Crafty Mums and Dads know exactly what a Cricut is – and this new machine will appeal to some of those existing Cricut owners, and to many who have held back for one reason or another.

Cricut Joy Xtra sits in between the large format Maker 3 and the smaller and handy Cricut Joy. But at its heart it’s a Joy.

One reason to go for the larger Maker series is the ability to feed in normal A4 paper which you might have printed out items to turn into stickers or iron on patches, but you probably don’t need the more advanced features of the Maker, so you’re kicking yourself that the Joy won’t cut it.

At around $300 these days, the Joy is more than half the price of the Maker also – so the new Cricut Joy Xtra – launching at $429 is the perfect middle ground.

The company says this new machine was “Created for those who are looking to jump into the world of DIY, the Cricut Joy Xtra™ smart cutting machine cuts, writes, draws, and foils to make popular projects like full-colour stickers, custom cards, t-shirts, vinyl decals, and more. Create custom gear, merch, personalised gifts, labels and unique upcycled décor and clothing, with new printable materials and Cricut’s user-friendly design platform.“

It’s still light weight like the Joy so makes it possible to take and use on-the-go, but is also small and stylish enough to sit well in any home, office or even classroom environment.

Because it can cut, write, foil and has a sensor to scan the material inserted it’s compatible with the Print then Cut functionality of the Cricut Design Space software.

This opens the door to stickers, labels, tags, and any iron-on you can think of.

At launch, the Cricut Joy Xtra comes in a bundle with sticker paper, iron on paper, as well as smart vinyl and iron-on materials.

“Our mission with the Cricut platform is to inspire and empower makers, We have more than eight million members who discover, make, and share their creations with one another, and they bring their designs to life through our platform with innovations like Create Sticker.” said Ashish Arora, Cricut CEO.

“From concept to design to creation, Cricut provides the holistic ecosystem of tools, from intuitive design software to creative hardware, to bring making to life, so anyone can truly make anything they can imagine,” said Nicola Dow Smith, Regional Head of Cricut.

“Whether you are an established small business, market stall casual, pop-up gift store, or looking to create a brand or side-hustle, Cricut Joy Xtra™ will take your brand logo and packaging from, oh to woah!”

“If you are a teacher with a busy classroom, keen to create personalised, timely learning resources for your class on the fly, the Cricut Joy Xtra™ Starter Bundle has got you covered.  If you are a Uni student upcycling clothes or a parent creating last minute dress-ups or making creative customised gifts for friends and family or to sell, the Cricut Joy Xtra™ Starter Bundle comes packed with all you need to bring your creations to life,” she added.

The all-new Cricut Joy Xtra Starter Bundle will be available from the 8th of September priced at $429 from Harvey Norman, with other retailers like Spotlight and Officeworks getting the new machine on-sale in October.

Cricut Joy Xtra™ Starter Bundle inclusions:

  • Cricut Joy Xtra™ Smart Cutting Machine
  • Cricut® Printable Waterproof Sticker Set – A4 (6 ct)
  • Cricut® Printable Iron-On For Light Fabrics – A4 (5 ct)
  • Cricut Joy Xtra™ Transfer Tape (3 ft)
  • Cricut Joy Xtra™ Light Grip Mat
  • Cricut Joy Xtra™ Smart Vinyl™ – Permanent Sampler, Classics (3 ct)
  • Cricut Joy Xtra™ Smart Iron-On™ Sampler, Elegance (3 ct)

We’ll bring you a first look hands-on review of the Cricut Joy Xtra this week!