What a crazy busy week (month) I’m having!!!  Between my photography business blossoming quickly and the continual building of Budget Scrapbooking, I’ve barely had a moment to scratch myself.  Not that I’m complaining, it’s fabulous.  All of it.  Okay most of it.  The mother/wife/worker balance hasn’t quite found it’s place yet, still working on it, well fumbling along actually but confident it will happen.  Someday.  Surely.

Suz and I have been back from the Melbourne Quilt and Craft Fair for about a week and heading off to Canberra on Wednesday for the Quilt and Craft Fair there taking Budget Scrapbooking to the ACT. Melbourne was an adventure let me tell you.  I thought it’d be pretty boring since it’s our home turf but nope!

It started with a long day setting up at the Exhibition Centre in Southbank, right on the Yarra.  I never get tired of that scummy old river :)  We joked about needing a wine at the end of the day, we discussed it was a no-go since I had to drive to the hotel, we joked about the likelihood of being breath-tested was low, but we were kidding, I’d never drink and drive, anyone who knows me knows I LOATHE drink drivers but OF COURSE I was RANDOMLY pulled over around the corner by the police, breath tested, license checked etc - lolololol…. I guess we put it out there.

Following that adventure was the “adventure of finding the hotel, finding the damn parking, finding it was full, later being told it wasn’t - ARGH!  But in the end, we made it there.  But we had no change for trading the next day.  We’d missed the bank.  So off to the Casino we went.  After dinner and drinks we tried to get change.  They only give certain change for the machines.  Grr…we had to change $100 at a time in $1 coins - YES all 100 of them in our handbags!  Lucky we have a sense of humour.  And that Crown Casino has plenty of bars and food to soften the experience……:D

The fair was AMAZING, so much talent, such a huge mix of crafts and gorgeous talented people with gobsmacking samples.  I wanted EVERYTHING.  I learned how to felt with wet wool, I took the workshop and made this:

Suz made one too.  In her colours though.  I attached the buttons from my stash and stitched it to a hair pin.  Kind of blends into my hair though….The rest of our days in Melbourne looked a bit like this.  I didn’t take many photos, too busy I guess……

Admittedly I’m getting too old for multiple nights of partying and pubbing but I managed and that’s all that matters right?  Actually I had fun catching up with an old friend and a new one.  And so incredibly grateful to these two for their tireless enthusiasm helping us on our long day, Saturday.  And the food they brought and the coffee they made us…and the bracelets they bought….there were multiple stalls of fake Pandora beads.   They blame me for their bracelets.  Suz did too.  NOT MY FAULT - lol….

I arrived there with about 5 beads on my fake Pandora that I love to bits and left with it looking like this.  And I have spare beads. And a full pink one for Maddy.

I love that little red piggy-tail cherub, reminds me so much of my Maddy-Moo.

I had some major drama though.  Ugh it could only happen to me.  Or maybe Suz.  But in this case I was alone!  We stayed at the Batman’s Hill On Collins.  Accommodation was “okay”.  I’m still annoyed that we went to the car park and the sign said it as full but it wasn’t.  Grr.  The room was okay, nothing flash but okay enough.  The bathroom however smelt bad.  We assumed the room had maybe been closed up for a bit.  The smell faded and we thought nothing of it.

The first morning we’re ready to head off to the Fair and I turned the heating fan down.  Well, I was standing at the door under the heating/cooling unit and the filthy lint from the back of the unit snowed down on me.  EW, yuck, disgusting.  Not a huge deal but yuck.

Next night Suz headed off to her night out and I was on the phone when I heard a strange running water sound coming from the bathroom.  In a pair of tights only, no shoes I ran into the bathroom to be greeted with brown scum and filth and water FLOODING out of the drain in the floor.  I JUST rescued my camera bag from the carpet in our room, the water flooded our room, the bathroom and kitchenette and the hallway and talk about STINK.  And I had walked in it to rescue Suz’s makeup bag from the floor.  I called reception and they’d “send someone up” .  I waited and waited and my “help” opened the door and dry-retched and I was TRAPPED in the filth and stink not to mention being past my ankles in the crap.

