The Queensland Flood Disaster

I'm sure everyone is aware of the terrible flood disaster in Queensland. Many Australian sellers on etsy are working together to try and raise funds to help those affected by the disaster, and there are lots of ways you can help- either by donating an item, buying some cool stuff with the proceeds being donated to the flood relief fund, or by helping to spread the word about these efforts.

The Australian Etsy DUST team has established a shop taking donations from sellers all over the world, with all funds (minus etsy and PayPal fees) to be donated to the Queensland Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal (over $2500 has been raised already). There are new goodies being added all the time, but you have to be quick before someone else snaps them up because things are selling quickly! You can visit the ausdisasterrelief shop on etsy here.

Some of my favourites from the shop:
Swoon Bracelet by SavageKitten

Alien Nation Coinpurse by MsPIGGii

Visual Journal Slip Cover by iheartcharlie

The Queensland BrisStyle team has also launched a Handmade Ark Flood Appeal, where participating members are donating proceeds from their sales. You can find out info and browse the lovely things for sale via the team's blog- they have raised over $1300 already!

Picks from the Handmade Ark Appeal:


Follow Your Heart Garland by LittleMaryMoo

Banana Cupcake Soap by warmsigh

Jeffrey by WildChildDesigns

There are also other ways to donate- you can contribute directly to the Premier's Relief appeal here.

Also, the RSPCA has asked for help, as their Fairfield Shelter has been severely damaged (see below). Unfortunately the shelter can't receive disaster relief funds needed for human welfare, so they are relying on donations to rebuild the facility. If you would like to donate, please visit their website for details. All of the animals have had to go into temporary foster care because the housing and equipment has been destroyed.

Beautiful Rescue Cats #1

I recently visited the Newtown Cat Protection Society shelter in Sydney as a volunteer to take some pictures of the kitties looking for new homes. I thought I'd share the cute here in a series of blog posts and hopefully help spread the word in case anyone's looking for a new friend.






Tinkerbell has finally found a home after having a difficult time when her owner passed away and experiencing serious health issues.




(people watching in Newtown)

If you would like to adopt a cat or kitten, or perhaps become a volunteer, you can find out more about the Cat Protection Society at http://www.catprotection.org.au. You can also become a fan of their facebook page here. I'm sure any tweets, facebook posts etc would also be appreciated!

My 'Hearts for Haiti' Etsy Purchases

HeartsForHaiti is a collective Etsy shop with all profits being donated to Doctors Without Borders. All items within the store have been donated by etsians from all around the world. Close to $30,000 has been raised so far!!


I just wanted to share two sweet things that I purchased from the shop (in case you'd like to visit and buy something cute too!)

Sterling Silver Heart Earrings by brightsmith
(more pairs of these earrings are available- I ♥ them!)

Sweet Wool Felted Valentine Mouse by eveslittleearthlings
(these are very cute- I ended up coming back to buy another one!)

Blue September- Men's Cancer Month

This month is 'Blue September', and is dedicated to raising awareness of male cancer.

"Men are almost 40% more likely than women to die from cancer, according to a report published...by the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) and Cancer Research UK together with the Men’s Health Forum to mark National Men’s Health Week. And they are 16% more likely to develop the disease in the first place. After excluding breast cancer and cancers specific to one or other sex from the analysis, the difference is even greater – with men being almost 70% more likely to die from cancer and over 60% more likely to develop the disease."
Source: Men's Health Forum www.menshealthforum.org.uk


Blue September is a campaign run in Australia and New Zealand, and is intended to raise awareness of the high cancer rates and cancer mortality rates in males, and also to encourage preventative measures. The campaign is associated with Cancer Council Australia, and the Blue September website can be found at http://au.blueseptember.org.
. . .

It's great to see that attempts are being made to raise funds and draw more attention to male health issues, which in my opinion are often seriously neglected. Of course, continued campaigning and support for breast cancer research etc are also essential, but something also needs to be done to increase awareness of some of the serious health issues facing Australian males.

As well as Blue September, keep an eye out for Movember, an event focusing mainly on prostate cancer and depression in men- did you know that men are 4 times more likely to commit suicide than women, and that as many men die from prostate cancer each year as women from breast cancer?
Source: www.movember.com