Craft Mats

I'm dying to buy a craft mat, but unfortunately I've spend way too much money on scrapbooking materials already lately. So I will have to wait until I can get on... oh well, Christmas is coming...

I have the Craft Mat- but before I got it, I was using these 'Flexible Cutting Boards' I found at the Dollar Tree. They come two to a pack- for one dollar. They seemed to work just was good as the Craft Mat, tho- but are not heat resistant! So if I pulled out my heat gun, I had to work somewhere else. But on the other hand, I could cut on them, with my exacto blades. And any other reckless idea I had, without the worry of ruining a 17.99 Craft Mat.

They're those kind of thin cutting boards made to chop vegetables on, then fold in half to pout the stuff into a bowl or something.

-Kory M.K.

My mother-in-law got mine for me and I love it!

But check Hobby lobby, Joanns and Michaels. I think she got mine from Joanns and it's HUGE!

I tear a large piece of butcher paper and place it on my table. Then I can stamp on it or test markers for color. You can get a roll at Michael's pretty cheap and it lasts a very long time.

The tattered angels one isn't on here but it is pink and a lot bigger than the ranger one but does the same thing. Craft mats are not to cut on but to for ink and glue and stickles, more of a super duper surface that nothing sticks to!! They are thin...they are supposed to be thin. Ink won't stick or stain them. I have both, the ranger fits in my bag better when I go to crops but I use the tattered angels one at home so I have more working area. I like that I can put down inked stamps on them and not stain anything until I am ready to clean the stamps. They are worth the money IMO!!!!

Hi,

DO you know the brand of your craft mat? I have 2 rangers and 1 small Bazzil but I'm looking for something bigger... I was researching and found this one...TEFLON SHEET FOR HEAT PRESSES

Has anybody hear anything about this? The size is 16 X 20 on ebay and $6.98 with free shipping. In other words too good to be true!!! LOL

Any advice will be appreciated!

My craft mat is a ranger and it really is awesome. Everything just seems to wipe right off of it. It curls on the edges but is not a problem. I would buy the same mat again. I just keep it rolled up when I'm not using it.

I was in a class and everyone brought a mat except for me and I needed one. I just asked the sales person for a craft mat, she handed me a Ranger, so that is what I bought, then noticed it is what everyone else was using too and they were all happy with them. It was a good choice for me.

When I asked about it at Michael's, they never heard of it. I looked around at AC Moore and bought a soft stamping pad that rolls up. It's like a mouse pad but more flexible, is heat resistant, non-stick, and has grid lines, but it's only 8" square. It's priced at around $10.

Later I saw something much bigger priced at $20. It's extremely thin like a sheet of paper and appears to be very flimsy. I don't see how it can lay flat on the table without curling up. I also saw one just a little smaller in the sewing section priced at $17, and it comes in a clear zippered bag. Both were rolled up, and in a beige color that resembles the Ranger one I saw online. Is that the same kind you were referring to?

I have the Ranger mat as I said before. I like it and use it often whenever I don't pull out my big tattered angels one which is the same thing but bigger...lots bigger and pink. I haven't used a silicon sheet but some on here say they do the same. I was afraid that the silicon sheets wouldn't have enough of the slick factor to smear ink like the ranger one does. But since I have never tried the baking ones, I can't really say. The ranger one is very flexible and rolls up and fits in my scrap bag. Nothing sticks to it....stickles, ink, paint....nothing....and if it stays on like marker, it wipes off easily with rubbing alcohol or water. I recommend the Ranger one! or if you want a larger one tattered angels. I like the tattered angels one slightly better because when I am scrapping all day, it tends to get full of ink, markers, glue...all stuff that I am using at the time left on the mat. I use the mat to protect my kitchen table which is where I scrap, I use it everytime I scrap!!!

This is the first I've heard of craft mats. I thought it was the same as self-healing mats for cutting. I checked out the Ranger craft mat on their website and learned that it's flexible, unlike the self-healing or glass mats.

How does the Ranger craft mat compare to the silicon baking sheet? Is it also flexible? Will nothing stick to it, like the Ranger mats claim? What other mats would you recommend?

(Please keep travel posts in a separate thread. Thank you.)

