Removing Small Pieces from Your Cutting Mat

Yesterday, I had to go to the dentist, and I ended up being there for 2 1/2 hours.  On top of that it takes me about 45 minutes to get there, and then 45 minutes to get back, so 4 hours total.  Unfortunately this took up all of my crafting time!  I probably could have snuck in some time after I put the kids to bed, but I was not feeling great, so I went to bed and didn't get the project that I was hoping to post today done.

This morning when I woke up (really early!) I realized though that I never posted this tip, so here it is.  When I posted my peacock HERE, someone had asked me how I used the drywall tape, so I took these pictures to show everyone.

First off, you can find drywall tape at any hardware store, and they come in a variety of sizes.  I found this at Ace Hardware in the paint section.  For this example, I used it to remove a bunch of small pieces off my mat that were the "negative" pieces, but the same technique can be done for "positive" pieces.  Here is a before picture of the mat with all the pieces that I want to remove.

When you take the drywall tape off the roll, the sticky side is similar to the stickiness of your cutting mat.  Go ahead and lay that on top of the pieces on your mat.  Depending on what size tape you are using, you may need to overlap the pieces, like I did here.

Now you are going to rub the tape and the pieces so that you can get the tape to adhere well to the pieces.  When you start to remove the tape, make sure you have your spatula tool in hand.  Start to peel back the tape, if there is a piece that is sticking to the mat rather than the tape, place the tape back over it and slide the spatula tool under the paper so that it lifts from the mat. Make sure that it is sticking well to the tape.  I do this a lot when I have several pieces and I want to make sure that the placement is correct, so take your time if you need to.  Once you are done this is what you will see when you flip the tape over.

If these are the positive images that you want to use, at this point you can apply adhesive to your cut pieces and then flip the tape back over.  Line up your cut pieces where you want them to go and put them in place.  I usually wait a minute so that the adhesive can cure a little before trying the remove the tape.  Slowly peel back the drywall tape, using the spatula tool if necessary to help the pieces release from the tape.  And that is it!  I have heard that this is similar to Magic Mesh, but I have never used that, so I cannot speak from experience.

If you have any tips to share, I would love to hear them!  Don't forget to sign up for the GIVEAWAY!  Have a great day everybody and I will see you all tomorrow!