The worst part of any craft project is that moment when you have to start using scissors. It’s the point of no return, where one twitch could ruin everything in a moment. Stitches can be undone, pencils can be rubbed out, but cuts are forever.
I am bad at precisely cutting things out, which is why I’ve always really enjoyed the Cricut range of products. They’re perfect for people who love to be creative and have projects in their head but want to save time or stress, or overcome skill and ability gaps. The Cricut Joy Xtra strikes the perfect balance between not being too big or too small, and being able to achieve a mighty amount of things.
Cricut Joy Xtra review
First impressions
There are four machines in the Cricut range, all of which excel at cutting and drawing on a variety of materials including paper, card stock, vinyl, and so on. Some of the bigger machines can also cut more hardcore things.
The four machines range from the biggest and most capable Maker 3, to the smallest, more card-focussed Joy. The Joy Xtra is a size up from the Joy, and in my opinion, strikes the perfect balance between being space-saving and functionality. The Joy, while good at what it does, lacks the versatility of the Joy Xtra. However, the Maker 3 is too large to easily store in an apartment, and it’s difficult to justify taking up that amount of space unless you’re a very dedicated crafter. The Joy Xtra folds up relatively small and is easy to store between crafting sessions.
My first impression of the Joy Xtra was that economy of space, and the tradeoffs required for that. Also how easy it was to set up and connect to the app (even if I did have some initial difficulties with using the app and device, because when it asked for 10-inch material, and I put in 10.5-inch material, what it meant was 8.5-inch with a large border, and not actually 10-inch, which I maintain is unclear instructions).
Cricut Joy Xtra specifications
| Dimensions | (W) 215mm x (D) 370mm x (H) 170mm 3.5kg |
| System compatibility | Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android |
| Requirements | Mobile phone, tablet, or computer with Bluetooth wireless and high-speed internet connection |
| Warranty | One year |
| Included accessories | Premium Fine-Point Blade + Housing Cricut Joy Fine Point Pen Cricut Mini Weeder |
| Max cut size using machine mat | 21.6cm x 102cm |
| Price (RRP) | $399 |
| Warranty | One year |
| Official website | Cricut Australia |
In terms of what you can make, the difference between the Joy and Joy Xtra is the ability to make stickers and iron-on transfers, and being able to put in materials that are 8.5 inches wide vs just 4 inches wide (so you can do more than cards).
But, the range of materials and tools that are compatible are significantly less than the Maker 3, which can handle wood, leather, foam, and other more advanced materials (and the more I read about it, the more I want to upgrade my struggling old original Maker, but that’s a story for another day). Hopeful crafters will need to determine whether they value their shelf space or the ability to deboss and engrave more.
Design
The Cricut Joy Xtra has been really thoughtfully designed. While the Maker 3 looks like it’s designed to be used every day and kept in a dedicated craft room, the Joy Xtra is handily designed for those who craft on their dining table and need to put it away in the cupboard at the end of each session. It looks nice on a shelf, too.
The one issue I have with the design is that when you do a card and it asks you to move the rubber rollers out of the way, it doesn’t automatically move the cutting tool out of the way so you can actually move the rollers without risking life and limb. I’m sure there is some clever way to do it buried in settings or something, but it should be obvious.
Working with the app
The one catch with the Cricut machines is that everything has to go through the Cricut Design app, and the functions of the app aren’t always as obvious as I’d like or intuitive for newbies. I ruined many, many cards before I worked out that the positions of objects aren’t locked in during the design phase and you have to click a hidden thing to make them stay where you want them when you go to the cut phase.
However, while the app could be better, there is an entire ecosystem of blogs set up to teach you how to do just about anything you could imagine, breaking it down into simple steps.
Personally, I think the app should be better at teaching people how to use it, and there shouldn’t have to be this many online tutorials for consumer-grade software. But, the tutorials are clear and good and helped me master the intricacies.
The blogs are also a good source of inspiration, because when you have a machine that lets you do anything, and the only limit is your imagination, it can magically wipe your mind of all thoughts and creativity. Because, truly, as long as you have access to the (somewhat expensive) materials the sky’s the limit (as long as the sky fits into a 26.1cm x 1.2m cutting area).
There are lots of free shapes and other tools you need to create projects in the app, but you will need to either pay subscribe to the app, or pay for individual projects if you want to just make things others have designed. So, build that extra cost into your expectations,
Cutting and drawing
I had a wonderful time making a bunch of different projects with the Cricut Joy. I made intricate decals for my daughter’s room, elaborate custom cards to celebrate important events that were far more personal and meaningful than anything you could buy at a shop, and decals to personalise a high chair, among other things.
Making the decals for the high chair was the first project that I designed myself without using any templates, which explains why I messed it up so badly. I now know what I did wrong, but it was a deeply frustrating hour and a half of trying to get them all to work nicely.
Same with the cards. I think I ruined six cards in total before I truly nailed how to properly attach the materials to the cutting mat, and make the elements stay where I wanted them to be in the project. That’s all fairly normal teething stuff, but I think it’s important that new users go in with that expectation, and don’t waste good, expensive materials on first attempts. Learn from my mistakes, I was too cocky and was immediately humbled.
The duck decal for my daughter’s room, though, looks absolutely excellent and worked first try because I’d learned from my previous attempts. It was so easy to do. Subsequent cards also came out looking excellent, and every person who’s received one has absolutely loved them.
Cards remain my favourite thing to make on Circuit machines, but I love how often I think of an interesting craft project I’d like to do that would previously have been too challenging (make cheesy matching t-shirts, or make my own custom, personal merch for a fandom, for example), that is now something that can go from idea to real in under an hour. That’s powerful.
Once I worked out the quirks of the app, it was a seriously smooth experience. I’ve used many cutting machines over the years, and still have PTSD flashbacks to cutting out my wedding invitations on an older machine in 2016, and Cricut is always the smoothest, easiest experience around.
There is a reason why there is a Cricut cult. The more you make, the more you want to make. The more you learn about the machine, the more you realise that space, funds, and imagination are your only limitations.
Who is the Circuit Joy Xtra for?
The Cricut Joy Xtra is perfect for people who largely stick to paper crafting, as well as iron-ons and stickers. It’s for folks who need the space more than they need the expanded skills of the Maker 3. The regular Cricut Joy is really just a glorified card maker that can be difficult to justify unless you’re really into cards, but the Joy Xtra is a much more capable machine that strikes the right balance between the two extremes.
When it comes to crafting, I’m usually more of a knitter or crocheter, but now I find myself thinking of iron-ons, and stickers, and cards I want to make. I wish the Joy Xtra did fabric (like the Maker 3 does) to see how that might help with sewing.
While it is an investment, so you’d want to be sure you’d use it, the best part of the Joy Xtra is how easy it makes it to get started on projects. It’s simple to make them look like a seasoned crafter made them, even when you’re a beginner, and it turbo charges the crafting skills of seasoned crafters.
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