Scrapbookers - imagine the worst

Two things haunt the nightmares of those who scrapbook - fire and flood.


In 2009, many Australian families lost everything to bush fires.

Emerald, Queensland - where my friend and her daughter live

Right now, large parts of Australia are under water from massive flooding. I have friends living in these areas and was saddened to read this email from one:

"Today has been a funny sort of day. With the water up still no cleaning up can be done but we were a bit cut off from things as intersections around us are blocked with water. We tried to get to R's to see how it fared but couldn't get there on the bike but someone gave us a lift over the worst intersection and we got to the top of her street. The water was very deep - waist high perhaps - at the entry to her street and two low set houses inundated. Couldn't really see her place and couldn't get into her street.

What a scrapbooker's stash
can look like after a flood - source 

We walked back up this afternoon and managed to get to her house. She has about 7 inches of water through the downstairs (which is garage). Wheelie bins knocked over. We had moved her car around to our place, had picked up her dryer and cardboard box with her grandmothers wedding china in it, mower and thought everything else would be okay. Well.... I hadn't seen her box of scrap booking stuff on the ground or her little wheelie bag. The bag will dry out but all her scrap book paper is wet. We spread it out all through her house upstairs and hope that it will dry out okay... or at least that some of it will be usable. I feel so awful that I missed it. Really feel like I let her down.

Buddies I wonder if I could ask for your help here. Her birthday is in early February. I wondered if my dear buddies would make me feel better about letting her down by sending R some scrap booking stuff. Just some paper... nothing huge. I know that many of you have expressed a feeling of helplessness being so far away to see what we are going through. We haven't really suffered at all... bit of inconvenience. But R has lost all her paper I I feel like it is my fault. She had a packet of velum and it is now all wrinkled up... interesting effect but not quite what it was supposed to look like.

If you want to do this for R then could you send it by the 6th February. Please wrap it up and send her a card with it (or a note) So that she knows that people all over Australia care about her and what has happened to her. If you want to send it to me here I will keep it all for her and give it to her .. or you can send it to her at  _. If you have your own stock of scrapbooking stuff then just send her a page or 2.

D went to a meeting today at the council chamber as the rep for the UCA. He is going to be involved in meetings from now on. We will probably help them open the Lifeline Shop tomorrow. We will go back to R's when the water goes down and clean it up and then will help where ever else help is needed..

Tonight we took up some glow sticks to the children who have been evacuated. They were showing a movie tonight at one of the evac centres - Toy Story 3. Then they will get the glow sticks. They were leftovers from the Carol's service in early Dec and our minister left them for us to give kids on Christmas Day but we only had a few so we took the left overs up. Hope the kids enjoy them"

Rockhampton - where other friends live

How awful for my friend. In the grand scheme of things, it is a trivial thing, nothing compared to what others have lost. Yet it is one thing I can do something about. I am sending a package of scrapbooking love to her daughter and asking my scrapper friends to do so if they can. I am hoping we get far more than R could ever use - enough to share with scrap bookers throughout the flooded regions.

If you would like to help, leave a comment and I will reply privately with the postal details.