• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Whipperberry

WhipperBerry • Your Home For Creative Inspiration

  • Home
  • About
    • Terms
  • Recipes
    • ZipList
    • Starters
    • Easy Weeknight Dinners
    • Main Dish
    • Salads
    • Side Dish
    • Soups & Stews
    • Desserts
    • Breakfast
    • Miscellaneous
  • Tutorials
    • Creative Crafts
    • DYI Decor
    • Fabric Crafts
    • Food How-To
    • Jewlery
    • Paint Projects
    • Paper Art
    • Party Styling
    • Photography and Graphic Design
    • Silhouette
  • Holidays
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • 4th of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • New Years
    • Valentine’s Day
  • Gift Ideas
    • Gifts For Everyone
    • Gifts for Dad
    • Mother’s day
    • For The Girls
    • For The Kids
    • Teacher Gift Ideas
    • Christmas
  • Printables
    • Holiday
    • Gift Idea
    • LDS Primary
  • Travel
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Cricut

Cricut Joy Review – Is This Cricut Machine Worth it?

0 · Aug 4, 2022 · Leave a Comment

Cricut Joy Machine

Thinking about buying a Cricut Joy but have questions? You’re in the right place. In this Cricut Joy Review, I’m going to lay out exactly what the Cricut is, what it does, and if it’s the right machine for you.

The Cricut Joy is the smallest of the Cricut line of machines. It may be small, but it still can help with a large number of craft projects. It measures just 5.50 x 8.40 x 4.25 inches. There are also carrying cases available for the Cricut Joy, so you can easily pack it up and take it wherever you want to. It’s so simple; you can use it anywhere you have a wifi signal to use the Cricut Design Space app and an outlet to plug in the machine.

Cricut Joy Features

The small size and portability of the Cricut Joy are the most prominent features. Weighing just under 5 pounds, you can take this machine and your supplies with you on vacation or to have fun crafting at a friend’s house if you want. It’s also a great choice for those with limited crafting space in their homes since it can be easily stored on a small shelf or even in a drawer.

Because the Cricut Joy is compact and easy to use, this could be a great gift for any preteens/teens who enjoy crafting.

The Joy is capable of cutting over 50 materials, including Cricut Joy Smart Materials. The Smart Materials are unique in that they can be cut on this machine without a cutting mat. Because you can use the Smart Materials without a mat, the Joy can make cuts up to 20 feet long. In addition to cutting, the Joy can draw any shape and it writes in a wide variety of styles.

The Cricut Joy has one clamp for the blade housing. If you want to use a pen to draw part of your project, you will be prompted to switch out the blade and load your pen. This is different from the larger Cricut machines that have two clamps so you can use a blade and pen without having to switch them out. It’s important to note that regular Cricut pens don’t fit in the Cricut Joy clamp; you’ll need to have Cricut Joy specific pens. Fortunately, Cricut sells a wide variety of pens for the Joy and they’re not terribly expensive.

The Cricut Joy connects to Cricut Design Space (their design software) with Bluetooth wireless technology. You can use Design Space on a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or even your smartphone. This makes it simple to use your Cricut Joy just about anywhere you can plug in and get a wireless signal.

 

How Does the Cricut Joy Work?

The Cricut Joy is probably the easiest Cricut machine to set up and operate. Like all the other Cricut machines, it needs to be paired with Cricut Design Space Software. To get started, you literally just plug in the Joy, open Design Space on your computer or mobile device, and click on the link to set up your new machine. It takes less than 5 minutes!

Cricut Design Space is the free software required to operate any Cricut machines. It works on any computer or mobile device. It’s easy to learn, and there are free tutorials available at learn.cricut.com to help familiarize yourself with all of its features. These tutorials will help you learn the basics of Design Space, as well as step-by-step processes for specific projects. There are many free files available on Design Space, but there is also a subscription option, known as Cricut Access. A subscription to Cricut Access gives you thousands of files and projects to upload to your Design Space account. If you don’t want to subscribe to Access, it’s possible to purchase files on Design Space individual

Every function done with the Cricut Joy is done through Design Space. Unlike the larger Cricut machines, the Joy doesn’t have any buttons or dials on it. 

