I have been living in a world of my own this week! Firstly, I was extremely stressed out about going back to university - it is such a big step and to be perfectly honest I knew deep down that there was no way I was going to be able to hack it at the moment. Last time I tried to go back I got soooo exhausted and so ill I have been worrying myself sick. Anyway, I went last Friday to enrol and I just walked away. It is just not the right time for me and I don't want to stress myself out that much.

Charlotte is still enjoying her first weeks at school, although she is coming home daily with plasters on her knees because she is so clumsy and always falling over. The other day she came out with THREE plasters on her knees!!



I have been doing my layout for the next class over at Bad Girls. It is all done, but I am so unsure of it this week that I haven't uploaded it to the gallery yet. I like it but the scan just doesn't show it off very well. I am very nervous this week. Anyway, here it is, I am going to upload it in a minute anyway.



I still have to do my layout for Mojo Holder this week so I may get that done this evening, but I need to stop before 'Heroes' is on as I don't want to miss that, I love it.

Well, I must go and get my groceries from Tesco.com so they can be delivered before the weekend! I don't want Mark and the kids to starve while I go swanning off to the craft show at Westpoint, Exeter on Sunday :o)

I uploaded my entry for Class 2 of the Top Designer contest over at Bad Girls this morning and when I got back from university (just went for pre-enrolment session) I had loads of comments! It makes me feel all happy lol.

The class was to create a layout with texture and dimension which is exactly the kind of layout that I love :) This was my entry:

Sugar and Spice

Close Up


The black paint does go all the way around the edge of the cardstock but I couldn't get it in the picture. I have just got to wait until Friday now to see if I get through to the next round. Either way I can't wait to see what the next class is :o)

Back to uni! I only went for pre-enrolment and it just brought it all back to me and what hard work it is going to be - to be honest I am terrified! Why can't I get paid to scrap? Then I wouldn't have to go back. Even better do you think a computing degree would accept and exceptional layout instead of a final project, or maybe a little bit of cross stitch for the examiners home?? mmm I didn't think so!

Wow, you should see the layouts the DT created over at Mojoholder this week, they are amazing. I did this one of Hong Kong. Mark and I lived there for a while when we first got married.



The midweek challenge this week was my class for this layout so if you want to have a go get over there and get the class instructions.



Charlotte had her first ballet class yesterday morning and she seemed to really enjoy it so it cost Mark a small fortune to buy the ballet shoes, socks, leotard and little net skirt. I can't wait to see her in it all but the leotard and skirt are on order so I won't be doing any layouts just yet! She has to practice 'the pony' this week before her next class, I don't think she really knows what it is because she just seems to be jumping around with no co-ordination :) As long as she is enjoying herself, that is fine.

After ballet we all went swimming and then ate out for our dinner so it was a lovely day.

I got through to the second round of the Top Designer contest on the Bad Girls forum so I now need to do the second class that went live on Friday. I think I have an idea of what to do but I just can't find a suitable photograph!!! I need to get cracking on this as I hate to leave it to the last minute.

I need to go into university tomorrow for pre-enrolement - scary!

So the Top Designer competition went live over on the Bad Girls forum and I just had to take part. I haven't got a chance of winning but the first class was great so it will be lovely to take part and probably learn some great design techniques instead of shuffling paper around the page until it 'looks right' lol.

This is the layout that I have done for the first class which is 'Colour Theory'. I choose the bright orange to represent the heat of the beach and Charlotte's bubbly personality. I was particularly proud of the acetate hearts which I made myself from a clear sheet of acetate which I inked and then stamped on.





I was playing around with HDR techniques in photoshop the other day. Whilst photoshop isn't the best programme to achieve good results with this I was really pleased with the resulting image of a rainbow over Weymouth that I took whilst we were on holiday in August. Here are the before and after pictures.



Well, the kids have gone to school today and Charlotte gets to stay an extra hour for the next two weeks before she goes full time! It is her first day of staying at school for dinner so I expect most of her packed lunch will come back home with her. Every morning after the bell goes the children line up on the playground and they school play music and some children stand and demonstrate a dance that the other children participate in. It is called 'Wake Up, Shake Up' and it is great. Ben has never taken part he just stands like a statue in the line. Today was Charlotte's first experience of this and it was sooooo cute. She was dancing away in her line, copying the older childrens moves - she looked gorgeous - bless her little heart. She loves to dance. We are going to put her in ballet class soon, we have just found a Saturday morning class nearby so I am going to contact them about it :o)

Have a good day everyone.

Ben and Charlotte have been really enjoying their first week back at school. I think that they really NEED to go to school after such a long break - they miss it.

I have been scrapping over the last couple of days. I did a layout yesterday which I can't show here because it is an upcoming Wednesday class on Mojoholder. I will let you know when the class is online but for the moment here is a sneaky peak of it!



Today I have been getting some washing done and having a bit of a tidy up. Mind you there wasn't much to tidy because although I planned to sit and do nothing the day the kids went back to school I actually gutted the house and cleaned right through (even sweeping up the front and back garden) - I was shattered at the end of the day lol.

This afternoon Mark had an afternoon off but he has gone to play golf so I had a little play and made a mini maze book. It is so cute - only 2" square. I made it by using a piece of 8" x 8" double sided Scenic Route patterned paper (cardstock weight) to make the book instead of a piece of 12" x 12" cardstock.





Mark and I are on a bit of a healthy eating drive at the moment and I want to make some kind of chicken and vegetable risotto for tea so I am off the browse the net for a recipe now. I will probably end up making it up in the end! I hope it is edible lol.

