Product Spotlight: ALL-PURPOSE MAT

If you haven't seen this product, take a second look!

Do you have grit all over after embossing from stray embossing power flying all over? Then you need the All-Purpose Mat! The one side of the mat is tacky: that keeps it from sliding around when you're using the non-stick side, but it also works face up to hold onto extra embossing power. The mat is heat resistant to 240 degrees F.

Do you end up with stickiness on your work surface from "over-gluing?" Then you need an All-Purpose Mat! Glue wipes right off the non-stick side!!  Wet glue, dry glue, tape glue, glue dots, it just wipes off giving you a clean work surface. This is especially helpful for small and randomly shaped pieces like Cricut cuts.

This non-stick side is also useful for wet techniques. Use it under your paper when using the spray pen. Mix watercolors or use as a palette for reinkers. Check out this fun technique.

And here's a video so you can see the All-Purpose Mat in action.

Shop for your mat and other items here.

Look what I did...

I've always talked about this ever since My Acrylix were introduced but I almost never do it...I [gasp] CUT my stamps!

You may be surprised that I did this. Even if you think it's a great idea, it's totally out of character for me. But (1) this stamp set, From The Heart, just screams (it's October after all) to be cut. Those of you who attended September's $5 Friday probably wish I would have taken this step on Thursday. We made this card...

...and I made the ladies mask the flower to include just the sentiment. But in all fairness, this isn't particularly difficult masking. When making just a few cards, masking is a useful technique, but if you're making several of the same card, cutting the stamp may be more practical. Even if I made 50 totally different cards with this stamp set, for 50 envelopes I would still find benefit in cutting the stamp for flap embellishment.

Here's a few tips for cutting your stamps:

1. Be careful! CTMH doesn't cover scissor misplacement. 
2. I like using my Micro-Tip Scissors. A large shears may have "fat" blades that don't fit between the images.
3. Don't cut "neatly."

Cutting a stamp doesn't mean you can never use it "whole" again. But to make it easier to reassemble on your block, don't cut "neatly." Try to cut in a puzzle like shape so the pieces only fit together in one way. The slight curve to the cut I made on the From The Heart image make it easier to get the flower centered under the sentiment. If I'd cut a straight line, the flower could move left or right. For the sentiment above, there weren't a lot of choices. But cutting at a slight angle instead of perpendicular to the phrase, will make it easier to see the top and bottom edges when put together. The angle also helped to avoid the letter images and keep the cut in the margin.

This is rather addictive...I'm fighting the urge to go through my collection and do a little "plastic" surgery! Have you ever cut your stamps??