If you’re using any of Cricut’s Smart Materials, you won’t need to use a cutting mat. You can load the materials directly into the Cricut Joy. You’re not limited to using Cricut Smart Materials, though. You can use most regular Cricut brand materials, as well as other brands, and simply cut them to fit on the Cricut Joy cutting mats.  

What Does the Cricut Joy Come With?

When you purchase a Cricut Joy, you’ll get the following:

  • The Cricut Joy machine and power adapter
  •  Cricut Joy blade and housing
  • Cricut Joy fine point pen (black)
  • Standard Grip Joy Mat
  • Welcome card
  • Warranty information
  • Free trial membership (for new subscribers) to Cricut Access 
  • Materials for a practice cut 

There are additional accessories you can purchase for the Joy, such as a Foiling Tool, card mats, and pens in different colors and widths.

Of course, you’ll also need to purchase materials to get started crafting with your Joy. Fortunately, Cricut also sells this machine bundled with different materials and supplies on their website.

How Much Does a Cricut Joy Cost?

The Cricut Joy is Cricut’s most affordable machine, with a regular price of $179.00. It is also sold in several different “bundled” options on the Cricut website.  The bundles include materials and accessories along with the Joy machine so you can get started on projects right away. These bundles have a regular price of around $250, but they frequently go on sale through the Cricut website. The Cricut Joy machine + materials bundles are a great value and would cost considerably more if all included items were to be purchased separately.

Another optional cost is a subscription to Cricut Access. A 30-day free trial to Cricut Access is available to new subscribers when you purchase any Cricut machine. Otherwise, the subscription costs $9.99 per month. For that price, you have access to over 200,000 images, 700 fonts, and thousands of ready-to-make projects. Additionally, Cricut Access members get a 10% discount on purchases made on cricut.com.

How Long Does the Cricut Joy Blade Last?


All of the Cricut blades are durable and last a decent amount of time. How long your Cricut Joy blade lasts depends entirely on how often you use your machine, and what materials you are cutting. On average, Cricut says their blades should last an average of six months, although it’s not unusual for the blades to last longer.

Replacement blades for the Cricut Joy are affordable at a price of just $12.99. You can tell if it’s time to replace your blade when it seems to tear your materials more than making nice clean cuts. 

Limitations of the Cricut Joy

While the Joy is a great little machine that is capable of many craft projects, it does have some minor limitations.

Because the Cricut Joy is a smaller machine, it is limited to smaller-sized projects than what can be accomplished on the larger Cricut machines. The largest cutting mat for the Joy is 4.5” by 12”. However, if you use Smart Materials which don’t require a cutting mat, the Joy can cut designs measuring 4.5 inches by 20 feet! 

While the Joy does cut 50 different materials, that is still not as much as can be cut with the large machines. It is capable of cutting quite a large variety of materials, including card stock of various sizes, poster board, assorted types of iron-on and vinyl, acetate, and even faux leather.

The only accessories available for the Cricut Joy are the blade, Joy pens of various colors and styles, and a foil transfer tool. This really isn’t a huge limitation, though. These three tools can be used for hundreds of different creative endeavors.

Is The Cricut Joy Right For You?

The Cricut Joy is a great machine for someone who enjoys crafts such as making greeting cards and invitations, vinyl decals for household goods & vehicles, labels to organize your home, and smaller iron-on projects. Instead of wrapping gifts to your loved ones on paper, you can create personalized gift bags and boxes with the Cricut Joy. You can even make customized party and holiday decorations for any occasion. Even though this smaller machine is limited in the size of what it can produce, it is capable of a surprising amount of creative tasks. 

If you’ve been curious about what you can make with a cutting machine but were hesitant about the cost, the Cricut Joy is a great choice! It is easily the most affordable cutting machine on the market, and the ease of use is unparalleled. The more you play with it, the more you’ll realize just how much you can create with it.

The Joy is also useful for small business owners or entrepreneurs who can use it to make custom labels, signs, and packaging for their products. 

Because of its compact size, the Cricut Joy is perfect for anyone who doesn’t have a large crafting space in their home, such as those who live in a small apartment or dorm room. Because it’s portable, you can take it along while you travel.