Don't forget grant money too! My son's fiance is going completely through law school on grants - not paying a penny. Means they can't get married yet which is a bummer for them but scholarships and grants paid for her bachelors all the way through.

I have a nephew who went a semester at University of Alabama on scholarships and then went to virginia and worked as a submarine programmer for a semester for Lockheed, then back to school for a semester and then back to Virginia for a semester. He found a room really cheaply in someone's attic. It took him 5 years to go through college but it was all scholarship, and made excellent money and had enough saved up to buy a house when he graduated. Or pay for most of it.

Once he graduated Lockheed hired him perm as a submarine programmer and they put him through his Masters program. Soon Lockheed is going to start him with his PHD.

Another friend had a daughter a GA Tech to be an engineer. She was hired by M&M Mars in Texas and went to school for a sememster, then to Texas for a semester. She also got hired by M&M Mars when she graduated.

I love those work/school programs. You have a great job when you graduate! And plenty of moneh coming in while you are in school.

You sound like you have your head on very straight. I didn't when I was younger. I was clueless about finances.

The school loans may be a necessary evil. For first time homebuyers that mortgage payment is a necessary evil. Credit cards and finiancig expensive cars or not necessary evils. Those are the things that get you into trouble.

You sound like you will be fine and get any debt in school take care of as quickly as possible. Some you can't help but incur debt, like school, medical, etc. The trick is not to charge things just because you want them. And to pay off what you do finance as quickly as possible.

Its sad to see people our age absolutely struggling becasue they lived by the credit card their entire lives and now it is destroying what should be a nice retirement.

I am so worried about getting into debt and paying thousands back just on interest alone, on top of what I owe...the college I want to go to for my last two years is $18k a year, so I am going to have to get as many scholarships as I can so that paying it off won't be too horrible. I'm good with budgeting, though, so I think I will be all right in the future...it's the in between part that's gonna stink lol!

I would definitely start small, no doubt about it! All of my current travel priorities are on solid ground, though, so I will save up for a cruise and go sometime in the future, for sure.

Thank you! Very sweet of you to say.

Amy - start small with a 3 day or 4 day cruise and see how you like it. You feel like you are on a floating city and you feel very little of the ocean's movement.

If you have ever seen pictures of iceburgs below the water level, they are wicked! However, you are not going to encounter many iceburgs around the Bahamas or Jamaica or the Eastern or Western Caribbean. Okay, I'm kidding, but those are pretty calm voyages. Some of the transatlantic or Pacicif voyages can have a bumpy day or two and we were fortunate for seas as calm as glass going around South America. Those can be massive waves.

But start with the Bahama, Bermuda, Jamaica, Eastern or Western Caribbean, Mexican Rivera - those all have awesome ports and give you a chance to see how you like cruising. Most people get immediately hooked on it.

When we went to the Bahamas in 2009 for 5 days 4 nighs we found our tickets for $200.00 each and that was with an unobstructed window! That's $50.00 a night and you can't get a nice hotel for $50.00 and all the food you can eat is included, plus the giant floating hotel takes you places. Its the best travel out there I think!

I have to say I loved hearing about how you fly...I never knew you could do that!! What great pictures! I wondered how you traveled and I have to say, what a great way to spend your retirement!!! Good for you!!!! I love seeing all your travle LOs!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!

The flying is a big perk, but even if we didn't have that perk, we'd still be doing a lot of cruising and car trips on social security.

My husband is very ingenious at extra ways to make money. He pulled 3 old toy metal hobby horses out of a dumpster last month. He sold one for $150.00 that night and the other two will go for more. I imagine it will total about $600-$700, enough for a road trip or for a cruise.

He made about $500.00 in a garage sale recently and most of the stuff that he found. He is amazing.

One thing he find tossed out in dumpsters and in garbage cans in store displays. I found one and he sold it for $75.00.

But the big key when you are retired is to have no bills which have interest or fees.

I have a friend who's income is more than ours and she pays so much interest she is broke. I added up interest I was paying when I was single - just interest on car, house, credit cards. It was in the thousands every month! More than we have in income now!

We settle for smaller houses and less things, although we are comfortable. But our money belongs to us, not to the credit card companies. So we can travel. Then we just watch for the best deals.

