{ Cricut Cutting Mat Recycle }

I love my Cricut, but everything about this great machine comes with a hefty price. I'd love to buy all the neat cartridges and the accessories, but we're only a one income household with lots of medical bills and house repairs, it is a very rare treat to buy something new to work with my Cricut.

So I resort to using my cutting mats as much as possible without having to constantly buy new ones.

{ HERE IS WHAT I DO }

You will need:

• :: Krylon Easy-Tack ::
• :: GOO GONE ::
• :: Masking Tape ::
• :: Old Plastic Pan Scraper Or Credit Card ::
• :: Your Not So Sticky Anymore Cutting Mat ::

First gather everything listed above and then cover your work surface

Sprinkle some of your adhesive remover onto the cutting mat.

I use GOO GONE.

With a paper towel evenly spread the GOO GONE all over the cutting mat.

Let it sit for several minutes to do it's magic.

Now use an old plastic pan scraper or credit card and start scraping the old 

{ Not so sticky anymore } sticky stuff from your mat. 

Check and make sure all of it has been removed. 

Your mat should now be smooth. If not repeat the process till you got it all off.

Your mat will have a greasy film on it that you need to wash off!

I just rinse mine in the kitchen sink with warm water and some soap.

Dry!

With your masking tape, cover the borders around the mat, making sure only the actual cutting surface stays exposed.

Now spray a very light and even coat of Easy-Tack on the mat.

DO NOT spray too much or your paper or card stock will not come of the mat without tearing!

Let dry for at least 3 hours for the mat to be tacky again.

I leave mine to dry over night.

If you won't use your mat right away and don't have the cover for your mat anymore to protect it from dust and such you can cut a piece of wax paper and cover your mat with it instead.

NOW YOUR MAT CAN BE USED MANY TIMES MORE =)

Thanx for having a looksee =)

{ Country Like Dining Room Sign }

I like hand painted country signs and have been wanting to make one for my dining room for some time now.

Unfortunately I don't have a very steady hand to paint nice letters and I was not able to find a stencil for the saying I wanted on my sign.

Thanks to my Cricut I was able to come up with a nice version of a country sign and it turned out looking great!

First I painted a blank of wood with acrylic paint. I used the colors Country Tan and then black for the borders. While the paint was drying I cut out the letters for my saying with my Cricut. I just used a textured black card stock instead of vinyl and Mod Podged the words onto the wood. After I was all done I gave the entire sign one more coat of Mod Podge to seal it all.

Thanx for having a looksee =)

{ Nice Sunset Sky }

New Mexico displays some of the nicest sunsets.

{ Monogram Plate In A Frame }

I had this old collector plate in a frame. It looked like something you find in a Goodwill or garage sale.

Again I have no idea where I got it or when, but I think the reason i picked it up was the frame holding the plate.

I sponge painted the plate with white acrylic paint. The frame was spray painted black.

With my Cricut I cut out a nice B monogram letter and a fancy scroll and Mod Podged them onto the plate.

After everything was dry I put the plate back into the frame and now I have a nice wall decor piece.

This was a quick and easy little project and I had so much fun doing it that I will try and make one of these neat country signs for my dining room with a similar method I used here. 

Thanx for having a looksee =)