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.

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. None of it is difficult — figuring out placement on the mat or aligning materials correctly — but none of it is exactly obvious either, especially if you’re new to these concepts. Early on, I tried unsuccessfully to print something from scratch and grew discouraged after wasting some materials.

Design Space’s interface is partially to blame. It buries helpful tutorials and project checklists at the bottom of its landing page, and visual learners should know that a lot of the instructions are written out. That’s strange, given that Cricut offers a trove of clear, digestible YouTube tutorials online that seem perfect for the app.