OMG Henri that is awesome! That 70 day cruise sounds AMAZING....Ever since seeing Titanic when I was young I've been quite sure I'd never do a cruise, but secretly I want to do it, just to say I have! lol I haven't got a military background but maybe with all that money I'll be making off of my book (yeah, right) I will be able to afford airfare and things...I don't mind staying in cheap hotels, either, just as long as there's no bugs crawling on me! hahaha I hope after I pay off everything I'm going to be in debt for in the future I will have enough to travel at least once a year....I don't feel satisfied with three trips a year, I am a huge lover of traveling and amusement parks especially!

Thank you for sharing with me, I have some hope now that my future is not just shoveling and shivering!

Okay - back to craft mats, promise to try not to hijack anymore.

Oh Amy, we don't spend much at all!

We are really budget minded and go as cheaply as possible. I'm not above staying in a hostel as long as we have a private bath. After one night in an expensive hotel in Sydney, we had to leave that day or find something cheaper if we wanted to say longer so we found a clean hostel with a bathroom in the room.

We have more budget cutting strategies than anyone else I know to be able to afford it.

This 70 day cruise. The cheapest book price on it is about $10,000 and they are offering it for $16,000 for inside cabins.

My husband called our travel agent and told her, we can't pay $10,000 each. Get it cut in half and we will take it. We got it for $5,000 each. A little more with tips. That is 70 days of cruising, different ports, all our food and lodging.

We are retired and don't have a mortgage, car payment, or a penny in bills except for cell phone, elec. insurances and that kind of thing - the kind of things you never get out from under. But nothing that involves interest.

WHen we took the 26 day cruise out of Rome and to India, Egypt, Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai and all over - we found that one for $28.00 per person a day. We couldn't stay home and buy groceries and run the air conditioner for the two of us for that!

The 46 day around South America came out to $56.00 a day and that included tips! Its per person, but still!

Here is where we really have an advantage. And it is a major advantage. My husband is retired military. In the US, if you put in your 20 years, you have free flight privileges whereever there is an American military base or one that cooperates. In Australia we fly out of Richmond near Sydney. It only flies out on Wednesdays and its stand-by, but, we don't pay a penny.

There are several places we can fly in and out of in Italy, we can fly in and out of Germany, - we can fly anywhere there is a base as long as it is not a war zone. For example, we wouldn't not be able to fly into Iraq or Afghanistan, but those aren't on my bucket list anyway.

Okinawa is easy to get to, so is Singapore. Hawaii is a piece of cake and it doesn't cost us anything. We stay on military bases all over the world and the cost is very low. $55.00 a night in Hawaii!

We fly on cargo planes most of the time, although occasionally we will get a miltary plane (usually Navy) that is set up like a commercial plane. We prefer the cargo planes.

We travel with a huge backpack and two air mattresses and set up camp on the long flights, lie down on the floor and sleep the entire trip. We even carry our own fleece blankets with us.

We live on a retirement income. My husband has his miltary retirement but it isn't much - he was Green Beret/Special Forces with is not the big dollar retirement like officers. We each have our social security but mine is quite low. His is not much either compared to our friend, but he didn't make much in the army. He gets a little trust fund money but he can't touch the principle - that will go to his kids.

He sells license plates. That is our travel income.

I'm posting a picture of us sleeping on a C-17 so you can see what the inside of a cargo plane really looks like and how we travel. You can see - we travel very inexpensively!

My husband is setting up our sleeping bags and in one we are curled up ready to go to sleep. As you can see, cargo planes are quite comfortable. This one had very few people on it. Sometimes the floor is so packed you can't walk around all the sleeping bags to get to the bathrooms. And sometimes part of the space is cargo or jeeps. But there has always been room for us to set up our sleeping bags!

This flight was awesome becuase the pilot invited me into the cockpit! And told me I could take pictures!

None of these pictures were taken on the ground, they are all cruising altitude when the seat belt light was turned off. In the picture of my husband setting up our beds you can see some cargo strapped down behind him.

You can't see the side of the plane very well, but those are all jump seats where we sit for take off and landing.

Lower left picture is taken from the back near the cargo and show the front of the passenger/cargo section. You can see the stairs that go up to the cockpit.

