Let me set the scene for you. It’s 5am, I’m sitting on the sofa drinking my coffee and looking over my calendar for the day. I need to be at work at 7am for a meeting. I notice on the calendar that today is my BFF’s birthday, who is also my coworker, who will also be at that same meeting at 7am. And I totally forgot to get him a card…

If this happened a month ago, I’d freak out and have to run out early to the 24hr drug store and race down the card aisle to find something that didn’t give a “I picked the first one I could get my hands on” vibe. But not now.

Now I have Cricut Joy, and I don’t even have to panic at all. I keep my Cricut Joy on my kitchen counter, specifically for mini freak-outs like this. And in the drawer underneath is a box of Cricut Joy Insert Card Kits, a Cricut Joy black pen, and the Cricut Joy Card Mat.

Since everything is all together, I was able to crank out a “custom” card in 3 minutes flat. Here’s how I did it.

Need step-by-step instructions for other projects, like labels, vinyl, Iron-On designs, and paper crafts? Check out My Exact Guide To the New Cricut Joy App.

Last Minute Birthday Card With Cricut Joy

1. Choose A Design

Open up Design Space and pick a cute card design your BFF will love. There are a ton of card designs already pre-loaded, so you don’t have to do any creating at all. Just pick one that works and click Make It.

2. Insert Card Into Mat

The Cricut Joy Card Mat is such a genius little mat, because you can slide the Cricut Joy Card directly into it so the top half is cut and the bottom half is not.

There are options in Design Space to choose the type and size of card you’re using. The Cricut Joy Card Insert Kits are 4.25″ x 5.5″, so be sure to choose that option from the dropdown menu before starting your cut.

3. Draw Then Cut vs Cut Only

Some of the card designs include pen-drawing accents to enhance the look and feel of the card. I love these because they amp up the design and make it look more handmade and thoughtful. If the design you choose has written elements included, you’ll be prompted to switch from the blade to the pen when needed.

4. Insert The Decorative Card Insert

Once Cricut Joy has completed your card, remove it from the mat. The four slots on the corners will hold the decorative cart inserts that came in your kit in place. Just slide the corners into the slots, and you’re done!

Optional: Decorate The Envelope

If you have a bit more time, you can also have Cricut Joy write the name of your card recipient onto the envelope. You’ll need a Cricut Joy Light Grip Mat to pull this off, but it’s still super fast.

I just opened up a new blank canvas in Design Space and typed the name of my friend in a font that can be used for writing. (I chose the Boogie Regular font but you can use anything you’d like like.)

Then I adjusted the size to fit the envelope (4″ wide is best) and headed over to the Make It screen to line it up.

When you click Make It, it will ask if you are using a mat. Select the Mat option, then choose adhesive backed paper as your material (there isn’t an envelope option). Click on the preview to adjust your text to the middle of the mat, then using the grid on screen and the grid on your mat, align the envelope so the text will be written where you want it to be.

Insert the pen, click Go, and let Cricut Joy make you a gorgeous “handwritten” envelope. If you do a cool font like the one I chose, you can even color it in with markers if you want. I didn’t have time for that, so I just gave it as-is.

How To Get Your Own Cricut Joy

Cricut Joy is officially available! You can shop on cricut.com here, or you can buy it in-store where other Cricut products are sold, like Michaels, JoAnne’s, Hobby Lobby, Walmart, and more. And of course, you can also use your Amazon Prime membership to order it there and get it shipped super fast and free.

Have Q’s? Drop them in the comments below and I’ll do my best to get you the answers from my BFFs at Cricut.