The Cricut Joy is a remarkable little machine with large crafting capabilities. It’s a great choice for anyone curious about what a cutting machine can do, or even as an additional Cricut machine for when you need to complete smaller projects. 

12 Cricut Maker Projects You’ll Love

38 · May 8, 2022 · Leave a Comment

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Cricut Maker! I’m especially loving creating more with fabric these days. I’m always looking for more Cricut Maker project inspiration.12 Cricut Maker Fabric Projects PLUS + For every Cricut Maker user, there comes a time when you will need to change out your rotary blade. This is something that is relatively new to the Cricut world, and is super easy to do following the proper instructions. 

The Cricut Maker is a cutting machine that allows you to do many different types of crafting. There are so many different things that you can make with this machine and the possibilities are endless.

This article will provide you with 12 project ideas for your Cricut Maker. With these projects, you will be able to use your creativity and create some really amazing things.

Looking for some inspiration on what to make with this fabulous new cutting tool? Here are some that might get your creative juices flowing…

Cricut Maker Fabric Project Inspiration for Beginners

Everyone loves thoughtful homemade gifts and this stylish zipper pouch is the perfect gift to whip-up in a fews hours to give as a fabulous Christmas gift this year + you can take the guess work out of cutting the pattern with the Cricut Maker! Come on over and learn how to make one of your own on WhipperBerry.

Zipper Pouch + created by ME, WhipperBerry

I created this zipper pouch after browsing Pinterest for some Circut project ideas. I found a pouch that I liked and thought I would remake it but change it a little. I think it came out great and it was a lot of fun. What do you think?

Scallop leather clutch created with Cricut Maker • See Kate Sew

Scalloped Leather Clutch + See Kate Sew

I just love this scalloped leather Clutch by See Kate Sew. I think she did a wonderful job. It’s amazing that a Cricut Maker can make something like this, isn’t it?

Knot Headband created with Cricut Maker • Coral + Co

Knot Headband + Coral & Co

Baby Quilt with Cricut Maker • See Lindsay

Baby Quilt + See Lindsay

Love Banner created with Cricut Maker • Hello Creative Family

Love Lives Here BannerLove Lives Here Banner + Hello Creative Family

How to Sew Fabric Baskets with the Cricut Maker • Polkadot Chair

How to Sew Fabric Baskets + PolkaDot Chair

Fabric Alphabet for Cricut Maker •  Amber Simmons

Fabric Alphabet + Amber Simmons

Mermaid Book created with Cricut Maker + Sweet Red Poppy

Mermaid Book + Sweet Red Poppy

Cricut Maker Tooth Fairy Monster created by The Idea Room

Tooth Fairy Monster + The Idea Room

Fabric Banner created with Cricut Maker •  PolkaDot Chair

Fabric Banner + PolkaDot Chair

DIY Wallet created with Cricut Maker •  Hello Creative Family

The Essentials Wallet + Hello Creative Family

SaveSave

SaveSave

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

How to Replace a Cricut Maker Rotary Blade

40 · May 8, 2022 · Leave a Comment

I LOVE my Cricut Maker! I use it so much that I end up having to change the rotary blade.

For every Cricut Maker user, there comes a time when you will need to change out your rotary blade. This is something that is relatively new to the Cricut world and is super easy to do following the proper instructions. If you are new to creating with Cricut, the Cricut Maker Rotary Blade is the magical blade that cuts fabric when using the Cricut Maker machine! With its gliding, rolling action, it cuts virtually any fabric quickly and accurately – without backing material. It’s pretty fabulous! After you’ve cut to your heart’s content, you will eventually have to change out your blade, here’s a tutorial for how to replace a Cricut Rotary Blade. And, if you’re not sure if a Cricut or a Silhouette is right for you then make sure to read that article first. Ok so, scroll down for the tutorial on changing your Cricut blade.

Below is a quick Pinable graphic that you can save so that you can reference it later on how to change your Cricut rotary blade. You can even print a PDF version of it HERE if you’d like.

