Ok all - I know that I am not the only dummy in the world. Last Summer I went to a Guild meeting and we were working on Quilts of Valor. I brought my big cutting mat and when I got home I left it in the car in the garage :oops: (bad idea). Looked like the Ocean the next morning.
So, I did suck it up and purchase a new one :cry: . The old one was warped and useless (so I thought). I pushed it to the back of the closet because I was so mad that I had messed it up and I was convinced that I could save it (ha ha).
DH tried to "reheat" and flatten it as one big cutting mat with a "heat gun" to no avail.
Well . . .I was thinking after I made these sewing totes
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-38717-1.htm
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-38958-1.htm
wouldn't it be cool to have a small cutting board in the tote. So, I cut a 9 X 12 piece out of the warped mat and placed it with aluminum foil on either side between two cookie sheets in cold oven. On top of the cookie sheets I put 2 cast iron skillets. I turned the oven on to 200 degrees. I allowed the oven to heat and then "cooked" the "sandwich" after the oven reached temperature for 30 minutes. I then turned the oven OFF and did not remove the "sandwich" until the oven was COMPLETELY cold.
The piece of cutting mat was
perfectly flat.
Now - I will be honest with you, it is not as flexible or pliable as it was before BUT it is flat and very usable. Hope this helps some you you who have done this as well. :oops: