June 1, 2020  

5 DIY Labels Made With Cricut Joy


This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cricut. All opinions are 100% mine.

From labeling fabric toy bins to pantry containers to office file folders, I’m sharing 5 ways to organize your home with Cricut Joy. It’s the perfect tool for labeling all the things!

emily counts holding Cricut Joy and labeled accordion files

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You know I love organizing, and my new Cricut Joy has quickly become my trusty organizing sidekick. Today I have 5 different label ideas to show you that will help you get organized around the house.

From labeling storage totes and pantry containers to office supplies and toy bins, the cute little Cricut Joy is now my go-to for creating labels for all of my projects!

When this little cutie showed up on my doorstep, I quickly got busy putting it to work on several small organizing projects I’ve been meaning to get to.

Here are the projects I took on:

  1. Pantry Container Labels (using Smart Vinyl)
  2. Office Supply Labels (using Smart Label Writable Vinyl)
  3. Fabric Toy Bin Labels (using Smart Iron-on
  4. Storage Tote Labels (using Smart Vinyl)
  5. Toy Basket Labels (using adhesive-backed deluxe paper)

Alrighty, now it’s time to get labeling! Keep reading for photos and the simple tutorials for all 5 of my quick labeling projects.

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fabric bin with cricut joy label for toys

What is the Cricut Joy?

Cricut Joy is Cricut’s smallest smart cutting machine. It fits virtually anywhere, packs away in a jiffy, and sets up instantly so you can carry it from room to room as you organize every space in your house. Not only is the Joy small and portable, but it also cuts mat-free which makes everyday cutting projects easier than ever before.

I tried out some of the new materials included in the suite of brand new Cricut Joy materials in the projects below, and I have to say–they are SO EASY! These new “Smart” materials don’t require a cutting mat which means fewer steps and faster results. Plus, this tiny machine can cut long designs (up to 20′ repeated cut capability) because it’s not limited by a mat.

The Cricut Joy is a great companion to my larger Cricut Maker. While I cutting specialty materials and creating complex projects with my Cricut Maker, the Cricut Joy is really practical to pull out for those everyday projects where you just need a one-off label or a quick greeting card in a hurry.

The Joy’s petite size is perfect if you don’t have a big craft room and even though it’s smaller, it still has cool new features like mat-free cutting and long cuts.

If this is your first time hearing about Cricut Joy, I go into even more detail about its features, what materials it can cut, and how it compares to other Cricut machines in my Cricut Joy FAQ blog post.

lifestyle image of emily counts sitting on floor of nursery with Cricut Joy and labeled bins

CRICUT JOY LABELS

Cricut Joy is perfect for creating labels and personalized projects. I put it to the test on 5 different labeling projects around the house and they are all so functional and FUN!

1. pantry container Labels with smart vinyl

If you visit my house, you’ll see vinyl labels like these all over the place, especially in my kitchen! I labeled my new pantry containers with the new Smart Vinyl and it was so slick!

clear-pantry-containers-with-white-labels

Pantry Label Supplies:

First, design your labels in Cricut Design Space (you can access my design here). Click “Make It” and the on-screen prompts will walk you through the cutting process.

Follow the prompts to load white Smart Vinyl into your Cricut Joy. The new Smart materials, designed specifically for the Joy, are so simple to use because they don’t even require a cutting mat! Just feed the roll of Smart Vinyl directly into your machine.

cricut joy cutting pantry labels out of white vinyl

After your Joy finishes cutting, unload the Smart Vinyl and use scissors to cut around your label design. Then use the weeding tool to weed the negative space, leaving just your letters attached to the backing.

Lay a piece of Smart Transfer Tape down on top of your vinyl label and use a scraper tool or credit card to smooth it down well.

cricut-scraper-tool-close-up

Then slowly lift up the transfer tape (the letters should lift up with it).

Stick your transfer tape to your pantry container, smooth it down with your scraper tool, and slowly peel off the transfer tape.

scraper-tool-applying-white-brown-sugar-label-to-clear-container
pantry-container-lids-with-white-labels

Voila! DIY pantry labels that look so professional yet are very easy to make.

clear canister with oatmeal and a white vinyl "oatmeal" label

2. office supply Labels with smart label writable vinyl

One of the new Cricut materials is Smart Label Writable Vinyl, made especially for the Cricut Joy. I’m already obsessed with it because you know I love labeling and now there’s vinyl that’s designed to be written on and it peels up like a sticker!

I tried out the new Smart Label Writable Vinyl on a quick office organizing project and it was so simple.

aqua accordion file folders with DIY Cricut labels

Office Label Supplies:

cricut joy on table with cricut supplies

First, design your labels in Cricut Design Space. I like to search the projects for fun label shapes, then click “customize” to add my own text. Make sure your text is set to the writing setting and the label outline is set to the cutting setting.

