Mary McMillan (Glitter Grammy Plays With Paper blog)

Please read this! 


The other day we had our Christmas card to Mary McMillan (USA) returned. In the past she was such a very loyal Playmate, who I assumed had eased off from crafting. This was now the second Christmas I'd heard nothing and naturally, 'being me' decided to play sleuth. But what I found out when I emailed was way beyond my imaginings - just stop right there and please take a look at this:

This is what remained of Mary and Richard's home, after they were caught up in the Camp Fire in Northern California, a year past November. They escaped with only the clothes on their backs, their beloved dog, a folder with important documents in and one vehicle in which to make that escape. Other than that - they were left with absolutely nothing, zilch, nada. Eventually, after months of searching, one of their four cats was located by their son and Freckles is back with them. Who knows what happened to the others though?

I've wept since finding out .......... and been told off by Mary lest we both cause flooding! She and Richard are finally settled into a new home in Illinois - close to some of their family but many miles from friends of many years standing. And I think it must be lonely without them. All of Mary's little crafting group of pals escaped safely but are now scattered in different areas as well.  

I've offered (my idea) to hunt for some precious dies and stamps that Mary lost - although she's very philosophical considering the trauma. Trauma which left her unable to remember how to even make a card, let alone cook a meal. She is slowly getting back on track and happily has joined a local craft group - but imagine losing close contact with so many friends in one fell swoop. And, as she wryly said, 'Well. it solved the problem of who should have what when we're no longer here'.

I also said I'd ask you if any of you have any craft supplies you would like to send to help out. I suspect that Mary would have refused but didn't like to hurt my feelings! I can be a little bit obstinate when faced with certain things!

I'm thinking that Mary can buy new stuff without a problem - but just think that she's lost so many items that can't be replaced. Many are out of production for example. I've had to comb through her blog to get a feeling for what might be suitable to send to her to rebuild her stocks. For instance, I'm desperately hunting for the Memory Box 'Piano Border' die. It's out of production and barring a minor miracle all I can now hope for is that someone, somewhere will sell one to me or even donate their own die. What's one die out of the, probably, hundreds we all have tucked away? EDIT! Huge thanks to Alice who spotted the Memory Box 'Piano Border' die for sale over in the USA! I've nipped in and ordered it, to be delivered straight to Mary's new address. So that's one ticked off the list :)

Mary wrote these words in her most recent email today:

Please tell people I’d really love to receive cards.  As for sharing the story ........ I’d like people to know that when you loose every physical possession, you mourn. But when you loose the close proximity of  your circle of friends, you mourn as though there was a death.  I thank the internet, texting, cell phones, blogs for keeping people in the lives of one another.  I often think of our pioneer days when families moved away, sometimes thousands of miles.  I think how precious every written communication must have been.  I think of how many months passed as people waited to hear about family and friends.  And I see how lucky we are in these modern times.  I hope each and every person takes a minute to hug a fellow crafter.  I hope each person sends a note to someone saying hello, I miss you, or I thank you for being you. It is so very important to keep in touch with others.   On November 7th my friends and I were planning on a craft get together on the following day.  Had we only known what the following morning would bring.    All of us lost our homes and every possession.  But none of us lost our lives.  Not so lucky were 86 others. 

One thing that has astonished me is how only one or two people I know seemed to be aware of all this - and no-one has yet stopped to think what we could do. Or if they did then I'm not aware of that.

Because we CAN do something - trust me! First off we can send Mary a card, be it funny (she has a great sense of humour) or whatever - just to let her know we're thinking of her, we're gonna be the wind beneath her wings to help her on the road to crafting again - or even just to let her know we care and want to help. 

I am happy to accept any donations for Mary from your pre-loved craft stash if you're in the UK (apart from a lorry load of snippets!!) as well as cards of course. Email me if you need either Mary's or my address), I would suggest that you take a look at Mary's blog to get a feel for her 'style' if you're thinking to donate anything. And I would then make up a parcel to send to Mary from the UK. If needs be I can book a flight and nip over with it :) Joke! