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I love making Cricut Joy cards with my Cricut Joy machine. But the Cricut Joy Card Mat tends to lose it’s stick really fast. So, I decided to conduct an experiment this week to see if I could re-stick the Cricut Joy Card Mat. Let me walk you through how I did it. It’s really easy.
PLEASE NOTE: It’s possible that using this method on the Cricut Joy Card Mat and then using the re-stuck mat in your machine, may void your warranty. I don’t know that for sure, but I suggest you wait to try this until your one year warranty has expired, just in case. Thanks!
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Please check out the video tutorial below or scroll down for instructions with photos:
Clean Your Cricut Joy Card Mat
I don’t show how to clean the card mat in the video, but it’s pretty simple. Clean off as much debris from the mat as you can. Then turn on some warm water in your kitchen sink (or whatever sink works for you). Get the mat wet and then take a sponge with some liquid soap (I used Dawn) and gently rub the soapy sponge over the mat.
Rinse it off so all of the soap is removed. Then stick a plastic pen, bamboo skewer or metal straw between the sticky top layer of the mat and the base of the mat so air can circulate on both sides of the mat and dry it off. Let it air dry.
Put Parchment Paper Between the Layers of the Cricut Joy Card Mat
Cut a piece of parchment paper to about 8″ W x 6.25″ H. Thread it between the top sticky layer of the Cricut Joy Card Mat (the part where you stick down the front of the card when making Cricut Joy Insert cards, cutaway cards, etc.) and the base layer of the mat.
This will help keep glue from getting under the top layer and sticking it to the base layer.
Tape off the Non Sticky Parts of the Cricut Joy Mat
Use some low tack tape, like blue painter’s tape to tape off the top and bottom edges of the sticky section of the Cricut Joy Card Mat so glue doesn’t go outside the sticky area.
Use Zig 2-Way Glue Pen to Re-Stick the Cricut Joy Card Mat
Zig 2-Way Glue is my go-to product for re-sticking my mats. Other people use Aileen’s Tack It Over & Over glue too. I’m sure there are even more products that work. But, Zig glue is 2-way because it is blue when you first spread it out and if you glue things together when it’s wet and blue, the bond is permanent. But, you can wait for it to dry clear and then the surface turns into a sticky but removable glue bond. Perfect for re-sticking mats and also why it works 2 ways!
Get glue flowing in the Jumbo Tip Zig 2-Way Glue Pen by pressing the nib down on to a piece of scratch paper. Once the glue is flowing, run it vertically up and down from the top to the bottom over the sticky top layer of the Cricut Joy Card Mat.
Try your best to not go off the sides of the Card Mat that have the parchment paper sticking out on either side.
If necessary, repeat covering the sticky part of the Card Mat with glue by going vertically from the bottom to the top. You don’t want to add too much glue. The mat surface should look wet but not too wet. You really shouldn’t be able to tell that the glue is blue, it should look more milky. If you’ve got a solid blue layer of glue, then you’ve used too much. You can blot some off with a cotton cloth while wet or wait for it to dry and blot the mat on to a cotton shirt to remove some of the stickiness.
Let the Re-Stuck Cricut Joy Mat Air Dry
Now that you’ve applied the glue, carefully stick a pen, bamboo skewer, metal straw or whatever tool you used when letting the mat air dry after cleaning, in between the top re-stuck mat layer and the base layer. Also carefully remove the parchment paper from between the layers in the mat.
Let air dry until the glue is clear and sticky but no longer wet.
Testing Out the Re-Stuck Cricut Joy Card Mat
After the glue on the mat was dry, I removed the painter’s tape and checked to see if the mat was sticky again. It was!
But the best way to see if re-sticking a mat worked is to use it! I decided to cut an Insert Card design to see how well the mat would hold the card in place and how easy it would be to remove the card from the mat, once cut.
The mat held up perfectly during the cutting process. No paper slippage of any kind and the Insert Card design cut out pretty nicely.
Removing the card from the re-stuck Cricut Joy Card Mat wasn’t any tougher than it usually is, especially with a somewhat intricate design, which this one was.
Finally, removing the cut out pieces from the card that stuck to the Cricut Joy Card Mat with a spatula was also the same as usual.
Can You Re-Stick the Cricut Joy Card Mat??
So, can you re-stick a Cricut Joy Card Mat? Yes, absolutely! In all honesty, this method worked like a charm. It was easy to apply the glue and once the glue was dry, the Card Mat worked just like a new mat.
The key is the parchment paper that prevents glue from seeping under the top layer of the Card Mat. Without that, I fear I might accidentally glue the two layers together without realizing it. I think it also really helps to have something to stick between the mat layers while the glue dries, on the off chance some glue may have slipped between the layers. As long as they don’t touch while the glue dries, the layers of the Cricut Joy Card Mat will work as they should.
Finally, if your mat is too sticky after using this method, simply press the Card Mat against a cotton shirt or towel to remove some of the stick. I didn’t have this problem at all but it can be good to test the mat stickiness after it’s dry with some scratch paper, just in case you’ve used too much glue.
I hope this helps you! I am very happy to know that I don’t have to replace my Cricut Joy Card Mats nearly as often as I have been, or potentially at all. I can go back to making beautiful cards with my Cricut Card mat without having to buy anything new. Yay!
Questions or Comments?
If you have any questions, please leave me a comment below and I will get back to you soon. Want to just tell me how much you loved this tutorial? Please leave me a comment below – lol!
Suggestions?
I would also appreciate any ideas you have for topics to cover related to the software for Cricut (Design Space), Silhouette (Silhouette Studio) or Brother ScanNCut (Canvas Workspace) and any suggestions you have for projects to create with the Cricut Maker, Cricut Joy, Silhouette Cameo 4 or the Brother Scan N Cut DX. Please leave any requests you have in the comments. I appreciate you taking the time to visit and read my blog. Thanks!
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Thank you for a well written, easily understood, high-value blog. I remember when I first got my cricut I was concerned about how expensive everything was beyond the machine! I figured there had to be a McGyver in the paper stack somewhere. Then I discovered a lot of posts on how to re-stick the large mats. I read all of them, selected the one that seemed most reasonable, and bought supplies. The supplies were almost as expensive as the OEM mats. Oh well, I justified it by saying DIY was multi-use whereas originals were disposables (not a fan of disposables). But I forged on and made a huge mess. Don’t remember all the details but they were persuasive enough to pack it in. However, your post seems highly viable, well worth the effort and I’m eager to try, especially with the cricut joy mats. Thank you for sharing!
I’m glad you think this method seems doable for you. It is not tough at all and not very expensive either, just the glue, tape and parchment paper. You can use this same method on your regular 12 x 12 mats too, just without the parchment paper. I hope you find it easy and repeatable. I love it and use this method on all my mats whenever they need it. Thanks!!
I have used the Zig on both Silhouette mats and Scan N Cut Mats for years. Now I use it on the regular Cricut Mats. It takes time but as far as money saved well worth it. Just remember to cover the edges with tape. If you decide to use Tack It Over and Over or one of the other glues, you will want to thin it, so it is a 50/50 ratio.
I use this method on all of my cutting machine mats too – every brand I own. I agree that taping off is very important! I’ve never used Tack It Over & Over, so thanks for the tip about thinning it before use. I’m glad you like this method for re-sticking the mats too. I love it!