For every Cricut Maker user, there comes a time when you will need to change out your rotary blade. This is something that is relatively new to the Cricut world, and is super easy to do following the proper instructions. 

How to Change the Rotary Blade on a Cricut Maker 

Before you begin, you need to make sure you remember you are working with a VERY SHARP blade and to be safe while working with it at all times. You can pick up a rotary blade kit from Amazon here.

  1. Carefully remove the rotary blade from your Cricut Maker.
  2. Slip protective cover, from the Rotary Blade Kit over the blade with the large opening over the housing screw. View graphic to view safety warning.
  3. Make sure you feel the protective cover click into place.
  4. Use provided screwdriver to remove the screw from the housing. View graphic for step-by-step photo instructions. Keep in mind that the blade is meant to stay within the protective cover. This is a great feature created by Cricut to protect their Cricut family of users. I think it’s genius!
  5. Remove the new blade, already in a new protective cover, from the package.
  6. Place over your housing like before.
  7. Using the provided screwdriver, replace the screw making sure not to overtighten.
  8. Carefully remove the protective covering and replace the rotary blade in your machine.
  9. Just to be safe, I place my old blade, still in the protective cover, back into the packaging before I toss it in the trash.

That’s it, you’re ready to rock’n roll again. Looking for some inspiration on what to make with this fabulous new cutting tool? Jump over to the 12 Cricut Maker Project Ideas.

Goldfish Games • Tasty Road Trip Game Fun

12 · Feb 26, 2019 · Leave a Comment

This post has been sponsored by Goldfish® Crackers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Road trip season is going to be here before we know it! Now’s the time to start preparing some fun activities that your littles will love in the car for those long hours. I know, I know… We all have our digital devices, and road trips aren’t as tedious as they were in the past. I have even found myself telling my kiddos, “we will be there in about 3 movies.” Akkkk, for real? Have we all become so attached to our devices that we’ve lost the magic of a FUN road trip with the family? I sure hope not! We used to have all kinds of road trip games when I was little, and the best were the ones that also involved a snack. Do you know what’s perfect for road trip games? Goldfish® Baked Snack Crackers! They have all kinds of magic in those cute little bags. Today, I’m sharing a couple of fun road trip games that are packed with Goldfish FUN inside. I know, I know, we aren’t supposed to play with our food, but these games are just as fun as they are delicious! Baked with 100% real cheese and with no artificial flavors or preservatives, this is a snack you can feel good about serving your kids!

Road Trip Games

Two road trip staples are Tic-Tac-Toe and BINGO of course. How many times did you play these gems as a child? What I’ve done is kicked it up a notch and added some tasty fun to go along with the games. I grabbed some travel containers from my local discount store and then added vinyl (click HERE if you would like to learn how to apply vinyl) to the lid using my electronic cutting machine. Come watch this cute video that I’ve created to show you how fun Goldfish® games can be…

Any of that look familiar? Well, you can create some road trip games of your own. Grab some to-go containers and either draw on the lids with a permanent marker or, if you have a die-cutting machine and some vinyl, you can use my cut files to make some Goldfish® Games of your own. CLICK HERE to access the design files.

Goldfish® Tic-Tac-Toe • Travel Size

Goldfish® Bingo • Travel Size

Once you add your vinyl or your own hand-drawn design, all you have to do is fill your containers with yummy Goldfish®. I love that they are made with whole grain, real cheese & the colors are all plant based—which I LOVE.

Now, when your kiddos are getting restless in the car, all you need to do is pass them these Goldfish® games and they will have all kinds of fun with you playing tic-tac-toe or trying to find that cow so that you can win travel Bingo!

Disclaimer +

This is a sponsored post brought to you by the lovely folks at Pepperidge Farms®, the makers of Goldfish® Baked Snack Crackers. With that said, remember, I will only promote products that I truly love and use in my everyday life.

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 11
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Heather from Whipperberry
Hello... my name is Heather and I'm the creator of WhipperBerry a creative lifestyle blog packed full of great recipes and creative ideas for your home and family. I find I am happiest when I'm living a creative life and I love to share what I've been up to along the way... Come explore, my hope is that you'll leave inspired!

Footer

  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Seasoned Pro