[MODEL MADHOUSE] The Grace Tales X Pandora Jewellery

….luckily, by 18 months Valentina was sleeping well passed 5am which gave Isabella, my amazing magician of a make up artist, enough time to fix me up before the tiny tornado awoke from her slumber. Our call time was 7am at Watsons Bay Hotel, so the plan was to leave by 6:30. It’s only a 10 minute drive but…toddlers. As the clock ticked closer to the hour sleeping beauty was no closer to rising. That dreaded feeling of knowing I would have to break the cardinal rule, never to wake a sleeping child, loomed over me. Isabella headed to Watson’s Bay ahead of me and I was left to tip toe into the lions den. “Knock, knock.”

Boom! Up she sprung like a meerkat. Hair a beautiful dark, curly mop, sleepy eyes full of excitement and a smile from ear to ear, “Mummy!” Ok, this was a good start. Having already packed the nappy bag and a cart load of snacks all that was left to do was dress her and head out the door. We reached the hotel by 7:10am, which considering I had to wrangle a small human with a huge personality I’d say is pretty good going. This is where I met the amazing Georgie Abay, creator of The Grace Tales. With a big beaming smile she greeted me as if we’d known each other for years and being a mother herself was extremely patient and understanding of Valentina, who when asked to change her nappy and put on her first outfit decided dancing in front of the mirror and manhandling the glassware were much more appropriate activities. We eventually made it out the door with 5 outfit changes for me, 2 for Valentina and a stash of very expensive Pandora jewellery and headed to the tranquil Camp Cove beach.

Why oh why oh why had I never been to this beach before??? I’m in two minds about whether or not I should tell you all how perfectly stunning it is, however, I’m pretty sure I’m the only person in Sydney who didn't know this already. With the most picture postcard beach cafe, strewn with hanging baskets full of oranges and lemons and the cutest wicker chairs, it was an idyllic hidden (or not so hidden as I’d soon discover) corner of Sydney. Basking in those early morning rays it made waking up at 5am totally worth it.

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Using Mother Natures globe and a black back drop, Julie Adams our very talented photographer, didn't need much to create the serene, effortless shots for the magazine. It was the contrast of the natural setting with bold, punchy outfits and statement accessories (including Valentina) that made for a classic Aussie Christmas shoot.

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Now they say never work with children but when you have four mothers on set how hard could it be? Let’s just say never underestimate the strength and stubbornness of an 18 month old. It took a lot of bribing to keep this one on set, mainly in the form of Isabella’s poor make up kit. With promises of doing her lipstick and eyeshadow it seemed this was the only way to coax her into my arms and “pose” for the camera. Once Valentina happily obliged to having her photo taken our second challenge was trying to showcase the Pandora jewellery without bringing it to Valentina’s attention. Of course her sticky little fingers wanted a piece of the action so it was all hands on deck as everyone banded together behind the camera, singing and clapping and making general fools of themselves in order to grab her attention away from the tens of thousands of dollars worth of diamonds. You can imagine this would have been quite a sight.

Speaking of sights to see, ever seen a 34 weeks pregnant woman squeezing her ginormous milk boobies and bulging tummy into ballgowns, sequin tops and gold pleated skirts on the beach, while only mildly managing to conceal her modesty. Well those lucky folks that Friday morning sure did. As a model we are often required to get changed in the most curious of places, think the back of a truck, a cleaning cupboard, a public toilet, behind a tree or a car park. You begin to worry less and less about flashing your bits as it’s all just part of the job. Being naked becomes less sexual and more a necessity to get the job done. Especially being pregnant, I felt more beautiful and natural in my naked self than ever before and it felt kinda freeing. Just for the record I wasn’t totally butt naked, my nude coloured undies and bra covered all my important parts.

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I’ve always loved the opportunity to shoot with Valentina, as well as pocketing some much needed money, it’s also a wonderful way of getting beautifully, styled, lit and crafted photos that I’ll keep forever as a memory of her growing up. Luckily this kid, for the most part, loves the camera so not all shots were of the back of head as pictured above. However, her patience began to run thin and with Isabella having to dash off to another shoot it was the ultimate in multitasking. With Valentina deciding to strip off to work on her tan and head rather enthusiastically towards anything that screamed danger (think the ocean, a steep wooden staircase, craggy rocks, holes in the sand and hot coffee) it was a case of smiling towards the camera whilst keeping the eyes open in the back of my head. Because as we all know mums seem to miraculously grow a pair after childbirth.

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It really was an amazing morning, one of those jobs which felt more like dress ups at the beach. Little did I know it would also be my last day of shooting with my beautiful bump as baby number two (now known as Siddy) decided to come one week later, which turned out to be five weeks early. Sadly it meant giving up a few great maternity shoots but you know what, I’m kind of glad I ended my maternity shoot run with this one. I couldn’t have asked for my final days of pregnancy to be captured more perfectly.