Cricut Joy shines brightest with quick, small projects, which means it’s perfect for when I desperately need a giant smiley face on my coffee mug to keep from spinning in place every morning. But besides what it can do for grown-up projects, Cricut Joy is a superhero for last-minute mom fails. Here are 5 ways to turn “Oh, crap” into “Oh, craft.”

For the newest beginner-friendly way to get started with labels, vinyl, Iron-On, and paper crafts, read My Exact Guide To The New Cricut Joy App.

5 Mom Fail Fixes With Cricut Joy

1. You totally forgot that it’s your turn to send cookies to your kid’s class party tomorrow, and it’s too late to bake them now.

No worries, Mama, you got this. Let’s be honest, kids like the store-bought cookies just as much as homemade ones. So hit up the nearest 24 hour Walgreens or Walmart and grab a few packs of Oreos and Chocolate Chip Cookies. I promise, no kid in the class is going to mind.

Now put those delicious cookies in little party favor bags, tie the top tightly with some string you have in your junk drawer, and have your Cricut Joy make some sticker labels with Adhesive Backed Deluxe Paper. They can be made in a snap, and you can specify they type of cookie or allergen-friendly options like I did above.

If you don’t have any Adhesive Backed Deluxe Paper you can use Cricut Joy Smart Labels for this, too. And if you’re strapped on supplies altogether, have your Cricut Joy cut and write the labels on regular cardstock paper, punch a hole, and tie it on your string. (See my tutorial for making labels here.)

2. Tomorrow is your kid’s favorite teacher’s birthday. And it’s 10pm.

You can make a beautiful birthday card in 3-5 minutes with Cricut Joy Card Insert kits. Now isn’t the time to design a custom card, so just hop into Design Space and search the Cricut Access database for Cricut Joy compatible card designs.

Once you find the one you like, you can insert your card of choice into the card mat, then let the Joy make a card your kid will be proud to give his teacher. While it’s working you can tell your little sweetie to go brush his teeth…again. (See my card tutorial here)

3. It’s 6am and there’s a field trip today. Your kiddo mentions that five other kids have “that same water bottle.”

Save your kid the potential stuffy nose from accidental ingestion of someone else’s germs in their doppelgänger water bottle. Just load in any leftover vinyl you have, let your child choose a fun image in Design Space, and transfer it onto the water bottle.

No one will mistake their bottle for your kid’s now! And by letting him choose the decal image, he’ll be more likely to keep up with it during the field trip because it’s so much cooler now. (See how I added a decal to a water bottle here.)

4. You got the birthday party gift, but you forgot the gift bag.

No need to panic, just grab a paper lunch bag or grocery bag from your pantry and use your Cricut Joy to cut a fun pattern, print, or image to stick onto it. The bag I used is actually a takeout bag from a restaurant we ordered from last week.

I usually keep plain paper bags on hand for this very reason, plus they’re so much cheaper than the store-bought decorative bags, and my Cricut Joy can make them look amazing in minutes.

5. You realize your kids can’t keep their room clean because they don’t know where things should actually go.

Kids aren’t born knowing how to clean and organize spaces, and no matter how many times you tell them, it goes in one ear and out the other. You can use your Cricut Joy to make tags and labels for their entire bedroom and playroom without a lot of effort.

Use the Cricut Joy Pen that comes with your Cricut Joy to have the machine write perfect labels on Smart Label Writable Vinyl or even leftover cardstock scraps.

In my son’s room, that’s exactly what I did. I had my Cricut write labels and cut into rectangles that would fit inside those safety pin name badge sleeves. Then I just pinned them all onto the fabric bins. Now he ALWAYS knows where things go and has no excuse on why he can’t clean up anymore. Ha!

How Will You Turn “Oh, Crap” Into “Oh, Craft”?

I’d love to here some of the mom fails you’d use Cricut Joy for. Drop a comment below so we can all admire your future Supermom powers and the adorable sidekick you used to gain them.