A Little Bundle of Cricut Joy

 

For Christmas, I got a "Little Bundle of Joy" also known as the Cricut Joy. Although I own - and really like - a Silhouette Cameo 4, I wanted to buy the Joy because it is the only machine on the market at this time that has a special mat for cutting cards. The Joy card mat has a special pocket that protects the rest of the card while cutting the face of the card or cutting / decorating the inside.  

This is what comes inside the Joy box. Just the machine, its power cord, one pen, a mat, a sample of the Cricut Smart vinyl, a sample of cardstock, and the "Let's get started" document. 

Basically, just plug the machine in, turn on Bluetooth and follow the instructions in the document. The "Let's get started document" has you log onto a page at Cricut.com where you can register the Joy and update it with the latest software.

Watching the screen as it updates the Joy's software. 

After the software update, I'm offered to select one design from a set of 8 designs. I choose the crown and load the smart material into the machine (no mat!!!). The Cricut smart vinyl has a stiffer backing and borders which allow it to smoothly feed into the machine without a mat. This is great if you want to cut a banner that's 4.5" (or less) tall by up to 48" wide. Pretty cool. 

The "Cut in Progress" screen. Methinks that my (somewhat) aged computer has issues with the software (yes, it does. I can't upload images on my machine. I can do it on another computer but not mine, so it's an issue between my machine and Design Space. I called, and they can't resolve it other than to say, work on another machine. Until I can buy a new computer, I'll deal with the oddities of missing graphics, etc.).

The Joy making its first cut using the Smart Materials. (No mat! so cool!)

Now, the little Joy was rather smart because it determined that cutting a design that could be put onto my Silhouette Cameo 4 would be the best first project. Nothing like buttering up the residents to keep them happy. I think the Cameo 4 likes its decoration.

 

Above, my Cameo 4 sporting its lovely silver crown created by my Cricut Joy. 

I think that will help keep the peace between the two machines. Nothing like presenting a gift to the local resident upon arriving at a new place. The Cameo 4 is pleased with her crown. And the two seem to get along well.

Since there was still plenty of the Smart Vinyl left, I decided that I could also decorate the Joy with a little something. I searched the free designs available on Cricut, and found a series of images of the Cricut Cuties.

I selected one, and sent it to the Joy.

 

A short while later, the Cutie was ready to apply to the Joy. 

Both machines appear happy with their enhancements. 

The Joy, if you've never tried one, is extremely easy to use. There are no buttons on it. If it's plugged in, it's on. It connects using bluetooth, and the Cricut Design Space software drives it. 

The Joy is very small and light. Its mats are 4.5" x 6", so cuts can't be particularly large, but it's ideal for making cards or earrings. It's also fun to use for any little project that fits on the little mat. I've heard you can decorate t-shirts with cuts from the Joy - provided the design fits within the limits of the mat (you can, of course, piece the design together with multiple cuts from the tiny mats, but some designs would work much better as a single cut rather than multiple cuts as required by the Joy.),

I look forward to more fun times with my Joy.