Back to School with Cricut Joy

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cricut. All opinions are 100% mine.

By now you’ve probably heard about Cricut‘s latest machine, the Cricut Joy. If not, let me tell you all about it!

I received my Joy back in April and immediately loved how cute and small it was. Even with everything else I have on my desk, it fit perfectly in a little nook because it’s so much smaller than the Maker and Explore Air 2. You don’t even need a set desk or craft space for it – it’s easy to bring out of a closet when you’re ready to craft or even take it on the go. And if you bring the Cricut Joy with you, there’s an adorable tote to carry it in.

What I love most about it is the ability to make something in less than 15 minutes or less. Since we’ve been in quarantine, I’ve put my Cricut Joy to the test and made countless cards over the last 5 months for birthdays, showers, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, anniversaries, graduation and just because. The card mat and blank card inserts make it easy to whip up a personalized card in no time.

You can also cut without a mat (!!!). There’s a suite of new materials that don’t require a mat and therefore the extra step of getting the mat setup. You can just load the vinyl (or iron on vinyl) and go! The rolls are 20′ long so you can really create larger projects with this little machine.

The Cricut Joy also writes like the other machines so you’re not limited to only cutting. The Joy has their own set of pens since this machine is smaller and the carriage mechanism also shrunk to adjust. The pens come in a variety of types and line weights to be compatible with any project you might think up.

Okay, so how can the Cricut Joy prepare you for back to school? Let me count the ways, haha.

Custom Closet Dividers

Getting clothes organized for the new school year was always fun for me. With a baby, I am constantly looking to see what size a shirt or onesie is so I decided to make some closet dividers to make life easier.

What you’ll need:

Start by adding the different sizes to your canvas. I curved the text for the parts that would go on top of the hanger.

Add something to go on the part of the hanger that hangs down between the clothes. I did animals on one side and the size on the other.

Make sure your machine selection is set to “Joy” and click “Make It” when your design is ready. For the Cricut Joy machine, you’ll choose how you’re loading your materials: without a mat (using smart vinyl), with the Joy mat, or with the Card mat. I chose without a mat since I used smart iron on vinyl.

Rearrange your mat as you want to utilize as much as the material as you can. The screen will tell you how much material you will need to cut your project continuously.

Then cut your design out!

Once everything is cut, it’s just like every other iron on project. You’ll weed out the excess iron on material and cut each piece out. Use the Cricut Heat guide to determine your EasyPress settings. Then use the EasyPress to adhere the vinyl to your closet divider, piece by piece.

No more looking for tags in every article of clothing! His closet is organized and easy to see what we have for each size as he keeps outgrowing clothes.

If you want to use my template, you can find it on Design Space here!

Personalized Clothing

Since lil man is so young, we can send sleep sacks to daycare with him so I got a pack of 3 and added our name to the back (just in case). Nothing like some personalized clothing to start the school year!

What you’ll need:

This project is really similar to the last one, but a little simpler. Write out your name or last name. I like all uppercase so it’s bolder & easier to read. Resize to the width & height that best fits your garment.

Make sure your machine is set to “Joy” and select “Make it.” Just like the closet dividers, I chose without a mat since I used smart iron on vinyl.

Rearrange your mat as you want and make sure your design is “mirrored.” Then cut your materials!

Cut your design from the iron on roll, weed out the excess iron on material and cut each name out. Use the Cricut Heat guide to determine your EasyPress settings for your garment. Then use the EasyPress to apply the name to your clothes!

Just like that your sleep sack (or whatever else you need to label for school) is personalized! I recommend having a few in case one gets dirty, like they always seem to 😉

Teacher Thank You Card

You can’t forget about the teachers, especially in these times where they’re doing so much! I think it’s so nice to kick off the school year with a little introduction & gift to them, so opted to get a small gift card and put it in a card. I loved the look of this sunburst Thank You card and whipped one up using the school’s colors!

What you’ll need:

Pick the design you want to make in Design Space, then just click “Make it”! You’ll choose the “On Card Mat” option for how you’ll load your project, put the blank card on the card mat (slip the backside under the mat and stick the front to the sticky side of the mat), then load the card into the Joy to cut!

After the design is cut, unload your mat and slowly remove the card from the mat, using the spatula to help and get excess card stock off the mat.

Finally, add the insert into the 4 slits and your card is done! How cute is this for just a few minutes of work?

Ever since I got a Cricut Joy, I haven’t bought a card. I’ve made thank you, graduation, baby shower, birthday, mother’s day, anniversary, father’s day cards, etc.. you name it! That is by far my favorite feature – they are just so quick and easy to make with the insert card kits. Especially if you forgot you needed a card for something 😉

The size is also so convenient to take on the go with you. Maybe one day when the pandemic slows down I can take it to a friend’s house for a crafting night again, haha. The Joy, some long vinyl rolls and a friend = a night of fun.

Learn more about the Cricut Joy here and find these cute machines in stores or online. As always, I’m more than happy to answer any of your questions too – just comment below!