Whether you’re a seasoned artist or a total beginner, the Cricut Joy Xtra Smart Cutting Machine could be the perfect addition to your creative kit. Its compact and stylish design means it will slot right into any workspace and connecting to your devices is seamless with bluetooth. 

Our guest reviewer, artist and illustrator Claire Cassidy, tried out the Cricut Joy Xtra Smart Cutting Machine to make her own sticker designs to decorate a water bottle. “I’m really excited to try the Cricut Joy Xtra because I spend a lot of time cutting paper and I would love to see how I can simplify some of my processes and make some new things with it,” says Claire.

The Cricut Joy Xtra smart cutting machine in its box alongside other products and accessories, including sticker sheets, and cutting tools and Cricut mat. 

Simple Setup

“I downloaded the Cricut Design Space app onto my smartphone and tablet and created an account. The Design Space app has a new exclusive feature for subscribers called ‘Create Sticker’, which allows you to design custom printable stickers in just a few clicks. The app also has lots of different images available [in case you’re needing some inspiration] to create your own stickers. I uploaded my own designs using a bright and colourful cowgirl theme.”

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A set of Claire’s finished cowgirl stickers laid out neatly on a Cricut cutting mat, which is sitting in front of the Cricut Joy Xtra machine on a white table. 

‍Clever Cutting

“After uploading my designs, I printed them on Cricut Waterproof Sticker Sheets with my inkjet printer. I applied the laminating sheet to protect my stickers from water, placed the sheet on the cutting mat, loaded the mat into my Cricut Joy Xtra, and watched it accurately cut out my stickers.”

Hot Tip: There’s two options for cutting your stickers: A ‘kiss cut’ meaning the Cricut cuts through the top layer, leaving the backing sheet intact, and a ‘die cut’ where the Cricut cuts through both layers, creating individual stickers like Claire’s.

Compact Design

“It’s about the size of a loaf of bread, so it fits really nicely in my workspace with all of my other art materials. I love that it’s white and really sleek.”

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‍A close-up shot of Claire’s hand sticking one of the cowgirl stickers onto a purple metal water bottle, which is sitting on a white table in front of the Cricut Joy Xtra machine.

‍Decorate Anything

“The stickers peeled off perfectly and they were super easy to apply to the surface of my water bottle. I printed out a whole variety of my designs. They’re not only great for sticking on water bottles, but other stationery items like notebooks and pencil cases, too.”

‍A close-up shot of the Cricut Joy Xtra and Claire Cassidy’s hands feeding a sticker sheet into the machine. 

Claire Cassidy’s Verdict

“I loved how simple it was to set the machine up and how easy it was to create personalised stickers using my own designs. I’m really excited to keep using the Cricut Joy Xtra and try some new projects.”

‍An assortment of Cricut accessories and related products, shown on various brightly-coloured backgrounds. Products include things like sticker sets and pencil cases.

What to Try

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