After Testing the Cricut Joy Xtra, I’m Obsessed with Customizing Everything (It’s That Easy to Use)

The Cricut Joy Xtra is great for making cutaway cards, vinyl decals (like the kind you’d decorate a water bottle with), stickers, custom clothes and tote bags, labels, mugs and party essentials (from invitations to gift tags and 3D flower decorations). You can insert different tools into the machine to cut paper, vinyl and other materials, or special pens to write and draw for you—creating The Home Edit-caliber calligraphy for your pantry labels, even if your handwriting is closer to a caffeine-addled doctor’s. It’s also compatible with the foil transfer tool, so you can create metallic, embossed designs on things.

How I Tested the Cricut Joy Xtra

Given its range of options, I wanted to test it in three key areas: (1) how well it works with heat-transfer vinyl to customize fabric, (2) how intricately it can cut and draw on cards, and (3) how easy it is to make full-color stickers using the machine. With each project, I evaluated it on how easy it was to set up and use (and whether any glitches occurred), the quality of the finished project, the overall value it brought to my life (and cost of completing each project) and how steep the learning curve was to tackle each one.

Cricut has come a long way in the four years I’ve used it. Initially, it felt like you needed to join a secret club to figure out how to properly use the devices—and I’d often botch the first two projects before finally getting the hang of things. Thankfully, the brand guides you through the process—it’s literally as simple as going to cricut.com/setup and following the prompts, so you’re all connected, calibrated and ready to go in minutes.

At 12.5 inches by 6 inches—and roughly 6 pounds—it takes up less space than a toaster oven and it’s still light enough to stow in a cabinet and easily pull out when you need it. (Other models, like the Maker series, can cut on more materials and tackle engraving projects, but the bulkier size makes it a chore to pull out and set up.)

To use the Cricut Joy Xtra, you simply create a design in the Cricut Design Space app—which you can use on your phone, tablet or desktop computer—and select the materials and settings you’re using (for example, I want it to cut into cardstock). Next, make sure the right tool (such as the Knife Blade for cutting) and material (cardstock) are loaded into the machine, and hit “go.”

Over the course of several projects, the Cricut Joy Xtra cut and drew cleanly, without issues. I had to adjust the pressure settings for my initial foray into sticker-making, but otherwise, from heat-transfer vinyl to removable vinyl to cardstock, even tiny, smaller-than-my-fingernail cutouts were clean and easy to “weed” (Cricut parlance for removing excess material).

Honestly, I love how easy it is to create full-color stickers and labels using the Cricut Joy Xtra. You’ll need to print them on an inkjet printer first, but then the Cricut cuts them out, saving you the tedious task of trying to evenly slice around, say, a cat popping out of a holiday wreath or a phrase your tween wants to slap onto a water bottle. (It’s also great for graphic designers to create and sell their own die-cut stickers, BTW.)

Beyond stickers, I found that the Joy Xtra excelled at everything my Maker 3 and Joy could do—and seemed to do it with fewer errors and issues. There was less of a learning curve, and while I wish it could be used for engraving, I find I rarely use that feature anyway. For the core types of projects I tend to tackle—creating custom shirts, tote bags, decals and cards—the Joy Xtra excels.

What Are the Limitations of the Cricut Joy Xtra?

Because of its Goldilocks size—and newness on the market—I found most craft supply stores carried plenty of vinyl and other materials sized to the classic Cricut models (12-inch squares) or to the Joy’s 4.5-inch width. It was much harder to find things in the Xtra size. As a result, I made ample use of the Cricut portable trimmer to size things just the way I wanted before applying them to a cutting mat and feeding them into the machine.

As I mentioned, the Joy Xtra can’t be used to engrave things, and it isn’t able to deboss leather, or score or perforate materials, like some other Cricut devices can. (If you’re curious on how it compares to another model, Cricut has a handy tool that allows you to do just that.)

Like all Cricut machines, you’ll need a few extras to tackle any project. Namely, a weeding tool ($3), vinyl or whatever materials you’re trying to create with, and a grippy mat ($10 for three) for holding the material in place as the machine cuts it. (Note: If you specifically buy the brand’s “Smart Vinyl,” you don’t need a mat, but I find they’re useful to have on hand if you’re working with cardstock or other materials, or if you want to try a different brand of vinyl, like Siser or Michaels Make Market.) I also recommend the portable trimmer ($22; $11), so you only feed as much vinyl/cardstock/etc. into the machine as you need, resulting in less waste, because that stuff is expensive!

Wait—Do You Need a Subscription for Cricut Joy Xtra?

The Cricut Design Space app is free to use, but it’s a lot more enjoyable (and easier) to use if you spring for a Cricut Access subscription (from $10/month, or $96/year). You can pay by the month—canceling at any time—or by the year, and it gives you access to more than 1 million images, 1,200 fonts and 100,000 ready-to-make projects (which are as simple as selecting and hitting “make it,” then following the app’s prompts). It also gives you access to a few exclusive features, like a monogramming tool that’s in beta mode, as well as a button that makes creating stickers almost instantaneous. Without it, projects are a bit more tedious, and your free image and font options are much more limited, so you have to rely more on your own graphic design capabilities (of which I am sorely lacking).

While you can save 20 percent by paying annually, I’ve found that I’ll pay for a month or two during busy seasons (ahem, back-to-school and the holidays) then turn it off when I’m less likely to use the Cricut.

If you are a novice or occasional crafter, definitely. I would say skip the Joy entirely and go for the Joy Xtra, just because it’s so user-friendly and offers you a larger canvas to create with. (Plus, stickers! If you have small children obsessed with adorning every paper, folder and notebook, you get it.) Right now, the machine’s marked down from $200 to $129 at Amazon and Cricut, and you can snag it with a one-month subscription to Cricut Access and an Everything Bundle of tools, transfer tape and vinyl—basically everything you need to get started—for $149 (a $303 value). That deal is hard to pass up.

If you’re thinking of launching a side hustle-turned-Etsy-empire from your bedroom, first, I salute you. Second, you may want something that can cut and create on a larger scale, using a wider range of materials, like the Maker 3.

Either way, good luck, and may the Bluetooth connectivity be ever in your favor.