I Love to Fly By Henri Jean

Ok so I lived in Melbourne last year (fiancee in the Navy - we move around a bit!) and there are at least 2 stores you HAVE to see (if you have time and transport).

1. Paper Squared, Mornington. They're prices are average for Australia but they are the largest store I've ever been able to call my local and I could get lost in there for hours! They run tonnes of classes and there's heaps of projects around their store that they let you photograph (unheard of!!!).

2. The Kaisercraft Outlet at the DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) in Moorabbin. Papers @ 50 cents each, tonnes of factory seconds (that don't seem to actually have anything wrong with them) and heaps of inspiration. Cheap classes and workshops (they even have kids parties out the back :-). Because Kaisercraft is an Aussie company they are usually one of the most reasonably priced here in Australia anyway.

And if Queensland is ever on your list let me know and I can find some hot spots here for you too!

Wow that's a smart idea! Does the baking sheet work well with distress inks and get glue and things off well?

What a great idea!

And Christine, I thought here in Brazil we had the absurd prices, but you "won" this title! At least you got Kaisercraft lol

I actually got my craft mat from Bed Bath and Beyond lol. It's just a silicone baking sheet! The one I picked up is much larger than the one my M's carries. Plus it was cheaper there!

Henri, you have so many stories and each one amazes me...How can you afford to travel so much? I want to go to so many places during my lifetime, and I'm afraid that I will never have the money to do so and I will die sad and stuck in wintry Buffalo. :[ Australia is number one on my list, but it's the plane ticket that's killing me. I'd stay with a friend so I wouldn't have to worry about hotel....But over $1000 (and I've seen up to $9000!) just to get there and back....Amy doesn't have that kind of money, and she won't until roughly two years after she gets a new car and pays off student loans, so I'll be ready when I'm 75ish!

We went to Richmond and found the prices more like at home, but in Sydney - we had a terrible time with th prices. Many people who live in Australia have assured me that the prices everywhere in Australia are not like we found in Sydney.

However, I fell in love with the city! It was awesome. We were in Sydney for 4 days and then had the option to come home or stay another week and we figured we couldn't afford another week. Sowe went to Hawaii for 3 weeks. Rationale for everything.

However, I can't wait to go back to Sydney this fall! Will also be visiting Perth and Melbourne - I've never been to either of those places.

My husband loves Queensland and wants to take me there too. But we don't have anything scheduled to Queensland right now.

omg so crazy! It's good that you have a local store, I bet the owners totally appreciate your loyalty to them!

$8 for 2L of Cola? Where were you buying it from! I guess if you're on holidays you can't always choose. I have had friends from Germany visit and the girls always complain that our cosmetics, shampoo and skincare products are so expensive, even when they're the same as they buy back home. Some places are of course more expensive than others, and if you're a local you tend to know where to go...

• afitzgerald91 Said:

You're absolutely right! The Australian Dollar is the strongest against the US dollar it has ever been in my lifetime but a lot of companies set the recommended retail price years ago at the older, weaker exchange rate. It can be cheaper to order from an online store like sb.com but the freight is $30 or more. Providing you're spending $150-$200 it may still be worth it. I bought my first lot of distress inks, stamps and acrylic blocks from here at Christmas.

I'm incredibly lucky - we've just moved to far north queensland, and although there aren't a lot of stores to choose from, we have one fantastic store about 45 minutes from where I live. The owners don't put a big mark up on everything, and they turnover a fair amount of stock each month so they're always getting the new stuff in. I try to buy most of my supplies through them now, and it lets me spend a little each month to keep adding to my collection.

Christine - I was in Sydney about 6 months ago and was shocked at the prices!

A 2-liter bottle of Coke was up to $8.00 and an 8 oz Coke at Tony Roma's with no refill was $5.00.

Hotels in Sydney were unbelievably high. Not much at all under $300.00 a night for rooms that would be $60.00 here.

But we are going back to Melbourne, Perth and Sydney later this year so we loved it! Just had trouble with the prices - our dollar in not doing well in Australia!

I went to a class this morning at "She Scrapbooks" at The Villages in Florida.

We used both alcohol inks and distress ink so I grabbed a Ranger craft mat. I can tell already that I'm going to get a lot of use out of it.

