Are you curious about the new Cricut Joy? Learn everything you need to know about this adorable, smart cutting machine. It will quickly become your new favorite crafting tool!
What is Cricut Joy?
Cricut Joy is the brand new smart cutting machine from Cricut. Its compact, sleek design {it’s just just 8.5” wide, 5” deep, and 5” tall!} allows it to fit seamlessly into any space in your home – no dedicated craft space required! Now you can create greeting cards, personalized home decor projects, or fun custom t-shirts in minutes from anywhere in your home.
What can I make with Cricut Joy?
Cricut Joy is designed for quick and simple DIY or craft projects without all of the fuss. Think one cut, one color, one application. Whether you’re a seasoned crafter or just a beginner, you can easily create…
- personalized labels for water bottles, notebooks, etc.
- beautiful greeting cards for any occasion
- DIY labels for home organization projects
- simple home decor pieces like wall art, coasters
- DIY home projects such as large signs or wall decals using the long cuts {it cuts up to 20 feet!}
- custom t-shirts, pillow covers, tote bags, and towels with the infusible ink or iron-on transfers
- and so much more!
What is special about Cricut Joy?
There are so many features that made me fall instantly in love with Cricut Joy:
- THE DESIGN: One of the most obvious features of Cricut Joy is its sleek and compact design. Its small size and light weight {it’s under 4 lbs!} allows you to take it virtually anywhere.
- THE NO MAT OPTION: If you’ve ever spent time fussing around with a cutting mat, you know how exciting this feature is! With the use of the Smart Materials, you can just load and cut!
- LONG CUTS: This option is perfect for creating larger word signs or wall borders. Cricut Joy is able to cut single images up to 4.5″ wide and 4 feet long and can repeat an image for up to 20 FEET!
- BEAUTIFUL CARDS: I was absolutely amazed at how easy it was to make gorgeous greeting cards for any occasion in less than 5 minutes! The new card mat allows you to cut intricate designs through just one layer of the card and you can then customize it with the new card inserts.
- AMAZING DIY LABELS: If you’re addicted to labelling everything in your home like me, Cricut Joy will be your new best friend! Cricut Joy has a new line of pens and markers that can write on the Smart Vinyl and won’t rub off!
What does Cricut Joy come with?
Cricut Joy comes with the following items:
- the smart cutting machine
- a cutting blade and housing
- a fine point black pen
- a standard grip mat
- basic materials for a sample project.
You also get access to Cricut Design Space which is the online platform where you will choose or create your designs. 50 ready-made projects are already loaded for you and ready to go! There’s a simple to follow start-up guide included that will guide you through the process of downloading the Design Space software to your computer and/or installing the app to your phone or tablet. These will then connect to your machine via Bluetooth.
Who is Cricut Joy made for?
If you’re debating which craft machine would be best for you, here are some of the key benefits for choosing Cricut Joy. Even if you already have a Cricut Maker or Air 2, there are definitely some unique features of Joy that make it the perfect companion to your Cricut family! Cricut Joy is perfect for you if:
You don’t have a lot of space.
If you have a small home or very little free space available, this machine is for you! It’s easily portable with very little setup so you can literally use it anywhere – at a desk, on your kitchen table, even while sitting on the sofa! When you’re done it can quickly be tucked away or even just stored on a shelf or side table.
You like quick and easy projects.
From the simple design of the machine, to the ease of use of the materials – Cricut Joy is all about quick and easy projects! I love how you can quickly whip out a last minute birthday card, dress up your phone case or water bottle with a custom design, or create some cute organization labels. Now you don’t have to let a lack of time limit your creativity!
You like to craft on the go.
Do you attend crafting retreats or do creative nights out with your girlfriends? Now you can just pack up you Cricut Joy in the carrying tote and take it with you. All you need is your phone and the Design space app!
You love making cards.
The beautiful one-cut cards and easy-to-use card cutting mat are one of my favorite features of Cricut Joy. I had so much fun mixing and matching all of the inserts and testing out the amazing designs. You can literally make a card in a couple of minutes from start to finish!
You love organization.
If you love an organized home, the Joy is for you! You can create vinyl word labels for your pantry, image labels for the kids’ playroom, or pretty, custom labels for the laundry room. With the new Smart Label Writeable Vinyl, your Cricut Joy can write or draw on vinyl with a smudge-proof finish!
You want an easy to learn cutting machine.
Cricut Joy is designed for those times that you just want to keep it simple. I love my Cricut Maker for making larger cuts, layering, and cutting thicker materials like wood and cardstock, but sometimes I just don’t need all of those bells and whistles. If you’re not a serious crafter, but you still love to get your craft on from time to time, the Cricut Joy provides a simple way to bring out your creativity without overwhelming you with too many options.
