Make Your Own Cutting Mat for Silhouette or Cricut

So it is no secret that I my moms Cricut and my Silhouette.  Actually, I like my Silhouette a lot better than the Cricut.  No offense mom.   My only problem with the Silhouette is that there is no one close by that sells all the supplies and their cutting mats are a little pricey ($30 for a set of 2)especially when you add on shipping costs.  So I discovered this little trick for making your own cutting mat at a fraction of the cost and you don’t have to wait for it to arrive in the mail.

What you will need:

• KRYLON Easy Tack  - make sure it is repositionable!  Or any other repositionable spray adhesive.
• DRITZ Gridded Quilters Template
• Painters tape and xacto knife

I checked all the fabric and craft stores and JoAnns had the best options for the Quilters Template.  I wanted the larger 12x18 size and I wanted the grid marks on them.  They seemed to be the only place that carried this option.  They were $1.75 each after coupons.

You will need a repositionable spray adhesive.  I chose this Krylon option and it was $3.50 after coupons.  But there are a lot of other options out there.

Take your old Cricut or Silhouette cutting mat and use it as a template.  Use an xacto knife or scissors worked fine too because the template it not too thick.  I made one of my mats longer than the original silhouette mat so I could cut longer designs.

Use painters tape to mark off the edges of the mat to match the same edges on your original mat.

Take it outside and give it a VERY LIGHT spray with the adhesive.  Trust me!  My first try I got a little heavy with the spray and my paper would not release from the mat.  Be sure to keep the original overlay from your old mat to protect your new mat when it is not in use.

That is it!  It really works!  I spent about $8 to make 2 mats, but still have plenty of spray and tape to make a ton more.  So now my future mats will be at a cost of $1.75 each to buy more quilters templates!

* I really do love my Silhouette and I do not want to take their business away by making too many of these…and showing you how to make them.   I promise I will make up the money I save on the mats by buying all their great vinyl – the premium vinyl is amazing and cannot be duplicated!  Heat transfers, and the new fabric interfacing!  Silhouette – PLEASE start selling your supplies in craft stores!!!!