Creative Mom Cafe

The Epson Artisan 800 is a multi-function printer that is sleek, stylish, and does the job. It prints, scans, and copies. Easily print photos using the photo tray designed for 4×6 paper. Scanned documents can be saved to a memory card slot on the Artisan or to a computer.

I have been using the Epson Artisan 800 for over a month now and have really enjoyed it. My pictures print beautifully and I’ve had no problem connecting either of my computers to it. It’s so versatile and very useful for those who like to scrapbook. Now I don’t have to wait for my pictures to come back. I can print them off myself and have very good quality prints.

The printing is done fast and looks wonderful. A minor complaint would be the output tray as it sits on top of the paper tray and doesn’t hold a lot of paper. So if you are printing a lot of pages, you will need to keep an eye on it or else pick up with printouts off the floor.

This printer does it all. You can even print on printable CDs. Just press the CD tray button and load your CD. It’s really straightforward. This is very convenient for those wanting to compile CDs or DVDs to give as gifts.

The Epson Artisan 800 is more than a printer. It’s also a scanner/copier. The scanner is very easy to use and you can scan directly to a memory card slot on the printer. You can also save on your computer, too.

My favorite feature about the Aritsan is connectivity. We have the Epson plugged into our router and can print to it from any computer. We can print from the desktop or the laptop since the Epson supports WIFI. It’s so nice to be able to print to the printer without having to turn on the computer it is connected to.

The software that comes with the Artisan is full of creative possibilities. You can create personalized greeting cards, CD/DVDs, photo calendars, and photo books.

It is very easy to change out ink cartridges in the Artisan. Also since it uses individual cartridges, you can just replace the ones that are running low. We were running low on black and stumbled upon another cool feature of the printer. It will combine the other inks to make black when you are running low.

The Epson Artisan 800 is a wonderful all-in-one printer. While it might be on the bulky side, this workhorse does several tasks very well. It’s definitely a fine addition to anyone who loves to scrapbook or other paper crafts.

A few weeks ago, I tried my hand at iris folding. It was fun and I will try it again once of these days. Through blog hopping, I ran across a blog that was selling these gorgeous paper craft card patterns. Looking for something beginner level, I did a little searching and found some simple patterns for creating flowers and snowflakes.

Apparently those snowflakes that we all were so fond of making in grade school is kirigami, or paper cutting. It’s like origami but you incorporate cuts into the paper folding. I created this kirigami flower pattern that was pretty easy to pull off.

Well, my second attempt was as the first I guess I did one fold wrong because I had two pieces of paper. This would be a great project to add finesse to scrapbook pages. The greeting cards are simply stunning and doubt that it will be anytime soon that I will be creating those. For right now, I’ll stick to flowers and snowflakes.

It is kind of fun to sort of rediscover this paper cutting craft that I remember doing when I was a kid. We just didn’t have a name for it.

Iris folding is a fun paper craft that lets you create interesting cards or artwork for the wall using folding pieces of paper. All you need is card stock, some different color sheets of paper, craft knife, scissors, and some double-sided tape. You can use regular tape but double-sided works easier and will keep the paper flat.

First find a pattern that you like. There are many resources for finding free Iris folding patterns. You will need to cut the design out of the card stock. This will require a little practice at cutting clean shapes out of paper. The patterns will be numbered and a legend. You’ll begin by cutting strips of paper about one inch wide. Then fold the sheet about one-third of the width. Then it’s just a matter of cutting the strips and taping the sheets of paper onto the numbers. Follow the legend so you know which color you need to place on which number. A lot of crafters will make their own key so that they remember which color they use for which numbers.

Here are some resources to learn more -

Iris Folding at Circle of Crafters has some cute free projects that are great for beginners.

Here’s a Squidoo lens full of other resources and information.

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