Thanks for the tips... Speaking of sandpaper, I have seen people who have stuck velcro circles to the bottoms for their rulers to prevent slippage.... My rotary cutters are pretty good.... I have a Fiskars, a Dritz, and an OLFA that I can't find, not to mention a Fiskars one that is attached on a rail to an acrylic ruler and I do buy and change the blades when necessary. I still only cut one layer at a time so that if I mess up, I won't ruin too much. Nana, it is really nice to hear from someone who has also had experience with this thing. I bought a few extra 99 cent fat quarters because I wanted to play with this machine so I didn't ruin anything terribly expensive, but from now on, I'm only going to play with ugly scrap material! I did get a glimmer of hope... I found that when I starch the fabric (spray starch, then iron), it works MUCH better, so I'm going to play with that for a while before I decide whether or not to return it....

aixia, do you mean slivers in the fabric, or the mat itself? I have two rotary cutters and with the one I assumed would work best with this mat, I often had trouble getting the blade in right at the beginning of the slot, and it would cut into the mat, making a jagged edge which caused more snagging next time I tried to cut -- the situation was getting worse and worse. SO I tried my other rotary cutter which is a self closing one. I thought it would be even HARDER to get in the slot 'cause the blad is against it's plastic guard until you press down-- but it worked FLAWLESSLY with it! Slides in simple and perfect every time and never snags!!!! The one that DOES work GREAT with it looks like the one at the link below. I was surprised 'cause I don't like it as much with my regular ruler. Here is a link that might be useful: Pressure sensitive rotary cutter

I have a sharpener, but I rarely use it. I usually screw up my rotary blades through clumsiness, LOL. I miss a pin on the cutting mat and run over it with the blade, or I hit the blade on the ruler. If you are really, really careful with your blades, and they are simply dull, the sharpener can get you a few more days, but it will NEVER polish out a nick in the blade. You must also, for best results, use them before the blade is actually dull. Eh, I'm cutting strips for a quilt, the blade is working, and I'm not going to get out the sharpener, the oil, and the paper towels to contain the mess. It's basically the same procedure as stropping the cut-throat straight razors your grandfathers probably used. They probably stropped the razor before every shave. That was his face, so he was probably pretty motivated to keep that razor sharp. I know rotary blades are expensive, but I can cut pieces for maybe two or three quilts before my blade is dull. If I haven't actually nicked the blade, I will use the sharpener, but it's never as good as a fresh unused blade. I keep a spare cutter with an old, duller blade for cutting batting and paper.

Lotus, After I posted my message I reread your original posting and saw you were also looking for other home dec tips too. This is what I've learned in the past month. It's hard to believe, but five weeks ago I didn't even know how to thread my machine. Use a good European thread like Mettler Metrosene polyester or Gutterman. Cheap thread or even moderately priced Coats and Clark thread generates a lot of lint inside your machine. I sometimes use inexpensive fabric, but I always splurge on $5 thread. Buy a good little seam gauge. These inexpensive devices $3 or $4 allow you to measure tiny seam allowances quickly and accurately. I couldn't sew without mine. Shortcuts and skippping steps are the recipe for disaster. Pin and iron everything before you sew it. Also, never walk away from your iron when it's still plugged in. Buy a good pair of thread snips. These spring loaded devices allow you to trim thread quickly and efficiently. Change your needles regularly, oil your machine and clean it with a blast of canned air. If you make a chair cushion out of foam, wrap the foam in a thin layer of batting. I did this yesterday, and 50 cents worth of batting gave my $10 foam chair cushion a very rich look. Don't be afraid to use the seam ripper. If something doesn't turn out right, I do it over. My ottoman slipcover looked loose and floppy the first time I made it. But after I took it apart and tightened the edges, it fit like a glove. Now I inspect my project as I'm making it. If something doesn't look right to me, out comes my seam ripper. My new motto is "The seam ripper is my friend." The first time I try to make something, I do it in an inexpensive fabric. I've used a lightweight (6.5 oz.) dark blue denim that I bought at Hancocks for $7 a yard for all my early projects. I won't take out the expensive fabric until I know my sewing skills are up to the task. Sewing books are great for instructions but they're not a great source for style. Study the better decorating books, magazines and store catalogs. And use your eyes to see how well made items look. I want my $10 throw pillows and $20 round tablecloths to look like they came from Saks not Walmart. My sewing isn't perfect, but my projects are beginning to look well made and professional. If you're making throw pillows and want to avoid the bargain basement rabbit ear look, taper the outer edges of each side. This assures your pillows will have a neat and expensive rectangular look. There's an easy way to do this by folding your pillow into quarters and then tapering the outer half of each edge by half an inch. I've done this and it creates extra work but it's worth it. Learn how to make your own welting and put it on almost everything. The fabric stores have this wonderful cord that costs 20 or 30 cents a yard. You can cover it with two or three inch strips of matching or contrasting fabric cut on the bias to give all your home dec projects a very rich look. Even if your style is paired down modern, a self welting adds to the look of quality. It's extra work (it takes at least three times as long to make a pillow with welting as one without) but again, it's worth it. Incidentally, fabric scraps from large projects are a good source of material for welting. When I made my 78" round tablecloths I mostly used leftover fabric to make strips for the welted edge. And whenever I make a mistake cutting something large, the fabric ends up as welting. Making welting is a great way to recycle any fabric. And most important of all. Never cut fabric when you're tired. It's much too easy to make a stupid and expensive mistake.