I am sure all of you would have heard or seen the campaign for ABC – Act Belong Commit…If not, here is a link that will explain what the campaign is about. http://www.actbelongcommit.org.au/about-us/what-is-act-belong-commit.html 

 

ACT states that Mental health is a state of well-being. It’s not just the absence of illness, but also the ability to maintain relationships, cope with stress, contribute to the community and enjoy life.
Unfortunately not everybody experiences good mental health all of the time. In Australia, one in five people will experience some form of mental illness each year. Three out of ten will be seriously affected.
Depression alone is predicted to be the largest health problem globally by 2020. The personal, social and financial costs associated with mental health problems are enormous. In 2007-2008 the Australian Government spent $5.32 billion on mental illness services (Department of Health and Ageing 2010), not including the additional burden of social problems such as substance misuse, violence and crime, absenteeism from work, family and relationship troubles and physical illnesses such as cardiovascular disease. It is clear that interventions are needed to prevent the onset of mental health problems before the situation worsens.
The good news is there are things we all can and should do to promote our mental wellbeing and create a stronger more resilient community.
The campaign is based strongly on the need to belong somewhere and encourages people to join a group, meet with like minded people and commit to going even when you may be feeling down. The main point is that when we feel like we belong somewhere, it changes our outlook and life seems better.
That is what I love about scrapbooking. It doesn’t have to be just about the paper craft itself, but about the sense of community we get when we meet together, the knowing that we belong somewhere. Some people find it easy to engage and to make friends, yet others suffer in silence. I want my shop to be a place where all people from all walks of life will feel valued and accepted right where they are, right now. If you are reading this and don’t belong to any sort of social group, but know that maybe you should, then why not give scrapbooking a go. We hold all sorts of classes, at all different times, with all different budgets in mind and we would love to have you join us. We have a great community feel in our shop and it is one of the things I love the most. We have many customers who will drop in just for a chat, who think of us during the day and stop by with a coffee. We have customers who will lend us craft magazines, or  some will teach US a craft or too or share a technique we haven’t seen before. Some will come in and share what they have been making at home. We get to meet some awesome customers and many become friends, all because we have something in common! Isn’t that great? I love my shop!
So, get busy, get connected, make friends, enjoy life and take some time to scrapbook your memories along the way and have fun doing it. I Hope to see you in store soon.

Genevieve says:
“When I received this Postcard wooden flourish, I thought immediately of my photos of travelling through Nouvelle-Écosse (Canada) a few years ago. My pictures are like postcards, so I have decided to add them to the back of the wooden flourish and create an album! What a great idea!”

“I used different rub ons to make the cover of this album.”

“I hope that you’ll use this idea to keep some of your travel memories! “