Help! Which of these do I need?

I have a silicon mat - a waffle flower stencil mat to be specific - that I do really like for stencilling. love the soft surface (grabs the inks), the built-in corner, and how it naturally grips your paper. But that's about all I use it for.

I have a glass mat - it's my worksurface at all times. I can clean it easily, it has the ruler built in, it's just all all-round good worksurface. Would I like a magnetic one? Sure...but I actually think I wouldn't use that feature. I think I will ALWAYS work on a glass mat from now on, it's just nice.

I have a couple of sticky mats - like the SB.com and brutus monroe ones - the thin plasticy ones. They are good for holding things still, but don't last well. I prefer my photopolymer sticky mat that came in my altenew stampwheel - nice surface for stamping on and I believe would be great for stencilling too. the waffle flower grip mat is on my wishlist, the 6x8 one.

First of all, "need" is such a funny, funny word, isn't it?

Second, I am also on the "I have a lot of mats" bench:

• An Altenew silicone craft mat (my first mat); very good for generically protecting a work surface and nice enough to work on.
• I have gone through 3 SB.C/BM stamp & stick mats; hated them. I still have a Brutus Monroe new in package. I can send it if you're interested in trying one.
• I think my Waffle Flower stencil mat was next. I liked it a lot, though it's not good for things like the Altenew layering stencils with multiple layers on one stencil. Also, I don't think I've used since I started acquiring the things that make up the rest of this list.
• Magnetic glass mat -- I was actually stenciling on this using the magnets to hold both paper and stencils. An improvement, IMO! Also good for watercoloring/marker coloring. JMcG likes to tape or hold the paper down for these types of things and I like using magnets better than tape or temporary adhesive 
• Altenew sticky mats -- I now have three four of these. One super sticky, two of the "normal" ones that come in the StampWheel, and one of the newer extra large ones. The normal ones live in my Stampwheel and Stamparatus (no more magnets!). The others I use for stenciling. I LOVE them. They stick to my glass mat, too. The extra large with hold two A2 panels side-by-side.
• Waffle Flower Grip Mat (6x8) -- this is in my "GISTI" (MISTI knock off). This works fine. I find it more difficult to get into the GISTI correctly. The Altenew mats are a little easier to work with. Therefore, if I have a red rubber cling stamp and need to remove the mat from a stamping platform, I am least likely to grab the GISTI.
• Altenew folding self-healing cutting mat. This came with a recent retreat kit. I haven't tried using it yet. But I do have a mini-project on my list which will require a craft knife, so maybe soon. 

Great question! I’m just about to try modern stenciling and if I like it I’ll be in the market for the same thing.

Great idea to use waxed paper!
Having a grid for assistance with placement can def be helpful. I like the grip of my silicone mat because it helps hold my cards while I wiggle glued bits into place. The Altenew sticky mat looks appealing for inking die cuts and holding stencils that are bigger than the paper but I haven't tried it yet $.$

Coming back to say I just saw a video of Wendy of Village Cards and Crafts doing some messy solar paste work on what I'm pretty sure was one of the WF media mats. It seemed to work well (though not hands-free like a polymer grip mat) and clean up well, too. I don't relish the idea of trying to clean gloppy things off a polymer mat, now that I watched that.

I have a silicone mat I picked up a Trader Joe's for 4.99. It's about as big as a cookie sheet, I like it a lot. I also have the WF photopolomyr 6x6 mat. I loved this at first, but then it started to lose its grip. I was actually going to ask if anyone else had this issue? I washed it really well in case it was a dog hair/dust situation, but it hasn't come back. It's like some of my photopolomyr stamps that just slide off the backing now and sit at the bottom of the stamp sleeve. thoughts?

Edited to add that I also have a glass mat that I keep on my desk and craft on. It's actually a glass palette that I picked up at a thrift store, so just plain tempered glass with sanded edges. They sell them at Joann's and other craft stores too, pretty reasonable price, I have 20x16 inch one. 

The Altenew sticky mat in my Stamparatus is much better after getting the more thorough bath.

I decided to take the WF mat out of my GISTI and give it the same treatment -- not quite as successful for reasons.

Which one is the best for holding stencils in place so you don’t have to use tape? Bonus if it doesn’t stain, but I don’t think I’ll hold my breath for that!


For this issue what about putting it on a cheap/thin cutting board? Like the kind we got at the dollar store to form big dividers. I think I’ll test that out. I don’t have any silicone mats for paper crafting, but I do for my mandala dotting.