Stacey Solomon swears-by the Cricut Joy Xtra craft cutter for an organised residence – it is now my favorite option to declutter (and it has £80 off for Black Friday)
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If you follow Stacey Solomon on Instagram, you’ll know she’s obsessed with organising her home. The host of Sort Your Life Out is often seen using her Cricut machine to create personalised labels for almost everything, from meal prep containers to stationery.
I have been using an original Cricut Maker myself for a while now (a generous Christmas present) – with my favourite things to make being decorations and Christmas labels.
Stacey using her Cricut Joy Xtra for organisation
So when I got the chance to try out the Cricut Joy Xtra – the same model Stacey uses – I had to give it a go. It’s safe to say I’m officially sold, this compact cutting machine isn’t even the width of two hands and yet it can make some amazing crafts.
What exactly is a Cricut?
Cricut is a specific brand of digital cutting machines controlled by your computer. It’s designed for home crafters and is incredibly easy to use. The machines are used for cutting everything from card and vinyl to fabrics and thin wood (Maker models only for the latter).
The Cricut is a digital cutting machine for crafts and organisation
All the models work with an easy-to-use app on your phone or computer, to help you design and personalise pretty much anything. There’s also thousands of free designs to choose from – so you don’t even need to be arty or creative to make incredible things.
How I got on
The Cricut Joy Xtra is a smaller, more simplified model – meaning it’s cheaper too. While reviewing it, I made some really impressive crafts including a personalised candle, some vinyl stickers and some Christmas cards for my family and friends.
Compared to the larger models. The Joy Xtra is designed with everyone in mind. It was so easy to use and you get some materials like vinyl and card in the box, so you can practice crafting without spending any extra money.
Christmas tags and thank you labels made with the Cricut
The app was really easy to set up and I had almost instant access to all kinds of designs after creating an account and linking up my machine. I got to work right away with some great results, which you can see below.
If there’s anything you’re not sure how to do, there are also hundreds of videos on YouTube. Instagram and TikTok from fellow crafters, showing you how to make things, as well as hacks to improve your crafting skills.
Vinyl name tags and stickers – use either permanent or removable vinyl
Where can I buy materials?
Most art stores and websites sell the materials you need, with Hobbycraft being the biggest seller of Cricut branded stuff. However, you don’t have to use the Cricut branded materials – in fact, many crafters say they prefer to use other brands. You can find unbranded card and vinyl at Amazon, The Works and plenty of other places.
Should you buy it?
The Cricut Joy Xtra is usually £199.99, which isn’t cheap but if you’re serious about organising or crafting and want to make bundles of personalised things for your home or for gifting – this machine is great value for money and most importantly, it’s fun too.
You can usually get discounts on bundles throughout the year though and right now, this model and others also happen to be on offer for Black Friday both on their own and bundled with all the materials and tools you need to get started – the perfect package in my opinion.
Having used a Cricut machine for a while now, I’d absolutely buy the Joy Xtra for myself. It’s a lot of fun. It’s also compact and portable, yet still lets you make all manner of things.
Also, if you happen to have a crafty friend or family member who you know loves organising and making homemade gifts, this makes the perfect Christmas or birthday present.
