Today we have a lesson in how not to treat the stamp cutting mat.
I was concerned that the previous cuts had gone off the edge of the material sometimes. I got the "brilliant" idea to cut a piece of cardstock the same size as the stamp material and to cut that as a test before using the stamp material again. That is, with the stamp material design page setting but cardstock cut settings.
Well I did that and measured it up. My Silhouette Portrait machine cuts 7mm further to the left than it should. I can allow for that when laying out the cuts in future. Exactly why I don't know, maybe a software bug? I would be interested to here if others have the same problem...
But when I wanted to remove the card from the mat there was trouble, the card tore into layers instead of peeling off. The mat adhesive was too strong. I worked at it for a while then decided I would have to replace the mat. Scraping too hard just removed the layer of adhesive from the mat. My DH suggested soaking the paper off in warm water, as I was resigned to losing the mat anyway I tried it. My childhood stamp collecting experience came in useful here. Yes I am that old. Well the mess came off easily in warm water. And when the mat dried off it still worked! Not perfectly, I think, because I had damaged the adhesive - I cut a full sheet of flower shapes and one petal didn't cut right. Also a couple of small bits of material came off during cutting, they seem to have fouled the blade because half of the flower they came out of wasn't cut. Looks like I will get that replacement mat. In the meantime I will try increasing the cut depth a teensy bit.
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