So now it looks like this...

And I might change my mind again!

Nearly there...

But then I changed my mind...
Just as well I hadn;t stuck anything down yet!

Printer from hell...

Rant, rave, etc... I bought a new printer just back in November and have had to put 3 lots of ink in it already which as far as I'm concerned is just not good enough ok? Now you may think, "Well, you must have printed a lot of stuff then to get through so much ink!" but no - 3 A4 sheets of little pics per ink set does not seem like an enormous amount of printing to me but here's the thing - the print monitor goes from "hunky dory all ink cartridges are full" to "hey we can't possibly work anymore because we are as dry as the Sahara Desert and there's not a spot of ink left in us so just don't even try to print!!!!!" And the other thing that's winding me up about the ink thing is that if you just want a b&w print, you won't get one if any of the other cartridges are empty. I declare the Epson Stylus S21 the worst printer in the Universe - ever!
If only I could find my reciept for it I would take it back but without it, Tesco say "NO WAY! - that's just too bad" and it doesnt even matter that it doesn't work properly, get this "You (yep, that's me) should really have looked after your reciept and been careful with it and put it somwhere safe". Like, have I turned back into 8 year old? That kind of thing really winds me up and I have to try very hard not to raise my voice (madame!) in these situations.
I have one thing left to say on the matter - thank god for compatible inks!
Compare this -
Tesco 3 (CMY- 1 of each) Epson cartidges £20,
Local computer shop 2 of each CMYK £10!!!!
And they work fine!!! I know where I'll be doing my shopping from now on. Anywhere but Tesco!!!

Phew, do i sound a bit stressed? Normal transmission will resume shortly after a lie down in a dark room and soothing cuppy tea!

Now I can get on with printing my photos and completing my project! Yay, I'm happy again!!

Today my desk looks like this....

...heaving with xmassy randomness that will hopefully, by the end of next week, be transformed into a minibook full of christmas memories from 2010. Hmmm! I better get cracking before it's 2011's turn!! In my defence I have had diabolical toothache all this week which has slowly eased off (hurrah for antibiotics) but my brain has not been very focused due to all the painkillers I've had to keep munching. So yep, defo not been in the right frame of mind for being creative. I'll post a better look at it once its complete. Sam's coming round to take a look at her mini wedding book this week too, so that will be finished properly with all the wording/journaling added. I love that feeling of completion when you can say to yourself "You know what - that'll do nicely. Time to move on!" Just wish I could stop myself from turning everything into a saga, heehee. But we all have our own way of getting things done and I'll bet I'm not the only one who tends to faff about with stuff. it's all part of the creative process.
Hope you can check in later to see how it turns out....
Have fun
Jak
xxx

First 12x12 of the year...

I needed a wee break from my list of to do's so I took some time out for a quick colourful 12x12 project. Will do one of Sadie too just to balance things up - my kids competitive, don't think so.
Just spent an afternoon talking craft and showing off my bind-it-all to my friend Elaine who's only recently started on her scrapbooking journey but has totally got the bug already and has quickly managed to acquire a stash and tools to be proud of - go Elaine!!! She showed me some pictures of a little book she made for a friend and I was really impressed by her grasp of colour and improvising with what she's got to make little embellishments etc. - she says she's not creative - bah! If you're reading this Elaine thanks again for the little pressie of inks and vellums you so kindly gave me. Hooray for crafting buddies - yay! Oh and Sadie had fun playing with Maddie too!
Happy crafting peeps!
Jak xxx

First Binditall project...

I'm I gonna have fun with this! Here is a quick project I put together during my first aquaintance with my new toy. It's a little projects book I'm using to list the things I want to make. I think the most time consuming aspect was cutting up all the paper to make the inside pages. What a gadget! Now I know folks have raved on about these for years but, I'm only just getting round to getting one now - thankyou Santa aka Leon - I love it I do I do I do! Can't wait to try putting together a bogroll mini! That will be way down on my list of things to do though cos I have a few projects that have priority first. Sam and Mikes wedding mini is just about done as are next years recycled xmas tags (OMG there's loads of the bloomin' things). Unfortunately, the to do list keeps getting longer and longer but I've come up with the idea of giving myself "sort of deadlines" and I am going to be strict with myself - if it works for me at work, it will work at home too. So there, that's me told! I should really give myself a wage rise for showing some initiative!! Talking of deadlines, this quick update has taken up enough time already, so gotta fly!!! Come back again soon!
Jak xxx

The unloved and forgotten....

Poor ickle bloggy! I've been thinking of you frequently this week but have not had time to wrestle with the unfamiliar software on my new laptop for editing photos etc. However, this should be remedied soon (welcome back photoshop!) once we're all back to normal with work/school/nursery we will take up where we left off. It's funny but I always seem to delude myself about how I will get lots of crafting done while I'm off work but this never seems to happen, especially at Christmas/New Year as there's so much visiting and visitors/other stuff happening and The Girls want to play with their new toys/games too. So, I have made a list of projects I want to start the year off with (I made myself a little book with the binditall Santa brought me - turns out I'd been a good girl after all!) and I'm going to try to refer back to it to keep me on track - if I remember! LOL! First on my list is a memory book of our friends Mike and Sam's wedding. I want it to be quite ornate in a kind of Marion Smith kind of style, but I need to reign in the creativity a bit cos it's about the day/photos not the multitude of embellishments I could throw at it... sometimes I can't stop myself though, heehee.

Hopefully I'll crack on with it....
Happy New Year to you all!
J xxx