Cricut Joy bundle

Craft More, With Less | Try These 3 Cricut Joy Projects

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cricut. All opinions are 100% mine.


Do you want to craft more often, but find that you don’t have the space or the time? Then I have the perfect answer to your crafting needs! Cricut Joy™!

Cricut Joy

Cricut Joy

Have you seen her yet? She’s too cute! Cricut Joy is Cricut’s smallest smart cutting machine ever! It fits in a cubby or looks great on a counter. 

In fact, Cricut Joy packs away easily and sets up instantly, making it super easy to move from room to room. There’s no need to transport a machine mat and has smaller material sizes, therefore making the whole system compact and portable. 

No craft room required.

Not to mention, you can quickly and easily personalize anything with one cut and one color, in 15 minutes or less!

See? You don’t need a dedicated craft room or a lot of time in order to get crafty with Cricut. 

Honestly, you don’t even need the internet to use Cricut Joy. Since it’s Bluetooth enabled, you can use the Cricut Design Space app on your phone and craft anywhere there’s a power source. 

Just make sure you download any projects, images, and fonts you may need while you have an internet connection, then you can design and cut from almost anywhere.

The Cricut Joy fits well into a drawer to alleviate the need for any extra countertop or tabletop storage space. I already had to purchase a craft table specifically for my Cricut Maker and Explore Air 2, so the Joy fits perfectly between the two.

Craft More, With Less | Try These 3 Cricut Joy Projects

Three Cricut Joy Projects

I couldn’t wait to try out some of the new features the Joy introduced to the Cricut family. For starters, and perhaps one of the biggest differences from previous machines, is MAT FREE CUTTING!

Cricut Joy has a full suite of brand-new materials that do not require a mat, meaning less to buy, fewer steps, and faster results. 

Plus, new Smart Vinyl™ comes in extended sizes, with up to 20’ repeated cut capability, and no need to switch out multiple mats.  

Exciting stuff, right?! No need to store more mats, and the new materials are incredibly versatile for an array of quick and easy projects. 

Cricut Joy insert cards and card mat

Cricut Joy Card Mat

I’m not going to lie, the new Card Mat was the first thing I wanted to try! After watching a few videos on how to use it, I was excited to see it in action. 

And it DID NOT disappoint! I’m sure my husband thought I was crazy when I was absolutely giddy showing him how it worked and asking him to take photos.  

First, the Cricut Joy exclusive blank insert card sets allow you to create unique and stunning results in a moment’s notice. Sort through the Cricut Design Space, pick a card, and send it to be cut. 

We chose this cute Baby Feet Card.

Cricut Joy Card Mat

The software will walk you through each step, beginning with choosing “On Card Mat” for your cut. Next, choose your material, in this case “Insert Card—Cardstock.” Finally, once your mat is loaded and the design is ready, simply press “go,” to start the cut.

Unload the mat when finished, weed the card, then add the “insert card.” You’re done!

The entire process takes less than 15 minutes. 

Cricut Joy baby projects

Cricut Joy Smart Iron-On 

The card I chose is for my oldest daughter’s best friend who is currently expecting her first baby. We wanted to send her a bit of encouragement as she begins the final trimester of her pregnancy. 

Joy Smart Vinyl without mat

Therefore, we decided to use this Nap Queen image from Cricut Design Space, coupled with the Smart Iron-On™, to make her baby girl a cute bodyshirt. 

Nap Queen onesie

Again, this could not have been easier! We selected our design, sent it to be cut, loaded our Smart Iron-On (shiny side down) into the Cricut Joy (without a mat), chose our materials, and cut. 

Cricut EasyPress 2 onesie

Using the EasyPress 2 directions per the Heat Transfer Guide, we easily transferred the design to a baby bodysuit and completed the project in less than 20 minutes.

Cricut Joy SmartVinyl permanent

Cricut Joy Smart Vinyl

For my last project, I definitely made something for myself. Sort of. 

Our kids had given us a Christmas gift that commemorated our first year of becoming grandparents. It was a magnetic board for photos that simply said, “Established 2018.” 

BEFORE Smart Vinyl

I wanted to personalize it a bit more, so, using the Smart Vinyl™– Permanent and Cricut fonts, I was able to easily add “grandparents” to the top of the board. 

Again, with no mat, the Smart Vinyl was easy to load and cut. Then it was time to weed and apply. 

Cricut Joy Smart Vinyl project

Done! I now had the perfect addition to add to my crating space: pictures of my granddaughter!

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what Cricut Joy can do!

For example, Cricut Joy writes, too! You will find a full suite of Cricut Joy-compatible pens with a variety of pen types and line weights that draw and write in a variety of styles.

Cricut Joy accessories

Additionally, you can find more materials specifically for Cricut Joy that include:

As well as a Tote designed to carefully carry the Cricut Joy with you anywhere, and machine mats made to fit the Joy.

Cricut Access - Joy

Cricut Access

Finally, your new Cricut Joy comes with 30 free days of Cricut Access

Cricut Access give subscribers instant access to over 100,000 non-licensed* images, fonts, and projects for endless possibilities!

The content subscription service provides members with premium content formulated specifically to cut flawlessly with Cricut machines.

If you find you’re not quite ready to subscribe, you can still choose from the free elements and fonts or upload your own files to use. 

Ready to grab your own Cricut Joy?

Find easy to cut projects using Cricut Access, load and go with mat-less cutting, and craft from anywhere with the powerful, but small, Cricut Joy.

Learn more at Cricut.com.