Cricut Joy Questions
I know you guys will probably have a ton of questions about Cricut Joy so I’ll try to answer them all here. If you have any other ones that I’ve missed, just let me know! I’ll keep updating this section as new questions arise.
What can I cut with Cricut Joy?
Cricut Joy cuts over 50 different materials including a wide variety of vinyl, iron-on, cardstock, paper, as well as the complete line of Smart Materials. It should be noted, however, that the Cricut Joy only has one cutting blade option available so it DOES NOT cut fabric, chipboard, wood, or other heavier materials that can be cut with the Cricut Maker.
What are Smart Materials?
If you’re using Cricut Joy without a mat, you will need to use materials that are labeled as Cricut Joy Smart Materials. This allows you to just load and go without all of the fuss of using a cutting mat. These Smart Materials include:
- Smart Vinyl. The smart vinyl comes in both permanent and removeable options. The rolls are available in over 70 colors for the standard lengths. You can also purchase white and black vinyl in 20 foot rolls.
- Smart Label Writeable Paper and Smart Label Writeable Vinyl. Create custom labels in seconds – just write, cut, peel and stick! There’s no transfer tape required. Use the Cricut Joy pens with the Cricut Joy machine for a variety of different font choices or write by hand.
- Smart Iron-On.
What other accessories are available for Cricut Joy?
- Infusible Ink
- Deluxe Adhesive Backed Paper
- Insert Card Sets
- Card Mat
- Transfer Tape
- Pens and Markers.
- Starter Tool Kit
- Standard Grip and Light Grip cutting mats {available in 12 inch and 6.5 inch lengths}
- Carrying/Storage Tote
- Replacement blades and housing are also available if needed.
How big can Cricut Joy cut?
Although the Joy is tiny, it can still deliver some pretty substantial cuts. The maximum image size is 4.5 inches x 4 FEET using the Smart Materials {since you don’t require a mat}. You also have the option of repeating an image design for up to 20 FEET with no unloading! If you’re using materials that require a mat, you can cut up to 4.2 x 6.5 using the smaller mat or 4.2 x 11.5 using the larger mat.
Can I use my old vinyl from my Cricut Air 2 or Cricut Maker?
YES! You can definitely still use your vinyl from other Cricut cutting machines or any other cardstock or paper. You’ll just have to trim it down to an appropriate width and be sure to use the cutting mat included with Cricut Joy.
Can I use my pens and markers from my Cricut Air 2 or Cricut Maker?
NO. The pens and markers are smaller for Cricut Joy to accommodate the smaller machine size so these are not interchangeable with the Cricut Air 2 or Cricut Maker. I do like the fact that the pens on Cricut Joy just need to be dropped in the housing – there’s no locking or clicking in place!
Where can I purchase Cricut Joy?
Cricut Joy will be available for purchase on March 1. It will be available on Cricut.com as well as a variety of other craft stores including Michaels, JOANN, and Hobby Lobby. The current retail price is $179.99 – the most inexpensive cutter on the market!
So…. what do you think? Are you excited to try it out? If you have any questions, just let me know in the comments and I will do my best to answer them. And stay tuned for some cute Cricut Joy projects in the near future!
ive just recently brought the cricut joy, when i make labels for drinkwear and wash them the label comes off what am i doing wrong?
I would check the vinyl to see if it’s permanent vinyl or the removable vinyl (you want the permanent). I also find that the thicker designs tend to stay on better than really intricate, thin designs. You also want to make sure that you let the vinyl stay on the cup for at least 48 hours before washing (ideally longer) and make sure that the glass is completely clean and free of any residue where you’re applying the vinyl. You can use rubbing alcohol or something similar. Hope that helps!
I’m looking for a cutting machine to replace metal dies for hand-stamped images, but my available space is quite small. Am I able to upload my stamped image and then have the machine cut it out?
You are able to upload files. You can read more about it here…
https://help.cricut.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009556313-Uploading-Images-into-Design-Space#:~:text=%E2%80%8BSelect%20the%20.-,svg%20or%20.,Design%20Space%20image%20upload%20window.&text=Then%20select%20Upload.,-You%20will%20return
I bought the Maker thinking I could replace buying dies with it, but it wasn’t the case. The best machine for that is the Brother Scan N Cut. I use it exclusively for cutting out stamped images. Some images are easier to cut than others, but check into that. It has been terrific for that. I don’t have to download the image, I just stamp it, Scan it with the Scan N Cut, then it cuts it.