The Cricut Joy is a compact electronic die cutting machine with the ability to write and draw. When closed this little beauty is about 5″ by 8″ and weighs just under 4 pounds. It is very portable due to its small size and needs only one cord to operate – the power adapter.
Cricut Joy has absolutely no buttons and uses a Bluetooth connection to communicate with your computer, tablet, or even smartphone which means that you can use this great little tool right in your kitchen with no hassle.
Cricut makes it very easy to use their machine by providing a free companion app, Cricut Design Space where you can upload your own image files such as .svg, .dxf, .bmp, .jpg, . png, .gif for free. You are also able to use the system fonts at no cost to you. This is where you will be able to design your project.
Cricut also offers a paid subscription which includes many more fonts, images, and thousands of ready to make projects.
Don’t let the tiny size fool you. This fun helper is able to cut a variety of materials such as paper, vinyl, heat transfer vinyl, and Infusible Ink transfer sheets.
At this point you are probably wondering what your investment will have to be which is a very valid question. This little crafting helper costs $179.00 US and it is available in a variety of stores such as Cricut.com Michaels, JoAnn, Hobby Lobby, and even Amazon.com.
This cost is well below the price of a Cricut Maker at $349.99 or even the Cricut Explore Air 2 at $249.00. This is a great investment price if this machine will make your life easier.
If the small size is not having you jump for joy this little beauty is a first Cricut machine capable of matless cutting with the new “Smart” line of products due to their thicker backing. Your material does have to be at least 4″ long to use this feature.
The Cricut Joy can cut images 4.5″ by 4 feet long and can repeat this for up to 20′ long using the Smart Vinyl. Wall decals here we come.
Another bonus and I have to say that it is my favorite feature for the Cricut Joy is the brand new Cricut Joy Card Mat and Insert Card Sets.
Being a busy mom and and a believer of spending what is necessary my motto has always been that you if I buy a gift, I do not include a card, and if I buy a card, that means I no longer include a gift.
I always thought that cards, even though very cute, some extremely intricate, are expensive to include with a gift. Don’t get me wrong, I design and make cards on my Cricut Maker all the time, but these are not 5 minute and done jobs. These cards are carefully thought out, pour my heart out cards.
Now that I have my Cricut Joy I can design and make a beautiful, personalized card in just minutes. You know, that five extra minutes my family waits for me in the car because I try to be on time but mostly manage to find a thousand things I need to do before I go? Yes, that is me getting my brand new personalized card from my Cricut Joy as I run out the door.
The box includes the Cricut Joy cutting machine, power adapter, blade and housing, a standard grip mat (4.5″ x 6.5″), black fine point pen (0.4mm), 2 pieces of practice materials, welcome card, 50 ready-to make projects online, and free trial membership to Cricut Access for new subscribers.
Cricut Joy tools such as blades, housing, pens, markers, are for use in Cricut Joy only and are not interchangable with the Cricut Maker and Explore machines.
This mighty machine has only one blade option which is the fine point blade. This means that it and cannot cut heavy duty materials some of us learned to love with our full size Cricut machines.
Cricut Joy is a great die cutting machine. I totally love the Cricut Card Mat and the fact that I can make a 20′ vinyl boarder without using a mat.
But the truth of the matter is that answer depends totally on you and your needs. Circut Joy is a fun starter machine. It has a lower price point, you can use it on a wide variety of projects, it is portable.
Cricut Joy is also a great addition to your existing line of Cricut machines, if you have any. At the end of the day, you must decide exactly what you are looking for and the kid of projects you will want to do in order to choose.
So what do you think? Will the Cricut Joy be the next little crafting helper?
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