Here’s a quick and frugal tip for my sewing (and building) friends – Reverse Garbage in Marrickville has a mountain of acrylic offcuts on sale at the moment at bargain prices…
I brought home four long 3mm thick strips for $2 each. The largest was 20cm x 84cm (8″ x 33″)…
These make PERFECT roller cutting rulers at a ridiculously cheap price. 3mm is the same thickness as the commercially made ones, which means the blade rolls cleanly next to the edge – resist the temptation to buy anything thicker. I have a 6″ x 24″ branded ruler that cost me $25 secondhand (it retails for over $50 new) and is often too short for my projects, so these longer ones will come in very handy.
I gave two of the offcuts to my quilter friend Dan and she added a strip of tape to mark the cutting line for her tree skirt project…
It worked a treat!
At the moment, Reverse Garbage is absolutely packed with treasure, so it’s a good time to visit if you haven’t been for a while. They have an entire aisle of Christmas decoration supplies, lots of sticky things (double-sided tape, foam etc), sewing supplies, cotton lace, packaging supplies and just about everything else you need for festive crafting. And while you’re there, make a day of it by visiting The Bower, Addi Road Food Pantry and lunching at the Egyptian food cart! ♥
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
jealous :)
What a great use of the acrylic. I’ve been doing some bookbinding and will get some to use as a ruler to cut the monstrous sheets of paper that I need to cut up. I have a suggestion that may help to stop things slipping underneath. You can purchase the tape that you use around the frame of a door to give you a better seal. The tape has an adhesive strip on one side and is a bit grippy on the other. I put it on the underside of my ruler to stop things moving around.
Why doesn’t every town have a Reverse Garbage…?
Maybe you should open one, Kate!
Love this! (And not just because I have a serious ruler addiction) Hugs, Maz