Cricut’s $99 craft cutting machine helped me feel creative again

I’ve always been skeptical of products that claim to help you lead a more creative life. But one recently won me over. I’ve spent three weeks with the Cricut Joy 2, a smart cutting and drawing machine that made it easy for me to get back into making stickers, cards, bookmarks, and more.

The small $99 gadget isn’t perfect, but its capabilities and app-provided templates were just what I was looking for. Caregiving, self-criticism, and mental health struggles have made it tough to tinker and doodle like I used to, and yet the Joy 2 clicked with me. It doles out quick wins when you’re in the mood to create.

I’ve been testing the Cricut Joy 2 and Ultimate Plus Bundle, which normally costs $229 and comes with a bunch of extras, including smart vinyl and iron-on sheets, as well as tools like a fine-point blade. Getting started didn’t take much time. I connected the machine, installed Cricut’s Design Space software on my laptop (also available on iOS and Android), and ran my first test cut in well under 30 minutes. Watching the machine cut that first design made me clap in excitement.

That part was easy, but the app’s onboarding needs some work. For something marketed as beginner-friendly, it’s not obvious what to do next or how to fully take advantage of the hardware. None of it is difficult — figuring out placement on the mat or aligning materials correctly — but none of it is exactly obvious either, especially if you’re new to these concepts. Early on, I tried unsuccessfully to print something from scratch and grew discouraged after wasting some materials.

Design Space’s interface is partially to blame. It buries helpful tutorials and project checklists at the bottom of its landing page, and visual learners should know that a lot of the instructions are written out. That’s strange, given that Cricut offers a trove of clear, digestible YouTube tutorials online that seem perfect for the app.

To Cricut’s credit, it offers a free 30-day trial of Cricut Access, which costs $9.99 a month once it expires. It contains many templates, tips, and guided projects created by Cricut as well as other users who share their designs in the app’s community library. It’s useful if you appreciate some structure with your creative pursuits. More crucially, it teaches you how to use the materials and tools included with the Joy 2. That’s when the real fun started. Projects came together more quickly, and I once again felt the satisfaction of watching a design go from screen to finished product in minutes.

Simple projects are where the Joy 2 works best, but it can handle some more complex ones if you’re willing to step in. Multicolor designs, for instance, have to be cut in separate layers and assembled by hand, which takes time and focus. That’s not necessarily a flaw, but more just something to keep in mind before you take on new projects.

If you’re trying to make stickers or other printed designs, like iron-on transfers for shirts, Cricut’s “print then cut” feature comes in handy. It lets you print a full-color design with an inkjet or laser printer you already own, then precisely cut it out with the Joy 2. I was happy with the results, and the process is simple: The Design Space app adds cut lines around your uploaded design for the machine to follow. You then feed the printed sheet into the Joy 2, and voilà! It scans and makes the cuts.

Technically, the Joy 2 can handle larger projects, such as large wall decals and full-shirt graphics, but the machine can only cut about 4 to 4.5 inches at a time. You could split the design into multiple sections, manually cut each piece, then align and assemble them by hand. Then again, if you imagine yourself wanting to make larger designs more often, I suggest springing for the $199 Cricut Explore 5. The $349 Cricut Maker 4, meanwhile, can handle thicker materials, like fabric or leather, and can engrave, deboss, or perforate materials.

While my idea of how a “beginner-friendly” cutting machine should onboard users differs from Cricut’s, the Joy 2 is a fun, relatively inexpensive gadget that’s easy to recommend. I’m not about to reopen an Etsy store anytime soon, but for the first time in a while, I want to keep creating.