So just before we all went into lockdown made a very naughty purchase … the Cricut Joy! I’ve had my eye on a Cricut for ages but resisted as it was such a lot of money. But then they released their new machine ‘Joy’ which was much cheaper (still a lot of money but a bit more within reach). I still resisted but then the world went crazy and I needed a something new to get excited about! So I ordered one along with a few accessories (I already had lots of vinyls!) and I’ve not regretted the purchase since!
As soon as it arrived I unpacked it and got experimenting ! It comes with a little sample piece of smart vinyl and a piece of card which was great. It was fun just testing out a couple of little designs to see how it all worked.
Fortunately I already had quite a collection of iron on vinyl … a combination of Cricut own brand which I won before Christmas and beautiful selection from Happy Fabric. So I have a good range … that is particularly pink/turquoise heavy !!
Then I got planning some proper projects … I had been trawling through Instagram and Pinterest for ideas and inspiration so had lots of thoughts. First off I found a cute narwhal image on google with I uploaded and cut out in some lilac iron on vinyl that I had won with Cricut before Christmas. I cut out the words ‘mr narwhal’ too. I went straight in without thinking and cut it out with the carrier facing up … which I soon found out doesn’t actually work (thank you Joy for helping out with that!! ). So I recut it the other way and it worked perfectly! Don’t worry I didn’t waste the first piece and cut out some spots and hearts to use on another project.
I was then inspired by my favourite band – The Beatles. I knew I had some black glitter iron on and could imagine their logo on a white t-shirt! Again I made another mistake and forgot to mirror the image … I only realised this once I had weeded it all! However most of the letters are actually reversible so I just had to recut 3 letters and we were good to go. I’ve actually finished this t-shirt now ( a Tabitha T-Shirt from Tlly and The Buttons) and it is definitely going to be one of my favourite pieces of clothing !
I got a bit adventurous with my next make … I wanted to create a moomin but making it in just white was going to result in just a white blob! So I uploaded the moomin twice, once as a solid shape and once as an outline. I then cut the solid shape in white and the outline in black … and I love the result !! I put it on a cute pink t-shirt (another Tabitha tee!) which I think the little moomin looks great on … Another new favourite piece of clothing !
Since then I’ve made cute slogans for t-shirts that I’m making, glittery stars for another t-shirt. I’ve made a drawstring bag for my cousin with a dinosaur themed quote … but I’ve also made a shiny pink butterfly for a banner or my auntie, little lilac hearts and spots and a few other designs which I’ve no idea what to do with !!
I think I got quite carried away so I just need to have a think about what to put the different designs ! I’m thinking tote bags, maybe add little designs to existing clothes, homewares like cushions and fabric baskets. Cue more scrolling through Instagram for inspiration …
Another amazing thing that you can do with the Cricut Joy is create beautiful greetings cards! With all the craziness going on I decided to send out a few cards to cheer people’s day … there are so many designs on Cricut’s app (especially if you sign up for Cricut Access … I’m currently trying out the free trial and will then decide whether I want to continue paying for it !). I chose some cute motivational, happy designs that I hoped would make my friends and family smile …
I’ve absolutely loved experimenting with the machine and can’t wait to keep going – it’s certainly been a worthwhile purchase !
I’d love to hear what your favourite Cricut/Happy Fabric makes have been … let me know below or on Instagram !
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