We all know that Jo is our Cricut Master here at MMC, and being so close to her seemingly endless Cricut knowledge and skills…I got the ITCH.
I don’t really have space for a Maker… so I decided to go with the Cricut Joy.
I’ve had it for about a month now, so I have formed an official opinion on this smart little machine. Is it worth it????? Keep reading!!
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What is the Cricut Joy?
The Joy is Cricut’s smallest cutting machine:
- It is light and compact, but still able to do a lot of what the larger machines can.
- It takes up very little space and is about the size of a small chihuaha.
- It has one blade for cutting
- Uses specific Pens and won’t hold the standard Cricut pens and markers.
- Is the only machine that can make cards using Cricut’s Card Mat
This page on Cricut’s help site is great for answering FAQ’s about the Joy.
My First Impressions:
- Incredibly small compared to the Maker! It can fit in a drawer. I store mine in our credenza in the Dining Room. TINY.
- I love that it sets up pretty much instantly when you plug it in. Connects with bluetooth to your phone or laptop.
- The cards are INCREDIBLE. So vibrant and intricate. Easy to make.
- It can do larger projects, you just need to divide it up in Design Space and use multiple mats.
- I tried to make my own custom card….it was NOT easy.. I gave up honestly. I ended up making a premade card which was very straight forward. While I was a bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to do that, I think it was more of a learning curve thing rather than the machine’s fault.
- It came with a small test project with the smart vinyl and I made a vinyl decal for a notebook literally within 5 minutes of opening the box.
- I like that you can use your own cardstock cut to the card and insert sizes instead of buying the specific ones sold by Cricut.
What Comes in the Cricut Card Insert Bundle?
I bought the Card Insert Bundle. I figured, hey…this machine is supposed be the card master, so I may as well get that one.
It came with so much, and since it was on sale, it honestly was the best value. For $199USD I received $255USD worth of supplies.
Here is what was in it:
- The Cricut Joy Machine. (DUH.) with the fine point blade
- 2 Packages of Pens (6 total), various colours and thickness, 1 black pen (came in the Joy box)
- 5 Card Mats, 1 Standard Grip Mat (came in the Joy box)
- 4 Packages of pre-sized Cards, Inserts and Envelopes of various colours. 42 complete cards.
Cricut Smart Vinyl - Is it worth it?
The Cricut Joy is a machine that can cut vinyl WITHOUT a mat! (the Cricut Maker 3 & Explore 3 also are compatible with smart materials for matless printing) BUT it MUST be from their Smart products line...it has a specific backing to it that is quite thick and firm, so it mimics a mat in a way.
- It holds a LOT of “memory” in the roll. I have a few packages of various products and they all seem to keep the curve. Mine got caught a bit and I had to kind of guide it through at the end.
- It is convenient to take it right out of the package and use it without having to put it on the mat etc. but I really didn’t like that it got caught.
- The Vinyl is quite difficult to remove from the backing I found.
- You can only really do smaller projects with the multipacks, unless you want something with more colours. The single colours I found to be single use really without much excess or scrap vinyl, if any at all.
- The Joy can cut up to 4 ft of a single pattern, and repeat that pattern up to 20 feet! They do sell Smart Vinyl that is 20 feet long. Would be great for a banner!
- I honestly wouldn’t buy it again. I think you get more bang for your buck if you get the larger rolls of vinyl. Cricut.com always has great sales, so you will definitely get more for the same price as the Smart Vinyl. To me, the time you’d save by using the Smart Vinyl vs. Vinyl on a mat is negligible.
- I would rather have a solid straight mat than have a piece of vinyl that I have to guide through with my hand because it can’t go totally straight.
Are the Cricut Cards really that good?
The Cards really are remarkable and so easy to make.
- The pre-sized cards that come in the bundle are a great variety. Both of these cards pictured were made from those packages. They also have a lot of great card insert choices on the website!
- In Design Space there are TONS of designs that are ready to print! You just choose which one you want, it tells you exactly what you’ll need to make the card, and you’re ready to go!
- Cricut also has a Card app that is SO handy. You can easily customize by selecting the options you want (what kind of corners, font, designs etc) and make it as easily as selecting a pre-set design.
- Making your own custom card is a bit of a learning curve. You can add drawing or writing portions very easily, but if you want to customize a cutting portion, you need to make sure that it is a continuous image so that you don’t just cut out the middle.
- Unless you get their NEW Cricut cutaway cards – these are a new type of card that doesn’t have the design limitations as the insert cards.
- It really is so easy to use! I brought my machine to our Gran’s (Thank you, Vaccine!) and we made her friend a birthday card from start to finish in 5 minutes!
All in all, I would definitely buy this machine. For my space and love of making cards, it’s perfect. I do think that one day I will also buy a Maker, but as of now I am very content with my Joy!
Looking for more? Check out which accessories you really need to get started!
Want to hear about our shipping experiences from Cricut.com?
Wondering where to buy a Cricut in Canada? Click here!
Happy Crafting!
Mandy
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