October 20, 2022

Craft Mats

Craft Media Mats

What can I say? I am a messy artist! But, even if I wasn’t, Craft Media Mats are essential in my Studio. I have several different types of mats strategically placed around each area and I LOVE them all for different reasons. Let’s take a look…

Glass Mixed Media Mats

I have two Glass Mixed Media Mats. I use them most often when I work with Stamp Inks, Distressed Inks, Color Bursts or other messy applications like Embossing Powders, glue and paint. The glass mats make for a quick and easy clean up with no stains are left behind.

My Tonic Studios Tim Holtz Glass Mixed Media Mat is made with tempered glass which makes it super strong and durable.

This is a large mat which can easily fit a 12×12 piece of paper on one side, and a smaller area with a non stick silicone mat on the other for easy media mixing. Love that part!

The white grid is under the tempered glass with a ruler along the edges! It’s perfect!

So why do I have another? Well, my other Glass Media Mixed Media Mat is much larger and I tend to work BIG! I like a lot of space to work freely, so this one sits on my main media workspace.

This big beautiful Glass Mixed Media Mat is by WeR Memory Keepers. I really love the fabulous aqua and white color too!

It covers almost my entire desk area which makes it perfect for coloring, painting, inking, spraying…you name it…there’s space for it!

Heavy Duty Durable Tempered Glass
Easy Clean Up
Rulers in both inches and metric
It has little non-skip feet underneath
Corner Protectors
and so much more

So if you are in need of a Glass Mixed Media Mat, I’m sure you will enjoy either one of them. There are several other Glass Mats available and I’m sure they are all fairly similar.

Metal Mixed Media Craft Mats

The Make Art-Stay-tion by Ranger Ink is a super handy mixed media mat. My first one was a FREE gift with purchase. I wasn’t sure if I would like it, but it is actually a very useful tool. I liked it so much, I purchased another larger one to use when for times when I needed to work somewhere other than in my Studio.

Some of the features of the Make Art-Stay-tion that helped me make my decision was:

Portable – being a portable, durable mixed media mat was a game changer for me. As much as I love my glass mats, they are just too heavy to lug around from place to place, or room to room.
Sturdy yet lightweight
Steel Magnetic Base
Grid for easy line-up
4 Strong 1″ magnets – these strong magnets are particularly useful when working on blending techniques with stencils.
Flexible 7″ Metal Ruler
Perfect for card making
Easy Clean-up

**Side note: You definitely don’t want to cut using a blade on this metal mat because it will ruin the surface. But, most everything else is fair game!

Self-Healing Craft Mat

Self-Healing Mats are another valuable tool in my Studio. My Spellbinders Mat is fairly large, approximately 12″x18″ which gives me a lot of space to work.

I use mine almost everyday, and here are a few reason why:

Self-healing – that’s an obvious one, but truthfully it’s perfect! The surface really doesn’t get damaged. So go ahead…cut on it, pierce it, stamp on it, die cut too…you will love it!
Durable – I’ve had mine for a long time and it is still as fabulous as the day I bought it
Pliable – it has a semi-soft padded surface. Perfect for stamping because it allows for a crisp, clean impression
Ruler along the edges
Grid across the entire mat
Angle Measurement

Foam Crafters Mat

My last but not least craft mat is a thick foam mat. Or better known as “Stampers Secret Weapon”

It measures approximately 10 1/2″ x 12″ and is 1/2″ thick. There are two sides to this lovely Secret Weapon. One side smooth for stamping and molding, and the other side is a little more rough for paper piercing.

I most often use my Stampers Secret Weapon for sculpting my paper flowers. Because it’s a sturdy foam mat, I can get a really good shape to my flower petals using a stylus tool.

So these are my Studio essential Craft Mats. You may have some of them, or you may have all of them. If so, you know exactly why I call them some of my “must-have” essentials in my Studio.

But, if you don’t have any Craft Mats or Mixed Media Mats, I hope I have helped you in some way in considering which may be the best one to use for your fabulous crafty projects.

I've linked to several must-have mats below