Best Way to Restick Your Cricut Mats

I love my Cricut and had to figure out a way to make the mats sticky again as it seemed that I was buying new mats way more frequently than I wanted to. I searched around on the net and came across people who swore by using Aleen'e Tack it Over and Over Again. The steps were that you would thoroughly clean the mat and use 1 part glue to 1 part water. Spread evenly and let dry. Sounded great until I went out in search of the glue and realized I couldn't find it anywhere.

So it was on to step two :). I saw some Krylon Easy Tac in my local Michael's store and wondered if it would work. Read some reviews and crafters said that it worked well. So I rushed home to try it out.

First, I am going to give a disclaimer that any method such as this will affect the warranty claim on your machine. Here is what I did: I first cleaned the mat. I cleaned it by soaking it in some soapy water (using Dawn detergent) and cleaned with a scrubber brush. If you are more exact you can put some stuff on it to take off the glue completely.

Then, I taped off the edges with masking tape and sprayed a few light coats and let it dry. I found that it wasn't quite sticky enough (probably due to the fact that I skimped on the cleaning in the first place) so I sprayed another light coat and viola! A re-stuck mat. It was amazing! At the time of this post I have cut out over 60 pages with no problems. I have another mat waiting for the moment when this one needs to be redone so there's no project waiting time.

I will say that in the past I have stuck some masking tape on the corners and in a few places on the paper to secure it in place. However, I found this to be time consuming and the paper can shift slight so you don't get as precise a cut as you do when the paper is adhered properly to the mat.

Hope this helps and happy crafting!! :)

Beach Scrapbook Page Layout

Need some ideas for your beach scrapbook pages? Check out these two that I created for my etsy shop.

I wanted to have lots of room for pictures as you take many pictures at the beach. I then accented the page with coordinating stickers. I love the sand background paper and the blue is going to make any photo pop as it will go well with the beach pictures.

You could also use double matting and put a lighter paper on one of the darker blocks and use it for journaling like I did in the last layout.

         

Great Ways to Display Scrapbook Pages

I have gathered some ways in which to display those scrapbook pages that you worked so hard on because sometimes they are too pretty to stay tucked inside of an album :) Plus, I found some great, quick projects to make to display your photos (located at the end)

Great look for a focal wall:

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This is a great look and you can change out the look easily and frequently.

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This is a great photo display/shadow box idea. You could keep all kinds of momentos in this.

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Great little nook. How awesome would it look to combine some mixed media pieces with your scrapbook pages? 

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This is probably the simplest idea here with a big impact. Simply put your premade page into a shadow box and add some more elements and you are done. View lots of shadow boxes here

The below video features a very talented young lady. Love this idea although instead of using the hot glue I would apply some Aleene's Tacky glue to make it a bit neater (is there anything that this stuff ISN'T good for lol). Side note I am really loving mini colored clothespins right now.

Here is another great idea for a fabric frame (Fast forward to about the 2 minute mark for the beginning of the project)

***Visit my shop www.etsy.com/shop/pattichic to see some cute premade scrapbook pages, handmade cards, mixed media art and more!**

5 Great Ideas for Cute and Easy Balloon Themed Handmade Greeting Cards

Here are 5 great ideas to create some cute greeting cards quickly. Why not make up a few and have them on hand for those birthdays that seem to sneak up on you lol. No need to rush to the store to look through what seems like hundreds of cards (Is it just me or are cards these days not that great). 

**I have a lot of handmade cards in my etsy shop**

This first YouTube video is great. She makes 5 cards in less than 25 minutes. That's pretty good. She also used some products that I had never heard of. I love the Avery Elle brushed clear stamp, so easy for perfect placement. The die set is so unique and I like the fact that it can be used with any die cutter. The glitter dust can have so many uses. 

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(Click above image to view product description) Video using the above die.