Ben was back to school today and it was Charlotte's first day of school ever! She didn't want to wear her uniform, she didn't like her shoes and she refused to have her hair done! She was not happy about having her photograph taken this morning either! Little madam. Anyway, I took her to her classroom as it was her first day and she saw her best friend Faith and that was that - she was happy to stay. She is only half days for the first three weeks and then she goes full time so I picked her up and 12.20 and she absolutely loved it. She didn't stop yapping about it all the way home. When we got home she started being very bossy - is this what she has learnt already?









Now she is sat quiet as a mouse doing her jigsaws - bless my little schoolgirl.

I am picking Ben up in 45 minutes and I hope he has had a nice first day in Year 1.

Well Ben and Charlotte go back to school tomorrow. Well, actually Charlotte starts school tomorrow so I have spent this morning ironing 12 white shirts and countless skirts, pinafores, trousers and jumpers! Also name tagging everything as I went. Nothing like leaving it to the last minute, after all I have only had six weeks to get this all sorted out lol. I went into town this afternoon as I needed to get their gym kits so everything is sorted out now.

I also bought a laminator today. I don't know why really, I just wanted one lol. It is only a cheapo one from Wilkinsons, it cost £9 and it works fine! I tried it out by laminating a spiderman sticker to put on Ben schoolbag - Charlotte's bag is going to be exactly the same as they get them given to them by the school on their first day. I will laminate something for Charlotte when she get's hers tomorrow.

Talking of reading, I finished One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson the other day and I totally loved it, I think I will be seeking out another book of hers to read soon. I am reading Fallen Angel now, there was a drama on tv recently which was based on part of this book. I enjoyed the drama but this book is a trilogy and I think the ITV drama was only based on the first book in this omnibus.

I must say, I can't wait until I get home after dropping the kids off at school tomorrow morning. I am going to make myself a proper coffee and sit and read my book or watch telly all morning. I just can't wait for some absolute peace and quiet! I say this but I will probably just wonder around the house tidying up and wondering where everyone is.

I finished this layout last night. I love the cheerfulness of it. I really enjoyed making it and I think it shows!



The photo of me laying down opens out to reveal the following journaling:

"Mark always used to sing J Lo’s ‘Don’t be fooled by the rocks that you’ve got’ to me when it came out but he used to sing ‘Don’t be fooled by the rocks I haven’t got, I’m still, I’m still Sarah from West Park’.

West Park is where my Mum lives and where I grew up but we have bought a house across the road from my childhood home and so I still live in West Park.

When Mark bought me a pair of Crocs this year he started to sing ‘Don’t be fooled by the Crocs that I’ve got’.

I just had to record it!

These photographs were taken whilst laying in a field at the China Fleet Club in Saltash one beautiful summer day in 2007. We had an awful summer and it was such a shock to see such beautiful blue skies that I was laying on my back with my feet in the air and thought what a great (if strange!) photo it would be."

I used loads of watercolour paints and tons of texture. My sister gave me the 'Follow Your Dreams' charm a couple of days ago and it goes perfectly with this layout as this was the day I decided to go back to university to finish my degree.

Well all my work for next issue of Craft Life & Home magazine is winging it's way to Scrapgenie! I hope they like it. I got a little bit carried away with all the lovely stash they sent me and did a little bit more than my commission asked for so I hope they can use it all :)

I also did this layout for Mojoholder this week. All I can say is wow, you really need to check the site out this week as the DT have come up with some amazing layouts based on a lovely layout by Cheryl Mezzetti. If you want to take part this week don't forget to link your layouts in our comments section, they will then be added to the readers gallery and you will then be in with a chance of winning a RAK each month.

My Layout

Cheryl Mezzeti's Layout

I am concerned that readers don't really know what Mojoholder is all about! We are an inspiration blog and by this I mean you use the layout of the week or one of the DT's layouts as a springboard for your creativitly. There is no need to scraplift entirely you can just use the layouts as inspiration and take one or two elements from it to create your layout. For instance, this week I took Cheryl's use of an overlay and the her flowers as inspiration. Notice that I didn't use a circlular frame as Cheryl did. Actually I used one of Kirsty Wiseman's fab free digital overlays which I changed the colour of in Photoshop. I resized the overlay to 8" x 8" so that I could print it onto an A4 transparency. I made the acetate flower by drawing around the Queen & Co large plastic flower and cutting out, the pink edging is pebeo volume touch and the center of the flower is a pom pom cut off some Rusty Pickle Grinch-Mas trim. Anyhow, have a go it really will get your mojo up and running :o)

I also did this layout this week. I wasn't sure about it really it was a very quick one but when I put it in my album it looks really striking so I am pleased with it now.



I am half way through another layout and I am going to finish that one today, it is one I have been wanting to do for ages but I just needed to get the appropriate photographs for it so I am excited about getting it done.

Mark has just gone off to play golf and I think I need to to make sure all of Charlotte's school uniform has name tags in it as my baby girl starts school on Tuesday!! I can't believe it.



I am really enjoying Cheryl Johnson's photograph course, it is great fun and really gets you thinking about different ways to use your camera. I am still taking part in HS:MS too but not everyday at the moment because I just don't seem to have the time. However, I will be doing the new challenge they have set to take your self portrait every Saturday because I think it will be great to have weekly photographs of yourself so you can see how you change over time! I do have a separate blog for my HS:MS photos which is Sarah and the Camera but for those of you who don't visit that one here is this weeks Self Portrait which was taken yesterday with my self timer. The colour didn't come out very well so I altered the levels in Photoshop and then applied a couple of free actions to get the different effects. If you want to know which actions go to Sarah and the Camera.