Have you ever tried Cricut Joy and loved the machine? Or you are a fresher and are confused about what Cricut Joy is and what you can do or what it can do? Whether you are a fresher or an expert or immediate with Cricut, in this blog, we will try to answer all your questions and clear your confusion. Let’s hope that this blog can help you get answers to your question and that you can make a decision.
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What is Cricut Joy?
A Cricut Joy is a compact and portable electronic writing and cutting machine. It can cut over 50 different materials using a fine-point blade, which includes paper, peel-and-stick label paper, iron-on, vinyl, construction paper, and infusible ink transfer sheets. You can use Cricut Joy pens and markers to directly write or draw on your crafts, for example, to create personalized invitations, gift tags, etc., and onto infusible ink blanks as well like totes and t-shirts, using Cricut Joy Infusible Ink pens and markers.
Cricut Joy comes with all the materials you will need to work on your project. However, you can buy some of the accessories needed. In a Cricut Joy box, you will get Cricut Joy, an installed fine-point blade, a fine-point pen, a standard grip mat, smart vinyl, and a sample of deluxe paper.
What is Smart Material?
Smart materials are crafting materials that work without the help of a cutting mat; you can load your material directly into the cutting machine for the process of cutting. Because you do not have to use cutting mats, you can make long cuts quickly and conveniently; it allows you to make up to 20 feet long repeated cuts and up to 4 feet long individual cuts. There are three different kinds of smart materials available- smart vinyl, smart paper, and smart iron-on, that are supported by three devices of Cricut-the Joy, the Explore, and the Maker.
Smart paper is a sticker paper, and for Joy, it is available in the form of Smart Label writable paper. However, for Explore and Maker, it is available in the form of sticker cardstock, a medium-weight card stock paper with an adhesive back. Smart Vinyl is available in two forms- removable smart vinyl and permanent smart vinyl. Permanent vinyl lasts for a long time, while removable vinyl works with the project that you might want to remove the decals. Smart iron-on, heat transfer vinyl is another name for iron-on, and you can cut your iron-on without any cutting mat.
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How to Work With the Joy?
The device is a beginner-friendly; using a Joy is very simple; all you have to do is plug in the machine, choose your project design using Cricut Design Space, create your design or upload your designs on Cricut Design Space, and then follow the instructions in the app or from the manual. It can cut over 5 different materials, including adhesive foil, foil acetate, vinyl, iron-on, cardstock, paper, faux leather, and window cling.
Following are the steps to follow to work with Joy.
- Make or upload the design to Design Space or select from ready-to-make projects and follow the instructions shown on the screen.
- Select the material that you want to work with (smart or regular material).
- Load your material and clock on the “go” button.
- After the cut is completed, unload your material
- Weed your material design.
- Apply the transfer tape; peel the liner and place it on the design surface.
- Apply the design to your project surface; peel paper liner from transfer tape and design and apply the design on the project surface.
- Peel transfer tape from the design
What can You Make With Joy?
Here are some examples you can make with Cricut Joy as soon as you open the Cricut Joy box without purchasing any other extra accessories.
- T-shirts (iron-on t-shirts)
- Stickers
- Mask Hanger
- Bag
- Coasters (ombre)
- Paper flowers (rolled)
- SVG files (room labels)
- Greeting cards
- Wall Decor
- String art
- Labels that are writable
- Coasters (infusible inks)
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How is Cricut Joy Different from Other Cricut Machines?
Here is the comparison between Cricut Joy, Cricut Explore Air 2, and Cricut Maker based on some specific points.
- Price. The price of Joy is much more affordable than Explore Air 2 and Maker. It is $70 less than Explore Air 2 and $220 less than Maker.
- Size. Joy is smaller than Explore Air 2 and Maker; Joy is much lighter than other machines and can easily be carried with one hand.
- Capabilities. However, Joy can do many things but can not work as much as Maker and Explore Air 2. Joy does not score or connect to a printer to print-then-cut, like in Maker and Explore Air 2. And there are other things you can do with Maker and Explore Air 2 but not with Joy, like debossing, engraving, cutting thicker materials, and cutting fabrics.
- Connectivity. Explore Air 2 and Maker both have Bluetooth and USB cord connectivity options, while Joy can be connected only via the Design Space app with Bluetooth.
read more...design.cricut.com setup
Conclusion
Cricut Joy is a cute compact device, and you can set it up almost everywhere and is much cheaper than other Cricut machines. It is small, but the makers did not compromise its features and capabilities. The machine is an excellent aid for last-minute projects or gifts. It can help you do your work. The device can be a perfect item for your craft kit and is a go for a machine. And its compatibility of working with smart materials makes it more worth it.
FAQs
Question- What does a Joy do?
Answer- You can cut different materials using Joy, including paper, peel-and-stick label paper, iron-on, vinyl, construction paper, and infusible ink transfer sheets. With Cricut Joy pens and markers, you can directly write or draw on your crafts, for example, to create personalized invitations, gift tags, etc., and onto infusible ink blanks as well like totes and t-shirts, using Cricut Joy Infusible Ink pens and markers. However, you cannot cut heavy materials or any kind of fabric, and the machine does not have the “cut-then-print” feature.
Question- What does a Joy cannot do?
Answer- You can cut different materials, using Joy including,paper, peel-and-stick label paper, iron-on, vinyl, construction paper, and infusible ink transfer sheets. With Cricut Joy pens, and markers you can directly write or draw on your crafts, for example, to create personalized invitations, gift tags, etc., and onto infusible ink blanks as well like totes and t-shirts, using Cricut Joy Infusible Ink pens and markers. However, you cannot cut heavy materials or any kind of fabric and the machine does not have the “cut-then-print” feature.
Question- Can you make stickers with the help of Joy?
Answer- Yes! You can easily make stickers with the help of the device. To cut stickers with the help of a machine, you will need Joy, Design Space, a Weeding tool, Smart Vinyl Removable), or Regular Removable Vinyl. To cut the stickers- design your stickers in Cricut Design Space, check the mirror image, choose colors, and click on “make it” then follow the instructions that pop up on your screen, load your material, and press the “go” button.
