Paper Quilling, Scrapbooking, Stamping and More

I really don’t know why the mat for the Silhouette and other Graphtec machines ( Craft Robo, Wishblade) don’t come with a bigger mat. The mats for Silhouette and replacement mats are 9×13 inch and there is no reason why you can’t cut longer files.

How to cut Cut Longer Files in Craft Robo and Silhouette

You need a bit of “extra” on the end of your mat so it can feed in the machine so about the longest you can make a cut file on your cutting machine is 9/10 inches with the standard size mat.

How To Make 12 Inch Borders and Cut Files on Craft Robo and Quickutz Silhouette

I am a big border person. I love to use them in my scrapbooks., maybe because of my Creative Memories background- it is a hard habit to break. I was really stumped as to why I couldn’t make with my machine and realized it was a simple-ish fix. I just needed a longer mat.

I have made my own mats a few times ( you can read my post on How to make Your Own Craft Robo, Silhouette and Cricut Machines) and I personally like them more than the original mat that came with my Silhouette. One issue I did have was finding something that I could use for a lingger mat to make borders for my scrapbook pages..
If you can find the right length of plastic- go for it- just follow directions on the Make Your Own Mat for Cricut Mahines, Silhouette and Craft Robo post I mentioned.

I found the easiest thing to do- especially if you don’t have the adhesive or a Xyron 900 is to just cut down a large Cricut mat. This is probably the least expensive option.

What you need:
Cricut 12-Inch By 24-Inch Mat pack of two cost about 17.00.
Painters tape
Scissors
WD-40 or similar ( Goo Gone, any kind of adhesive remover, and I think an acetone based nail polish remover would work as well.)

I was VERY happy with how these turned out.

Step One:
Cut down your mat. The Cricut mats come in a pack of two. You can cut one 10×17 size mat and then or however long you want. You can make longer if you like.
Cut your mat down. Use the measurements that are printed on the mat as your guide. I used scissors with n problems, I was going to sue craft knife but then had to worry about my cutting mat- seemed like overkill.

Remove Excess Adhesive From Mat

Use your painters tape and tape down the two side of your mat. ( Actually if you really only have to do this along one side). You need to leave about a 1/2 inch strip of mat exposed. You are going to remove the adhesive along the sides- this is so rollers can feed that mat in and out of your machine.
( Note I used duct tape in this- which can strip some some of the adhesive off- use painters tape OR if you use Duct / masking tape and remove some of the stickiness put pulling it on and off some fabric)

Don’T spray the WD-40 right on the mat it will get on parts where you want adhesive. I used a little bit on a cotton ball. The adhesive came right off very easily.
When I took tape off of used a bit of soapy water on cotton ball to get rid of oily residue.

You are done! test out your mat. When you are in your software ( most likely Robo Master) and making a 12 inch die cut or border set user size to width of mat and length 15 inches. Remember you need at least 2 extra inches on your mat so it can feed. So if you want to cut 14 inches you need at least a 16 inch mat, etc.

Go ahead and cut!
Note: Make sure you have enough room at the BACK of your cutter and it doesn’t hit a wall

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