What Cricut Joy accessories and tools do I need to purchase to use with my machine? I get that questions a lot from any Cricut beginners wonder what else they need beyond just their Cricut machines. Today, I want to cover exactly what you need for the Cricut Joy machine accessories and tools. I also want to list exactly what materials the Cricut Joy machine can cut so you know what material options to purchase and which to avoid.

First, let’s start with the accessories made to work with the Cricut Joy machine, and then we will discuss materials your Joy can cut!

Joy Cutting Mats

The Cricut Joy was the very first Cricut machine that can cut matless with Smart Materials. While using Smart Materials like vinyl and iron-on is great, there are lots of cases you may want to add your materials to a mat. Vinyl aside, leather and paper require a mat, so be sure to grab the standard green and blue light grip sets to use with your Cricut Joy machine. Likewise, if you do not wish to use Smart Vinyl or Smart Iron-on you can always add them to a mat as well!

Cricut Joy Card Mat Inserts

Whipping up handmade cards is super fast with the Cricut Joy machine. One of the reasons it’s so effortless is the special card insert mat that works exclusively with the Joy machine. You can easily slide your card over the mat, and it will cut and write all at once. Reverse your card to have your Joy write the message on the inside too!

You will find tutorials for all this inside your Joy course!

Card Kits for The Cricut Joy

Piggy-backing off the last accessory. Pre-cut card kits can be purchased to use with the Cricut Joy card insert mats. One of the reasons I’m not too fond of the card kits is that colors limit you. You can make your own card inserts with any paper by using a straight cutter and the right measurements. Visit your Joy course to see how to make your own card inserts!

Weeding Tools and Cricut Scraper

Anytime you use vinyl or iron-on, you will need to have weeding tools on hand, and a Cricut scraper is also useful for removing debris from your Joy mats. Weeding tools last forever, so this is one accessory you can purchase and reuse endlessly!

Cricut Joy Foil Tool

The Cricut Joy foil tool came out about a year after the Joy machine. I love that Cricut innovated it for the Joy too. If you want to add shimmer and shine to papercraft projects such as cards, then the foil tool accessory is a great tool to have, along with the foiling sheets. You can also add foiling to leather!

Cricut offers foil sheets in a variety of colors. They often go in and out of stock so check back in case they are not currently available! Currently, my favorites are the jewel-tone pack, metallic pack, and the ruby pack.

Cricut Joy Pens

Cricut Joy pens are a must-have since the machine can draw and write on dozens of different projects. Make sure you only purchase Cricut pens that say they work with the Joy. Since the machine is smaller than the Maker or Explore models, you must have the smaller Joy pens to fit the machine.

Personally, these pens (not made by Cricut) are my favorite that works with the Joy because they have dual tips and always write smoothly.

Cricut Easypress

Lastly, if you plan to do any iron-on or Infusible Ink projects I recommend purchasing a Cricut Easypress or Easypress Mini with a heat-safe mat.

The Cricut presses are made specifically for Cricut materials and often work much better than traditional iron. If this isn’t an option for you right now you can use your iron, just be sure to start at a low temperature so you do not burn your materials.

What Materials Can I Cut With Cricut Joy?

Okay, not that we understand the basic Cricut Joy accessories; let’s go deeper and talk about what materials the Cricut Joy can cut. The Cricut Joy is known for cutting over 50 types of materials.

You can read the full list of materials that Cricut Joy can cut here.

This list is obviously significantly smaller than the Explore models (which cuts over 100 materials) and the Maker, which cuts over 300 materials, and I have heard some crafters express that they wish they could cut more. So if you are in the market for an additional Cricut machine, make sure to read my Cricut comparison and buyers guide here!

In my opinion, the Joy is a great starter machine that should be purchased with the intent of adding an Explore or Maker later on. Alternatively, purchasing the Joy is great as a travel companion to those who already own an Explore or Maker model.

Below are the Joy materials I have used most often with my machine and some Cricut Joy project ideas as well!

Cardstock

Choosing the right type and quality of the paper can make or break the success of your papercrafts and using the Joy to craft with cardstock is a big part of what the machine does. Here is a list of all my favorite cardstock resources.

Some of the best ways to use cardstock and paper with your Cricut Joy are:

1. Cards
2. Paper flowers
3. Banners
4. Layerd paper designs (like these butterflies or mandalas)

Smart Cardstock

With the release of Smart Materials Cricut also created Smart Sticker Cardstock which is fantastic for layered projects, or using on anything you need tape to adhere it. Cricut offers pastels, brights, and regular black and white in choice colors.

Leather or Jelly Sheets

The Cricut Joy cuts thin faux leather very well. I have tested different textures and colors all with success. You can even use Jelly Sheets too! And you don’t need any extra special Cricut Joy accessories to cut leather – the fine-point blade works great! Check out this poinsettia leather earring craft here by my friend Amy Romeu!

Smart Iron-On

One of the best parlor tricks of the Cricut Joy is cutting matless with Smart Materials. One of those materials is Smart Iron-on vinyl. You can also use regular vinyl rolls and place the HTV on a Joy mat!

Did you know the Maker 3 and Explore 3 cut with Smart Materials too? See how I used Smart Iron-on vinyl with my Maker 3 here!

Smart Vinyl

Smart Vinyl both permanent and removable is available for the Cricut Joy as well. I used the removable Smart Vinyl for a wall decal and to dress up my new laundry room here!

One complaint with Smart Vinyl is how hard it is to transfer the design to transfer tape because of the thick liner. Watch my video here to see how you can get a clean and easy transfer each time!

Smart Labels

Under the vinyl category also fall the Smart Vinyl Labels which are perfect for keeping jars and boxes organized with an attractive label to identify themselves. Check out your course for a full step-by-step using Smart Labels on jars!

Infusible Ink

Infusible Ink is a great Cricut Joy material because you can use it on shirts, mugs, totes, or any sublimation blank!

Cricut makes Joy-size Infusible Ink or you can cut the larger rolls down and place it on the mat. For Infusible Ink shirts, I recommend the Cricut brand here or any sublimation blanks. you can check out all my craft blanks here!

Party Foil

Party foil is a forgotten material in the Cricut world but I absolutely love to use it! Aside from adding it to cards or hanging party decorations it also makes wonderful confetti!

Writing/Drawing with the Cricut Joy

And we can’t forget about writing and drawing with the Cricut Joy pens! As you collect Cricut Joy accessories make sure that pens in every color of the rainbow are one of them. Not only can you write with the Joy on cards, labels, etc but you can also draw pictures as well.

Additional Supplies/Accessories Used in the Joy of Cricut Course

• Standard transfer tape
• Shadowbox
• Jump rings, keychain bobs & tassels (may also want a leather punch tool or use a straight pin)
• Jewelry pliers
• Detail high temp hot glue gun and replacement glue sticks
• Fabric glue
• Quilling tool
• Paper Blooms Shaping Mat and Tool Set
• Distress ink
• Fine bristle ink brush
• 10mm & 4mm faux pearls
• Parchment or butcher paper
• Double-sided tape
• Scrapbooking runner tape
• Painters tape – 1″
• Heat resistant tape
• Lint roller or masking tape
• Rubbing alcohol or alcohol wipes
• Straight cutter
• Tumbler and waterbottle
• Mugs
• Mug Press
• T-shirt blank – 90 to 100% polyester