5 reasons Cricut Joy Xtra is the perfect machine for you
Cricut machines have emerged as a must-have tool for both hobbyists and professionals. If you’re seeking the ability to customise clothing, accessories, home décor, and more, we’ve got you covered.
When choosing the right machine for you, there are a few things to consider. With the various models and features Cricut machines offer, ask yourself:
What do I want to make?
Which machine is right for me?
What size do I want my projects to be?
New to Cricut’s machine lineup is Joy Xtra. Like the original Cricut Joy, this machine makes cards, custom apparel, vinyl decals but also allows you to make more, like full-colour stickers, all in larger sizes. Whether you’re a seasoned maker or just starting your crafting journey, this xtra-ordinary machine checks either box. Here’s five reasons why Cricut’s newest machine, Joy Xtra, is the perfect machine for you.
This is my first machine
Cricut newbies, you’ll be glad to know when it comes to Joy Xtra, there is no design or crafting experience required! Cricut has your back with free online learning, and a community of millions to inspire creativity and help you create. Find yourself stuck or need a little help? The world-class Cricut Member Care team is a chat or phone call away. What’s more, the machine comes with a free companion app called Design Space that makes designing and customising a breeze. Simply connect your machine with a device that can run the Design Space software, such as a laptop or mobile device, then create, modify and cut your designs in just a few steps. The easy to learn app provides pre-designed templates and step-by-step instructions, so that you’ll be able to bring your creative ideas to life.
I want to make full-colour stickers, labels and cards
One of the features that make the Joy Xtra extra is the added Print Then Cut functionality. With this feature, you open up a world of colour and personalisation to your projects with printed images using your home printer that then get precision-cut with the Joy Xtra.
With Print Then Cut, you’ll create professional-looking, multi-colour stickers, labels, cards, and so much more. Visit Cricut Help Center to learn about what’s possible with this feature and find step-by-step tutorials at Cricut Learn.
I don’t have enough space
Limited space doesn’t mean limited capabilities. Coming in at 12.5” wide and only 6 pounds, the compact size of the Joy Xtra won’t take up much space on your desk but will provide you with many features of a full-size machine. It’s perfectly built for making anywhere in your home, apartment or office. Its portable size also makes it the perfect craft companion when traveling. With its sleek design, you can keep it displayed, or if you prefer to tuck it away, it sets up easily for use at any time.
What can it do?
Like the original Cricut Joy, the Joy Xtra can foil, write and draw in a variety of fonts and styles. With the larger width of the machine, you can make letter size projects on a machine mat, and up to 4 feet long with Smart Materials, which are materials designed to feed directly into your machine without a mat.
What else do I need?
With a new machine comes new materials. Joy Xtra cuts more than 50 materials like vinyl, iron-on, printable materials, cardstock, and more. One of our favorite items launching with Joy Xtra will be the new Prismatic Glitter Iron-On. This glitter Smart Material is something you can feel good about. It’s glossy and smooth to the touch, flake-free and environmentally conscious without sacrificing the shimmer and shine of glitter iron-on.
More materials to be sure to get your hands on are the Printable Waterproof Sticker Sets and Printable Iron-On. You’ll be able to create colourful, custom designs for water bottles and apparel that are waterproof and machine washable.
As we mentioned earlier, Smart Materials will be available to fit the Joy Xtra so you can easily load material into your machine. This includes Smart Vinyl, Smart Iron-On and Smart Labels. For all those scraps of materials you save from each project and need to use a mat, they’ll be available in both LightGrip and StandardGrip mats, as well as Card Mats for all your cardmaking needs. Wondering what the difference is for all the mats? Check out Which mats can I use with my Cricut machine?
Investing in a Cricut machine means investing in your creativity and ability to bring your ideas to life. Cricut Joy Xtra makes a great starter machine or addition to your current lineup. Its sleek design and compact size make it easy to display or store, it’s easy to use for crafters at any skill level, and it meets all your personalisation needs.