Cricut Joy

What Is A Cricut Joy?

Today’s post is going to appeal to the crafters, the stationery fans and the organisers amongst you, which is probably most of you! I want to tell you all about my new Cricut Joy, answer those of you now saying ‘what it a Cricut Joy?’ and explain what it can do. 

The team over at Cricut have sent me a Cricut Joy and accessories to explore and share more with you. I just know that there will be plenty of you who this will be perfect for, so I am keen to give you the lowdown. 

Cricut Joy

I received the items free of charge for the purposes of this post and this post contains affiliate links

What is a Cricut Joy?

A Cricut Joy is a smart cutting machine. 

The Joy is the newest addition to the Cricut range and it’s the most compact cutting machine in the Cricut range. This makes it handy to use for everyday projects and it is small enough to easily store away when not in use. 

You can use everything from vinyl and iron-on to card stock and peel-and-stick label paper with this machine and it cuts it all out for you, according to your specifications. It can also write on designs for you, using the pen option instead of the blade in your machine.

You can upload your own designs for free and set the Cricut joy to work or you can pay a monthly subscription free to access all of the designs, images and fonts available in Cricut Design Space.

Sounds pretty good, right? Are you already thinking about the projects that you could try with this? 

Here is everything that Cricut sent over for me to use, so pop and take a tour of the Cricut range with me, before I explain more about it all. 

Getting Started with a Cricut Joy

It’s actually surprisingly easy to get started with Cricut Joy.

I say surprisingly, because I had assumed that it would be tricky to get going with equipment like this, equipment that is totally new to me and unlike anything I have used before. I was wrong. 

You need to download the free Cricut Design Space to your computer, as long as it is Bluetooth enabled, or you can get the app on your iOS or Android phone. I went for the app on my Samsung Galaxy 10 and it works perfectly for me there. 

Your phone will find, pair up with and connect to your Cricut Joy and you are then ready to go.

Cricut have then set up plenty of YouTube tutorials and help guides for you to use. 

Cricut Joy on YouTube

 

What can a Cricut Joy do?

The Cricut Joy can cut and write for you. It works with a variety of materials, so let me show you a few things that I have had it doing for me so far. 

When you first connect your machine, it will take you through a test run so that you get a feel for how it works.

It asks you to select a simple design and then you follow the on-screen instructions to cut it onto vinyl. 

This is a great way to give you a feel for the Cricut Joy and I found it relaxed me as I realised how easy it was!

I cut this vinyl flower design and then transferred it onto the sample card supplied. 

Cricut Joy vinyl sticker

After this, I spent some time exploring the app and looking through some of the tutorials. 

There are plenty of projects in Cricut Design Space that are all set up for you to print or you can make your own.

I decided to try both, one card and one vinyl, to get a feel for the machine and what it can do.

For the card project, I selected a card design that I wanted and then followed the instructions from one of the tutorials to set it up.

It was quite easy to do, I simply popped a card onto the card mat, ensuring that it was stuck down to it to keep it in place when it moved through the Cricut Joy.

The Cricut Design Space app then took me through each step, and it was a case of simply loading the machine with the card mat and letting it do its thing! The app takes you through each stage and shows you what’s happening on your screen, like this. 

Screenshot Cricut Design Space

It then advises when it is finished and you can unload your design. 

Cricut Joy card

It cuts the outer card and then you add an insert to it to set the design off brilliantly. I love it!

I then experimented with some vinyl and created on my own canvas in Cricut Design Space.

I selected the font and then typed it in and set it up ready to ‘make’.

Screenshot Cricut Design Space BBP

The app then walked me through what I needed to do next, which was to pop my chosen vinyl onto a standard grip mat and load it into the Cricut Joy.

I hit Go and it got to work.

Cricut Joy with vinyl

I had decided to bring an plain notebook to life with some vinyl stickers and I am really pleased with how it’s turned out.

Cricut Joy vinyl print

A notebook couldn’t really have a better design, could it?!

My thoughts on the Cricut Joy

This is going to be one of those gadgets that I find endless uses for. If it stays still long enough in our home, I fear it might get ‘Cricuted’! 

I love the simplicity of the machine. The Cricut Design Space basically runs everything for you, as there are no buttons at all on the Joy itself, it’s all operated by your phone or computer.

It will flag up for you if your design will or won’t work and as you select the materials you are working with, it will advise whether these are appropriate for your project. 

The cutting machine is precise and accurate, and it moves through the materials smoothly.

I have yet to try the free trial that grants me access to the full library of designs. There are plenty of free options for me to explore first whilst I am learning my way around it.

There is then a monthly subscription fee to access all of the images, projects and fonts, and I think time will tell as to whether I decide that I need this and whether it represents good value to me.

If you have one of these, do you pay the monthly fee, and if so, do you feel you get the most from it? I could easily be persuaded to try it.

I have plenty of vinyl and card to keep me in projects for a good while and I am now itching to try using the ‘write’ option with the pen. I can see a few labels being created very soon. 

It has already come in handy for me as I needed a card and it saved me popping out for it as I made it instead, and felt clever doing so! 

You can take a closer look at the Cricut Joy here, read reviews from others over on Amazon, and order it if you can’t resist it…

What do you think of the Cricut Joy? Could this be something for you? 

Disclosure: I received the items free of charge for the purposes of this post and this post contains affiliate links

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