Cricut Joy review
Our Verdict
The Cricut Joy ($179) is a cheery, meaty crafting machine that's peachy for beginners.
For
- More compact and affordable than other Cricut machines
- App is easy-to use
- Creative quarantine activity
Against
- Requires specific materials
Tom'southward Guide Verdict
The Cricut Joy ($179) is a cheery, meaty crafting machine that's great for beginners.
Pros
- +
More than compact and affordable than other Cricut machines
- +
App is piece of cake-to use
- +
Creative quarantine activity
Cons
- -
Requires specific materials
Cricut cutters have always caught my attention, merely my inexperience with the earth of vinyl crafting and lack of space for a massive, printer-like machine kept me at bay. Enter the Cricut Joy, the perfect entry betoken for a stir-crazy novice like me.
When it comes to getting the creative juices flowing during quarantine, this Cricut Joy review explains why I've come to adopt precision cutting over nursing a sourdough starter or necktie-dying half my closet.
Cricut Joy price and availability
The Cricut Joy is available in craft stores and other major online retailers for $179.99. In addition to the auto, Cricut includes a cut blade, fine indicate pen, grip mat and materials for making a practice cut in the box. Any other Cricut materials are an added price (between $4 and $fifteen per item). Y'all'll want to make sure y'all're purchasing Joy-specific materials, also.
The $179 Cricut Joy is a scaled down version of the $249 Cricut Explore Air 2 and $399 Cricut Maker in every sense. Non just is the Cricut Joy smaller in size than the company'southward other machines, but its optimized materials are more than compact, too. Of course the larger Cricut machines are optimized for the avid crafter, and there are added costs to be aware of.
When yous annals your Cricut Joy, yous besides have the option to sign up for Cricut Access ($95.88 per year) or Cricut Access Premium ($119.88 per year.) These memberships unlock unlimited utilise of Cricut's designs and fonts, too as a standing discount for materials purchased from cricut.com.
Cricut Joy review: What's a Cricut?
In case y'all're completely secluded from the cult of Cricut cutting, hither's your crash course: Cricut machines use a minor blade to slice precise lines through materials. Those materials range from sticky vinyl, cardstock paper and fe-on sheets to genuine leather, confetti foil and craft felt, depending on the machine y'all own.
Unless you're a wizard with scissors, a Cricut will cut materials more quickly and more than cleanly for your DIY projects. Some people use them for their minor businesses or consequence planning, likewise.
Cricut Joy review: A beginner's delight
Since the country went into lockdown, every indoor hobby on the planet has gained some disciples. Cricut crafting has been around since 2003, only I get-go saw its satisfying slicing in activity on social media (specifically, TikTok) about a year agone. Knowing that all the custom coffee tumblers I've bought off Etsy were made possible past vinyl cutters, I pondered getting ane for myself. Only my minor apartment and wallet protested.
Then, through my chore hither at Tom'due south Guide, I got a chance to bank check out Cricut Joy and run across what all the hype is almost. Reader, the hype is real, and that's not just my stay-at-domicile self talking. Within minutes I had set up the 8.4 x 5.iv 10 iv.3-inch, blue-shelled cutter and was making a kiss-shaped vinyl sticker for my laptop case.
How does the auto know where to move to cutting shapes, you ask? It takes cue from the Cricut Design Space app (iOS, Android), which holds a complete design space that's as boundless every bit your creativity. You can either upload your own SVG files or utilise ones in Cricut's library. In one case you lot confirm the materials you lot've loaded, the residuum is upwards to the machine.
Instead of ordering yet another custom tumbler cup online, I made my own using a 12-pack of reusable plastic cups from Amazon. The ultra-satisfying process required me to send the design from the app to the automobile, then the Cricut Joy cutting the vinyl to shape. I weeded out the excess and used Cricut'southward transfer record to pull the vinyl off its original bankroll and mount information technology to my cup. This took some practice, but past my 3rd or fourth try I felt like a pro. These have made excellent gifts for friends and family unit in recent months.
Of course, I needed some cards to go with those gifts, and the Cricut Joy had me covered. The app library has dozens of card designs for every occasion, and you tin can even swap out the blade for a fine signal pen if you prefer the look of hand-writing over cuts. Cards are how the Cricut flexes its value, too: it costs $six.99 for a set of 12 cards, and I normally spend $4-$five per card at CVS. I've also been mailing more cards than usual because I tin't travel to visit faraway friends due to the pandemic, so I capeesh the savings.
Cricut Joy review: The crafting caveats
But because the Cricut Joy is marketed towards low-on-space beginners, information technology doesn't mean it'southward the best device for crafting. You'll face limitations when it comes to finding compatible materials from third-party companies, plus you can only cutting items a couple inches in size, restricting you from bigger projects.
If you're serious nigh embracing precision cutting equally a pastime, or fifty-fifty every bit the foundation of a small business, the standard Cricut models are probably better for yous. Buying cricut materials can add together up fast, simply at that place are a number of affordable materials options from not-Cricut brands that fit the company's larger machines.
I've but used the Cricut Joy for occasional quarantine fun, and so the size and material constraints oasis't bothered me. What does disappoint me a bit is all the cloth that gets thrown out if you're non skilled at optimizing material real-manor.
Cricut Joy review: Is information technology Marie Kondo-approved?
By that, I mean does the Cricut Joy spark joy? Undoubtedly. There'due south something cathartic most watching a small blade trip the light fantastic toe beyond smoothen materials, cut all sorts of shapes and lines out along the way. When information technology comes to making personalized gifts and cards, working with a Cricut Joy is cost-saving in the long run and a artistic activity that won't absorb too much space or fourth dimension.
I wouldn't recommend the Joy to anyone who resents recurring costs, considering the materials can add upward depending on your level of craft-ivity. But if you're sick of baking banana staff of life or knitting mesomorphic blankets, the Cricut Joy is an enjoyable excuse to bring joy to the people in your life you're not seeing as often these days.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/cricut-joy
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