Saturday, December 3, 2011

Refresh Your Cutting Mat!!! {So Easy}

With all the Christmas prep going on across this wonderful country, I am sure a few of you are noticing your electronic cutting mat has lost it's stick!  Am I right?  Yep, I knew it.  Well, let me tell you,  I have a very easy solution, much cheaper than buying a new mat!!!  

Ingredients:
Aleene's Tack-It Over & Over Glue
your Cutting Mat
a Paint Brush
a Small Bowl or Cup
a Tiny Bit of Water

This goes a super long way, so if you are just doing a mat or two, start with a teaspoon....maybe even half a teaspoon of water plus an equal amount of glue.  That means if you use 1 teaspoon of water, use one teaspoon of glue.  1/2 teaspoon of water, use 1/2 teaspoon of glue.  Got it???
Just stir them together with your brush.  

Then, brush your mat with the mixture.  Trust me.  It works.  Read on...

Once you have the whole mat covered, let dry.  This can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours so it is best to paint this on maybe before you go to bed, then use it the next day.  If you are in a pinch, go ahead and brush the glue on and maybe it will be ready for you :0)  No guarantees.

Once it is dry, WATCH OUT!  It is SUpeR StiCKy!  
***WARNING***
You must prime your mat by touching it all over before sticking paper to it.  I re-stickified Madison's cricut mat and set it out to dry.  She saw it sitting there and was overcome with the insatiable desire to use it, and stuck her paper to it.  It didn't come off :0)  We ended up wetting the whole mess, scraping the soggy paper off, then re-gluing because the glue washes off with water.  Whew.  Glad that fiasco is over.  So, prime!!!  Just use your hand.  Press your whole hand down, peel it off, and stick it to the next spot.  Once Madison heard this step, no problems.  

Eli on the other hand...he is full of problems.  He was priming this mat and decided to ham it up a little.  This picture is actually of him with the non sticky side to his face.  Well, what is the natural progression for a 10 yr old boy???  Of course!

Lets put the sticky side to our face and see what happens!  Don't you just love a good Cub Scout mind.  We don't need to make educated guesses about outcomes we can simply test with our bodies!

Yep, it's sticky.

Yep, it's that sticky.
Eli did a great job of priming my Silhouette mat!  My paper stuck when it was supposed to and came off when it was supposed to.  Wahoo!  Thanks Aleene's Tack-It Over & Over Glue.  You just saved me some buckage!  Now, where to find it.  I hate to tell you, I don't remember which store I was at when I finally found this glue.  I want to say it was Micheals...no, no...it was Joanns....No, Hobby Lobby...Um, really, can't tell you.  I can tell you that they have it for sale on Amazon for just over $5.  If you have the free shipping deal it is a steal.  Get your girlfriends together and split a bottle.  It will last you your entire lifetime.  Maybe you can make your own post-it notes with the leftovers :0)

11 comments:

  1. I use the tack it over glue to make my own glue dots.

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  2. I just saw that on Pinterest!!! It is amazing you can do that. I am gonna have to try it. Yea, that Tack It Over glue is fabulous stuff, huh?

    Vanessa
    The Sew*er, The Caker, The CopyCat Maker

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  3. Would modge podge work for this or does it have to be tacky glue?

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    Replies
    1. Cassie, I am afraid not. Mod Podge does not dry tacky. If you have a Micheals near by I would just run in there if I were you. One of those local craft stores carried that glue.

      Sorry :0}

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  4. Thanks for sharing. Going to try, I just need to run to Michaels to pick up the glue.

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  5. I was searching for something different, stumbled across this article got a good laugh. Thank You :)

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    Replies
    1. Awe! Thanks for taking the time to comment!!! I love it when someone out there gets my sense of humor :0}

      Vanessa
      The Sew*er, The Caker, The CopyCat Maker

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    2. Vanessa,
      I have 2 questions.
      1. Do I need to clean my mat first?
      2. Can I wipe with a Lysol Wipe after each project?

      I truly appreciate this info it looks much easier than what I was doing. I also buy the 24" Cricut mats and cut in half. Those seem to be a lot stickier and last much longer. I have been cleaning my old 12X12 mats with 3m Spray adhesive and seems like this will be a lot less Messy.
      Thanks so much for the information
      Cyndi

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  6. Vanessa,
    I usually clean my mats before spraying with either Krylon or 3M repositional glue. This looks so less messy than doing that. However, I usually, after I am done using my mats I clean them with a Lysol Wipe (which by the way helps them to stay tacky longer).

    I have 2 questions: Do you clean the mat with something before you put the Tack It Over glue on them? 2. Can I still wipe them down with a Lysol wipe or will it take off the Glue? The only reason I ask is you said the glue was water soluble.
    Thanks
    Cyndi

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    Replies
    1. Cyndi, I haven't ever used a wipe to clean these. I will have to try that. I just use an old gift card or something and scrape off any paper that might be stuck there. I would think that yes, the wipe would take off some of the glue, but I don't think it will come off completely once it dries without some scrubbing.

      I have also learned you do not want to use this glue on mats you intend to use with clear material. I cut a lot of overhead transparencies and this glue sticks to those. I have to buy a new mat to use with the transparencies, but vinyl, paper, felt, whatever, it works like a charm for any other materials.

      Thanks so much for your comments! I will try the wipe thing ;0}

      Vanessa
      The Sew*er, The Caker, The CopyCat Maker

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  7. Vanessa Thanks for the update. I will be going to Joannes over the weekend to get some Aleene's Tacky Glue.
    Thanks
    Cyndi

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