I have the 2 in die that i love... and you need to 'cut' your fabric before your place it it on the die.. you only need to cover the blades not the entire length of the die itself..
Ebony has this awesome website.. check out how she Outlines the dies to eliminate wasted fabric.. and she has some really awesome tutes..
http://quiltpossible.com/
I've checked her blog out, and i do know you have to cut your fabric first and then place it under the pattern you want to cut.
I want to know if you have a 2" die do you cut 1 set of 2 " cuts or does your die have 3 across and 3 down so when you cut you are cutting multiples of the same. not just one 2" die cutting multiple layers?
oh yea, buy mats, buy extra mats- they are disposable so to speak, as you will soon find out..