I would recommend the largest cutting mat you can afford, a June Tailor Shape Cut ruler, a couple of 4" and 6" rulers, maybe a couple of large square rulers, but my "go to" ruler is the shape cut, as far as I'm concerned it's the next best thing since sliced bread, and as others have mentioned a good rotary cutter and a supply of blades. I haven't used a seam ripper since I found these little snips(6204) at:
http://www.mygoodscissors.com/Scissors.htm