Click “make it” and load the Smart Label Writable Vinyl into your Cricut Joy. The on-screen prompts will walk you through each step and you’ll first be prompted to load a pen in your Joy. This is as simple as turning the small lever by your blade, removing the blade, and putting the pen in its place.

cricut joy writing "receipts" on a label using a purple cricut pen

After your Joy is finished writing your label text, follow the on-screen prompts and insert the blade. Then wait for it to cut out your labels.

cricut joy cutting out labels

Finally, unload the material from your Joy and peel up your labels. Then stick them to whatever you want to label!

finger holding office labels made with Cricut Joy

I used mine to label these small files I use to organize receipts and gift cards. They’d be great for labeling everything in the office like binder tabs and spines, notebooks, containers, cords, and drawer organizers.

cricut joy and labeled accordion files
emily counts holding cricut joy and labeled accordion files

3. fabric toy bin Labels with smart iron-on

Another type of label to consider as you organize your house is iron-on labels! Iron-on material works great for labeling fabric items like fabric bins for cube shelves.

You can get Smart Iron-On made for Cricut Joy so it’s sized to fit the width of the Joy and doesn’t require a cutting mat. (If you have regular Cricut Iron-On around, you can also use that with the Joy but will need to cut it down smaller and adhere to a Cricut Joy cutting mat.)

blue fabric bin with pink iron-on label

Fabric Toy Bin Label Supplies:

First, design your label in Cricut Design Space. I started with a blank canvas and found this puzzle piece design by searching the shapes for “puzzle”. Once your design is ready, resize to the proper dimensions to fit your fabric bin and click “Make It”.

Follow the on-screen prompts and load the Smart Iron-On into your Cricut Joy. Be sure to mirror your design and load the iron-on into your machine shiny side down.

cricut joy cutting out pink glitter iron-on

After your cut is complete, unload the iron-on and use the weeding tool to weed away the extra material. Your label design should be left on the clear liner and the negative material should be removed.

finger weeding pink label and cricut joy in background

Position your iron-on label onto your fabric bin and apply heat using an EasyPress. Check Cricut’s heat guide for specifications on the time and temperature you need. I set my EasyPress Mini to the medium heat setting and applied even pressure to my design with constant movement.

easypress mini ironing a pink label onto a blue fabric bin

After you apply heat, slowly lift up the clear liner. If your design starts pulling up with the liner, press it back down and apply more heat.

finger pulling off clear liner from pin iron-on label

Isn’t this fabric bin cute? Now I need to make a few more and fill a shelf with them as an attempt to organize our toys!

cricut joy on floor next to blue fabric bin with pink iron-on label

4. Storage tote labels with smart vinyl

I store outgrown kids’ clothes in large plastic totes so they’re organized and easy to pass onto my nieces as Chloe outgrows things. I’ve previously shared a tutorial for making these storage tote labels using my Cricut Maker (see that video tutorial here). I needed to label a couple more totes recently and decided to recreate these same labels, this time using my Cricut Joy.

These DIY vinyl labels follow the same process as the pantry labels in #1 above. These are my favorite type of labels to create and you can make them with any of the Cricut machines. Since I was using my Cricut Joy this time around, I used Smart Vinyl which meant I saved a step by not needing a mat.

blue plastic tote with "kids clothes" label in white vinyl

Storage Tote Label Supplies:

Instead of repeating the same steps again, I’ll refer you back to the process I described in #1 above for all the specifics on creating these DIY vinyl labels with your Cricut Joy. They are so easy and look so, so nice!

blue plastic tote with "kids clothes" label in white vinyl
blue plastic tote with cricut joy on top

5. Toy BAsket Labels WITH ADHESIVE-Backed DELUXE PAPER

For my fifth label project, I tried out Cricut’s Adhesive-Backed Deluxe Paper. It feels like heavy scrapbook paper and is adhesive which makes it a fun material for labels. And you can use your Cricut Joy pens to add lettering!

We organize our sidewalk chalk and bubbles in these small plastic baskets in our coat closet, and I thought the playful pattern of my Deluxe Paper would be so fun against the aqua baskets!

aqua basket with "bubbles" label

Toy Basket Label Supplies:

Design your labels in Cricut Design Space. I made up my own using a banner shape I found and the font called “Close To My Heart” in all caps. I also duplicated the banner shape, sized it slightly smaller than the original, and set it to draw an outline around the label perimeter.

Click “Make It” and follow the on-screen prompts. Stick your sheet of Deluxe Paper onto a long LightGrip cutting mat and load it into the machine.

cricut joy cutting purple patterned labels

Remove the blade from your Cricut Joy and insert a black marker. After your Joy finishes writing, you will be prompted to insert the blade so your machine can cut the labels.

cricut joy cutting purple patterned labels

This design was easy to peel up from the backing using my fingernail, no need for any tools! Simply peel up your label and stick it onto your container.

cricut joy cutting purple patterned labels

Aren’t they cute?!

cricut joy cutting purple patterned labels
labeled aqua baskets and cricut joy on floor

Are you convinced yet that you need a Cricut Joy in your life? If you love organizing and labeling all the things like I do, then this new cutting machine is perfect for you! Those are just a few of my MANY ideas for Cricut Joy label ideas, so stay tuned for more organizing projects.

Learn more about Cricut Joy and the new Smart Materials at Cricut.com. It’s available online and in stores – check out my Cricut Joy shopping list for all of my personal recommendations!

More Cricut blog posts:

Have a fantastic day!

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