Christine - from what I understand EVERYTHING is more expensive in Australia! I listen to my best friend (who is in Brisbane) complain about our great prices after I complain how high they are! hahaha I wonder if it would be cheaper to purchase them from an online store? I can't imagine shipping to Australia would be very cheap, but it might be something to look into if you haven't already!

SmartyPants - I got mine with a 40% off at JoAnn's - TOTALLY worth it indeed! I feel I've almost got my money's worth already and I've only used it twice! hahaha

I love my craft mat - it's worth it - I got mine at ACMoore with a coupon!! I like that I can stamp/ink and also emboss using it!!!

I LOVE my craft mat and I can't believe how cheaply you guys can get the distress inks over in the US! They retail between $9.95-$13.95 here in Australia - I try to pick them up from my local when they're on special for $7. I bought the 2010 colours first, and seriously overlooked the brown tones! I use the tattered rose a lot - it makes a lovely skin tone for when I'm colouring my digi stamps. My next purchases will be the dusty concord and shabby shutters - I'm really missing a purple!

bwasek - ooooh that's a great idea! I was wondering how mom and I were going to share this one craft sheet...Now we dont' have to share muahaha!

instead of a craft mat I but wax papper down and tape the edges. I works for at least a few weeks.

I have two craft mats for stamping. The tattered angels one (pink) is HUGE!!!! LOVE this one to cover my work area! The ranger one is smaller, I use it at crops!
I also have a glass mat for cutting. A self healing mat for general working/cutting.
I have a lot of mats!!!! LOL!!!

aren't they fun? love mine

Oh my goodness, you guys, this craft sheet is my new favorite thing ever.

I love Tea Dye, Crushed Olive, and Vintage Photo -- they're the ones I gravitate to.

elly - definitely get them at joann or somewhere that has 40-50% off right now, they are originally $5 each and that can add up, getting them for $2.5-$3 will make a big difference!

Tattered rose sounds like it would be gorgeous, guess who is going to check it out today? I'll let you guys know how I like my craft sheet after I get it, too!

faded denim is also nice and I love the brick red

Thank you soo much! hopefully i can find some matter of fact, i have been looking at the walnut stain and i love the color of the bundled sage, im also looking at the tattered rose and "old paper" those look nice too on the box-online.. haha

Elly, Walnut Stain is a good one to have, it's a dark brown that looks great on the edges of tags or cardstock. I also love faded jeans and chipped sapphire (which is a more regal, darker blue) and want to get broken china. Tea Dye is a little too orange for my taste and I haven't formally used it on anything, I've only played with it. My ultimate favorite is Bundled Sage - a gorgeous light green color that gets more beautiful as you layer it!! Don't forget your Inkssentials Blending Tool and extra foam pads! I'm gonna grab a craft sheet at Joanns tomorrow if I can find one (I'm not so good at finding things there and there's never anyone to help me grrr)

im going "distress ink shopping" as well... what colors would you reccomend?!

That was one of my biggest concerns - I had to keep reapplying ink to my blending tool because it all came off onto the piece of paper I had behind what I was actually working on! No point in wasting ink like that, or spending twice as long inking that it should! I'll have to pop by Joann's and see if I can find one. I guess the Inkssentials Craft Sheet from Ranger is the best, eh?

the nice thing about craft mats is that you can spray or ink them so that you can plaster the paper or tag or whatever right on there,,,,,Tim does it a lot as a technique. Paper or chipboard would soak up the ink,,,,,a craft mat keeps the ink wet so you can rub the paper into it,,,,

I love my craft mat ... I use it for misting, inking, painting, embossing, glitter ... anything messy

it cleans like a dream, rolls up when I'm not using it, and was very cheap when I used my 50% off coupon ... well worth the money

I just use the 12x12 cardboard thing that comes with those cheap paper packs from Target.

I'm sure mats have advantages, it's just not very high on my priority list right now.

Oh, and don't buy anything special for mists. Use a shoebox.

I really like to look of distress inks, and have just purchased five of them as well as the Inkspressions Blending Tool. On the tutorials I see on YouTube, they are always using a craft mat so as to not get their space all inky...I've just been using leftover paper. Is there an advantage to buying a craft mat? How much are they? Where can I even find one? Thanks in advance!