Cricut’s $99 craft cutting machine helped me feel creative again

I’ve always been skeptical of products that claim to help you lead a more creative life. But one recently won me over. I’ve spent three weeks with the Cricut Joy 2, a smart cutting and drawing machine that made it easy for me to get back into making stickers, cards, bookmarks, and more. The small $99 gadget isn’t perfect, but its capabilities and app-provided templates were just what I was looking for. Caregiving, self-criticism, and mental health struggles have made it tough to tinker and doodle like I used to, and yet the Joy 2 clicked with me. It doles out quick wins when you’re in the mood to create. I made both personalized stickers and bookmarks and eventually got back into a creative flow. I even painted the canvases underneath. Photo by Sheena Vasani / The Verge I’ve been testing the Cricut Joy 2 and Ultimate Plus Bundle , which normally costs $229 and comes with a bunch of extras, including smart vinyl and iron-on sheets, as well as tools like a fine-point blade. Getting started didn’t take much time. I connected the machine, installed Cricut’s Design Space software on my laptop (also available on iOS and Android), and ran my first test cut in well under 30 minutes. Watching the machine cut that first design made me clap in excitement. That part was easy, but the app’s onboarding needs some work. For something marketed as beginner-friendly, it’s not obvious what to do next or how to fully take advantage of the hardware. …