They left me there for ages and eventually I called to find out what was going on.  The manager told me to go down and get a key to a new room.  WTF?  I said I couldn’t get out!  Grrr…waiting waiting…I gave up and walked back through the stench, in only my tights and went downstairs to demand some help.  I’m quite agreeable and they were NO help.  The filth even flooded part of their restaurant, surely the enormity of the situation could have been realised by then!

The manager said I could wait at reception.  WTF?  My room was still flooding.  For goodness’ sake, I almost “lost” it and the helper realised and said he’d get our stuff out asap.  So I had to pack our entire room quickly while he carried our stuff out dragging some of it THROUGH the scum and rancid water.  I took the milk out of the fridge, he sat it on top of my case which also had my clothes for that night on top and it SPILLED all over my case.  I can admit after working a VERY long day on minimal sleep with the worst hangover I’d had in ages, it was at that point that I cracked.  I cried - duh, I’m not a crier.  Blah.  Poor dude didn’t know what to do then….he tried to help.  He was crap.  he tried to make up our new beds.  He was crap.  He replaced our milk.  It was crap.  Sigh….they did however upgrade our room to the top floor with a balcony which meant we got fresh air and a view that looked like this:

Nice.  Least they could do really. Yuck.  And after some argument they wiped my car parking fee.  Still slugged us for room service and internet.  Not happy.  Would I recommend them?  NO!  I only had to get #$%^&* room service because it was so late by the time I got cleaned up and was heading out.  Because of the drama it was after 10pm before I left and met my friend.  Sigh…I can laugh about it.  Sort of.

Overall we were really well received at the Fair, worked HEAPS and ended up exhausted, met some amazing gorgeous people, got told we were the best scrapbookers in the world (how cute is that?) Glimmermist demonstrated to death and had a ball!

Since I’ve been back I’ve been flat out photo editing and shooting.  I even booked  a wedding while waiting in the toilet queue in Melbourne - lol!  I’ve just done the second shooting for Zeve also creating DVDs etc for the Melbourne Fashion Expo.  So exciting!  It was just a little shoot this time, here’s a few of my faves…

And here’s a few from a shoot I did last month.  Most gorgeous family, so much love

Speaking of family love, my going away has not been SO bad although I had tears on the phone from Madeleine saying she just wanted to cuddle me goodnight.  Sigh….it breaks me :(  Then she told me on the weekend that she wants me to quit my job so I can stay home and I don’t have to go away anymore because, “I just miss you so much Mummy especially when I go to bed and you don’t cuddle me..”  Aaaaaw it kills me :(  So in some attempt to leave a little of me with her, I sewed this for her on Sunday - Bella-Boo..

The pattern is from the Kaleidoscope Book by Melly and Me.  I bought the book at the Craft Fair because I wanted to make the toadstool backpack on the cover for Maddy-Moo.  Apparently it’s for babies - hmph!  Having said that though she ADORES Bella-Boo and the bunny hasn’t left her side since I woke her up at 2am Sunday morning to give it to her.  Bella-Boo even went to school today.  Bella-Boo will give Maddy hugs when Mummy is away working and since I made it, it’s full of my love.  Maddy tells me that Bella-Boo loves Bratz but chats too much when it’s bedtime!  Just love that imagination, it reminds me that although toadstool backpacks are for babies, my baby isn’t TOO grown-up yet.  She also said she will cuddle Bella-Boo when she misses me and she will feel better.  Here’s hoping….

Most of my scrapping lately has been for Budget Scrapbooking but i can show you this one for Aussie Scrap Source.  Part of the words and colours inspiration challenge.  I was set this colour scheme and the word “believe”

Here was my take on it -

I love that little note that Maddy wrote for me, it HAD to be scrapped immediately!

Alexander has been fabulous, kicking butts at basketball and loving it, Lego obsessed and driving me mad with constant chatter about Lego this and Star Wars that…there’s only so much I can nod in the right place to honestly….gotta love it.

I’m pretty sure I’ve been sitting here too long, my butt hurts.  Or that could be the sore muscles from yoga this week…anyway I will leave this post here (sorry Leesa will do the blog love next time) and if you’re in Canberra at the Quilt and Craft Fair, PLEASE stop by and say hello!!!

Nic