By KATE DENNILL
The Cricut Joy is an extraordinary little machine – very compact. If you’re used to using a bigger version, there’ll obviously be a bit of adjustment needed, but the benefit of this size is that it’s highly portable, so if you’re wanting to use it in different locations, it’s easy to pack up and go. South African users, note that you’ll need a plug adapter – that’s certainly something to look at on the manufacturing side.
On the functionality side, the machine is incredibly versatile. For small projects, it can cut card, write on card, do transfers, decals and vinyl stick-ons, and all of those with extreme precision. It comes with a large range of exciting accoutrements, though users might have to keep an eye on affordability for their own budgets there. You could probably use your own card stock and possibly even pens, though they’d have to fit into the slot provided.
If you’re used to using something like a Sizzix, you’ll have worked with no digital interface – you choose your project, set it up with the right impressions and the right cutting dies and you roll it through. With Cricut, all of that is digital. The mobile app is a little cumbersome – the functionality is quite limited compared to what I eventually found on the laptop. It can be difficult to change things (you have to back-track a lot) and find functions and on the small screen, it hasn’t adapted well. On the laptop, it’s a lot clearer, but it did take some time to set up – finding and pairing the machine on Bluetooth and so on.
Having said all that, the Cricut is something I will use a lot, particularly as I practise more and more with it: the end result is beautiful. The precision cutting is phenomenal – and amazing to watch as it does its job. For someone who is doing a small home industry – something like making cards – I would imagine this would be a game changer. On the app, there is a subscription that you can opt for (you don’t have to; you can use the free package) that then opens up whole new galaxies of resources, so that would help in a small business context, or even using the machine in a more integrated way in your home – labelling things and so on.
There are very helpful videos that you can access through the app or on YouTube, so users are well provided for in that way.
The tools – some come with the machine and others are separate but branded – are excellent. And the expanded functionality is great. For instance, although the machine is small, paper or card can be extended out the back for the full length of a scrapbooking page or spine of a lever arch file, so it’s not just about the small details, although the machine is obviously limited in terms of its width.
Overall, I think any crafter will find this impossible to resist.
