Father’s Day is just around the corner, and honestly, I’m not sure why June is in such a hurry. I’m trying to savor the summer months as much as possible. My kiddos are finally done with school, and I’ve made a list of some very crafty projects for us to work on this summer. Feel free to follow me here on Creative Fabrica for more inspiring tutorials.
In this post, I will show you how easy it is to create an easy DIY Father’s Day card with Cricut Joy.
First, let me give a quick shout-out to my hubby Mike for being the most amazing dad to our three kiddos. It’s not an easy job raising tiny (and teenage) humans, but he is my partner in parenting, and he rocks fatherhood in a way that makes parenting look easy.
The majority of my craft projects are done using my Cricut Joy machine. It has truly been an amazing tool for our home, and it makes craft projects so much fun for my girls and me.
First, What is the Cricut Joy?
Cricut Joy is your DIY best friend. This smart little cutting and writing machine is ridiculously easy to set up and use. You can use it to personalize, organize, and customize your projects every day. Make labels for your kitchen or office. Bust out a custom card or a birthday banner. It’s also compatible with Cricut Smart Material for super-easy, super-long cuts without a cutting mat. Just load & go! With plenty of projects that take just 15 minutes. The best part, it’s small and compact so you can move it with you around the house.
Cricut Joy Features:
- Weighing in at only 3.9 lbs (1.75 kg), this smart little cutting and writing machine makes it easy to personalize almost anything.
- Cuts 50+ materials, including iron-on, cardstock, vinyl, paper, and Smart Materials™ – super-easy, super-long cuts without a cutting mat
- Draws any shape and writes in a variety of styles
- Cuts individual shapes up to 4 ft long or makes repeated cuts up to 20 ft long*
- It fits in a cubby and packs away easily sets up instantly
- The perfect companion to full-size Cricut smart cutting machines
- Bluetooth® wireless technology
- Design Space® software: This is where you get access to tons of templates, cut files, ideas to create your projects.
If you don’t have a Cricut Joy, you can find them at Cricut.com or other craft stores like Michaels, Joanns, Walmart, Target, and even Amazon. I would also wait for a holiday sale like Labor Day or Black Friday. They almost always have discounts or bundle deals on these and other Cricut tools. Currently, a Cricut Joy is $159 retail.
Easy DIY Father’s Day Card with Cricut Joy
Materials You’ll Need For This Project:
- Cricut Joy
- Cricut Design Space App
- Cricut Joy™ 4.5″ x 6.25″ Insert Cards (They are available in 3 sizes and multiple colors)
- Cricut Joy™ Card Mat
- Scraper tool (I used a no-name brand I got from Amazon)
Tips To Make This Project Successful:
- The Cricut Insert Cards come in 3 different sizes. You must select the correct size when starting your cut in the design space app. Also, you cannot customize the size of this project because the app already recognizes the card size once you select it in the app.
- When choosing your card colors, be sure to select contrasting colors; blue with gold or light gray with bright pink so that your cut is more visible cosmetically.
- If this is your first time creating a card and using your Cricut Joy card mat, remember to peel the clear plastic film off of the front so it exposes the sticky part. Also, keep the clear plastic film to return to the mat once you’re done with this project. It will increase the lifespan of your mat for future uses.
- When inserting your card over the sticky flap of the card mat, be sure to press firmly down so that the card doesn’t move during the cutting process.
Instructions:
- Open the Cricut Design Space app, I used the app on my android phone, but you can use your computer or iPad.
- At the top, in the search bar, type in ‘Father’s Day or dad’ and hit enter. Now keep in mind, Design space has both free and premium files. If you don’t like any of the free ones, they give you a free 30-day trial, and then it’s $9.99 a month after.
- Once you find a project you like from the search results, tap on it, and select the size, this is an important step. If you don’t select the correct size, your insert cards won’t fit, and you’ll end up wasting the materials.
- Once your card size is selected, you’ll see everything else you’ll need for this project. Since we’re not doing any drawing on this particular card, we need the needle that comes with the Cricut Joy machine.
- At this point, remove the thin plastic film on the insert card mat (keep this for use again after you’re done with the mat). Open your card and slide it into the flap, with the front side of the card sticking to the sticky sleeve of the card mat. PRESS DOWN, so the card is firm on the sticky card mat.
- At this point, make sure your Cricut Joy is plugged in, and the loading tray is down.
- Click MAKE IT.
- The app will ask you to connect your Cricut Joy on your app screen in design space, then click continue.
- Your Cricut Joy should automatically connect via Bluetooth and then select your material (Insert Card) here, and click GO once you’ve loaded your insert card mat into the Cricut Joy.
- Once the Cricut Joy is finished cutting the card, click UNLOAD.
And there you have it, an adorable, easy DIY Father’s Day card that can be made in less than 20 minutes with the help of my 6-year-old daughter for her daddy on Father’s Day. Also, just a reminder that this is just one easy project you can do with a Cricut Joy. So many great ideas, and if you don’t see a file in design space you like, you can find one here on Creative Fabrica or create your own using Canva and then upload it to design space. Think of all the creative possibilities here.
If you enjoyed this tutorial, please be sure to save and share it. You can find my Easter Cupcake Topper tutorial here and tons more creative ideas on Creative Fabrica as well.
Feel free to visit my family & lifestyle blog, Life with Kami.
Happy Creating!
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