Ok, I’ve caught up on a little sleep and have some more pictures and stories to share with you.
I flew to Brisbane last Wednesday and spent the afternoon sightseeing and taking pictures, then I met up with some friends for dinner who I went trekking with in Nepal last year. It was great to catch up with them again, and their new 3 month old baby!
Later that night I met up with the Stamp-It crew, and met Tim & Mario for the first time. Thursday I helped Tim & Mario with their classes, and when I wasn’t busy, I sat down and did the classes myself. So I had fun learning all about alcohol inks, memory glass and Tim’s famous little book of treasures! The last class was booked out, so I didn’t think I’d get to do that one, but Tim insisted I sit in his chair at the front and do the class in front of everyone! Talk about pressure!! But I had heaps of fun, and the ladies in the front row were so kind to me (but maybe that’s cause I had lots more ink pads on my table than they did!! So we all ended up sharing ;)
Then out to dinner at a fab little Japanese restaurant with Tim, Mario, and the rest of the Stamp-It crew. It was a great night!
During the night my throat starting to get really sore, not helped by the hotel’s air conditioning, and there was no switch in the room to turn it off! By the morning, my voice was completely gone. I was devastated to say the least. This is one trip where I didn’t want to get sick, so I drank some honey tea, but nothing seemed to bring it back. It was just all croaky and horrible. Just in time for the start of the show! Argh! How frustrating!
I soldiered on though, and did my demo’s on the Stamp-It stand and managed to answer all the questions and talk through each step. The more I spoke, the better my voice started to sound, so it was a little better by the time I taught the classes in the afternoon. I had a microphone, so at least I didn’t have to try and speak loudly (which is what I needed to do at the demo’s to get just a squeak out of me). I taught 2 classes each day, and the ladies and gents were so enthusiastic! I made them work pretty fast, so it was a real treat to see all their finished projects at the end. I received some great feedback on the classes and the new products! Thankyou to all of you!
By pack up on Sunday, we were all exhausted, and packed up the stand as quick as we could (in the middle of goofing around with more practical jokes). Then after some more food, I took Tim, Mario and Maria with me on a photo shoot around Brisbane. What was supposed to take half an hour ended up taking about 2 hours because we stopped to check out metal sculptures, some Gelatisimo for all of us, and spent ages just walking the streets. It was a fun night!
So then it was time for goodbyes and while I was literally exhausted, it was really sad to say goodbye to everyone knowing we are all jumping on planes to go to all the corners of the country and the globe! Tim gave me a lot of cards, tags and signed a book, and a tag with his address on to keep in touch. (Plus I need to send him some stuff) Hmm, maybe I need to take a trip to Arizona to check out his studio!! Apparently it's HUGEEEEEE!
As for SDU, I didn’t get much of a chance to look around the show since I was so busy, but as I was walking past stands I just saw walls and walls of stamps. I also got to meet so many people from swaps and groups that I’m on, and it was great to put faces to names and get to know people! Thankyou also to those who stopped to talk about my articles in the mags. And to everyone who dropped by my demo’s and classes! I’m sorry my voice wasn’t the best, so I thankyou for your patience and understanding!! Huge thanks also to all the Stamp-It crew who are fantastic as always!! And a special thanks to Tim & Mario for making SDU so fun.
So all in all, I had a great time! Glad to be home now though and back with the family :)
