When I first got a Cricut, I bought it mainly to make things like these Disney matching shirts and simple home decorations like this DIY felt banner. I used it mostly to cut vinyl, paper, and sometimes more unique fabrics like the felt I mentioned before. I’d been buying cute t-shirts and crafts at the stores and decided it was time for me to start making my own. I’d always said I could make that myself while window shopping, but I had no idea how easy it would actually be! I got my first Cricut years ago and since then I’ve had pretty much every model available – Cricut Explore Air, Cricut Explore Air 2, Cricut Maker, and now the brand new Cricut Joy. Cricut just keeps coming out with machines and products to open even more creative doors, it’s incredible. Last year I talked a lot about the Cricut Maker and Cricut Maker gift ideas. And a few years I talked about Cricut projects to make with the Cricut Explore Air 2. This year it’s all about the Cricut Joy. It’s the baby of the Cricut family in size but definitely not in capabilities. It may be small but can do so many things, and its unique features actually make it my personal favorite for certain projects!
Why I love the cricut joy
I’m not going to do a full comparison of all of the Cricut machines, but I wanted to highlight a few reasons that I personally love the Cricut Joy and why it makes a great gift!
1 – Matless Cutting
Okay so this is one of my favorite things about the Cricut Joy and one of the reasons that I personally pull it out regularly over either of my two larger machines. The Cricut Joy cuts its line of Smart materials (iron-on, vinyl, and even labels) without a mat. The materials are designed to be pulled right through the machine, making it SO much easier when you have a lot to cut. You can still cut regular materials with the Cricut Joy mat, but I love the option of doing them without. I made these DIY labels in minutes with my Cricut Joy – just designed them quickly, loaded the Smart vinyl, and cut. One of the other cool things about this is that their new Smart Vinyl options come in rolls up to 10 feet. If you want to cut something longer than the 24″ mat size, the Cricut Joy is the way to go. It’s perfect for signs, wording for walls, banners, you name it. Or just cutting a whole bunch of something to create gifts!
2 – It’s Small
This may seem obvious but there’s a big advantage to having a small machine, especially if you don’t have a huge office or craft room to keep things. The Cricut Joy is small enough that it barely takes up any room on a shelf. It’s small enough that you could even put it in your suitcase when you travel to create projects on the fly. Or pack it up and take it to a girl friends house for a craft your heart out night! I can tell you from experience that it’s not fun to lug the Cricut Maker around. It belongs on a shelf and the Cricut Joy is a joy to carry around. It’s even easier if you pack it all into this Cricut Joy Tote that’s not only cute but super functional! There’s a spot for your Joy, pens, charger, and even a magnetic back pocket to keep your mats in place. That’s smaller than the size of my diaper bag and way more functional!
3 – Seamless Bluetooth Connection
Send projects to your Cricut Joy quickly from your computer, tablet, or mobile device using the built in Bluetooth connection. It’s quick to pick out a project, customize it how you want it, and cut in minutes. I love it for small projects and wish it’d been available when I was doing all of the little pieces for my mom and me monthly gift last year!
4 – Beautiful card cutting
While you can obviously cut paper and cards with the other Cricut machines, the Cricut Joy is designed for card cutting. It even comes with a pre-scored card mat that’s designed for folded cards! Grab a card insert and some adhesive paper for beautiful cards in seconds.
Who would love a cricut joy
The Cricut Joy would make a great gift for anyone who:
Doesn’t have a lot of space to store a larger machineWants to make longer designs like signs and bannersLoves making cardsWants to cut small items, not tall ones (it only cuts 5.5″ tall) Does craft fairs or likes to have craft nights where they’d want to travel with their Cricut Joy Wants to create handwritten labels for home organization Wants to cut vinyl and iron-on without having to deal with a mat
Must-Have Cricut Joy Accessories
If you want to gift someone a Cricut Joy, I highly recommend making a holiday gift bundle with these accessories! They’re ones that they’ll use regularly with the Joy no matter what kind of projects they’re creating! Or if you don’t want to get these things individually, you could always just get them this Cricut Joy Gift Bundle as well! It has lots of these items in it plus some others for a great discounted bundle price!
Cricut Joy Smart Labels – these are great for labeling anything in your home (pantry, garage, bathroom, playroom, etc.)Cricut Joy Smart Vinyl – there are so many things you can do with vinyl! Get a variety of colors or just get some basic neutrals like black and white. You can also get some of the 10 foot length ones if they’re doing larger projects. Cricut Joy Fine Point Pens – these work great with the Smart Labels as well as on paper. You can also get some gel or metallic pens, but just know they won’t work on the labels. Cricut Joy Transfer Tape – this is necessary for transferring vinyl projects without messing up the design Cricut Joy Insert Cards – these cards fit right into the Cricut Joy for creating beautiful cards quickly Cricut Joy Adhesive Paper – I absolutely love this stuff. It’s beautiful paper that already has an adhesive coating on the back. You use the Cricut Joy to cut out designs (for cards, scrapbooking, etc.) then just peel and stick. So much easier than dealing with tape or glue. Cricut Joy Card Mat – I mentioned this above but the card mat is specifically designed for cutting cards with the Cricut Joy, and it’s super inexpensive. Starter Tool Set – this is essential for any machine and includes a weeder, scraper, and spatula Cricut Joy Tote – I talked about this one above but the tote is a great place to store your Joy when not in use, and it makes taking it on the go easy!
Easy Cricut Joy Projects
If you’re still on the fence about a Cricut Joy, check out all of these fun projects you can make with one. There are so many things you can do – whoever you gift this to will love it, guaranteed!
Personalized outdoor matDIY earringsDIY pantry labelsEasy cardsPlanner stickersDIY giant ruler
More Cricut Projects
Back to school teacher giftsPersonalized gifts for kids with CricutRoll the dinosaur gamePot of gold gameDIY Cricut Puzzle DIY supehero costumes
