to renew the tackiness quite nicely.

i wash mine, take your regular liquid hand or dish soap and a "cleaning" toothbrush or a gentle scrubber of some kind, and wash them, it restores the sticky on them, I learned this AFTER the fact that i had bought TONS of mats cause they wouldn't stick anymore.

Wow- I have definitely learned a few techniques that I will be trying out with my old mats! Thanks for sharing ladies! :-D

Happy Scrappin',

Danielle

I am still on my original mat. When I'm putting my machine away after my scrapping session, I wipe it down quickly with a baby wipe. Baby wipes also work for removing ink of your fingers (or other services). Baby wipes have become a staple in my utensil carrier.

BUT WAIT!! Cricut mats have a non-sticky border all around the edge. when you cut the large one in half, doesn't that mean it's sticky on one side all the way to the edge? I'd be afraid that would "gunk" up the rollers on my machine. I would at least put a strip of painter or masking tape along that edge to protect the rollers. Anyone else have thouhts on that?

Thanks, Danielle, great tip!

I will also have to try washing it down, too.

I use masking tape to hold the paper down when mine starts losing some of it's stickiness!

• dwelch Said:

You really made me think about this and I'm waiting for someone to reply who has used this cost-savings technique of cutting them in half...

• jamesmommy Said:

just make sure you don't use soap with CREAM in it,,,

it makes it LESS sticky than before!!!!!

that's a great idea to cut the mats, provided you can cut them STRAIGHT,,,I would think if they're not perfectly straight, it wouldnt' go in straight and could affect the way the mat is guided in and cuts,,,,,

you'd probably have to measure and cut with a cutter of some sort,,,,,

How did you cut them??

Holly

You can also wipe down the mats with non-acetone nail polish remover to remove all the gunk and it will leave a thin layer of the adhesive so its sticky again.

thats an AWESOME idea! almost like 4 for the price of 2.

How do you keep the gook from building up on the rollers of the cricut??

If you cut it in two, then ONE SIDE is going to have sticky on it as it goes under the rollers,,,,

I'm still trying to figure this out,,,,

WOW WOW WOW awesome Ideas! I am going to have to try the baby wipe idea.

Cricut has GREAT customer service. I took the plastic of a matt for the first time, rocking it like they say, and I had a whole bunch of bald spots on the matt because the adhesive came off. I hadn't even gotten to use the matt and it was shot. I called up Cricut and they took care of me.

I also called in because I couldn't figure out why a phrase wasn't cutting at the size I wanted until i realized that the phrase was 12 inches long at only 3 1/2 or 4 inches (I can't remember which size) but the woman I was talking with gave me her Cricut email address and told me to email her with a list of cartriges and shapes that I am cutting and want to know how big they will get and she will cut them on practice paper to know the size. I've only emailed her once because I don't want to constantly bother her. But just yeterday I cut out a title at size 2.5 and it was almost too long to fit in the space even though it was the perfect height.

I love the Cricut customer service team. They are great. Its really a reflection of the product.

What I've done with mine is wash it then spray krylon repositioning adhesive that works
Maggie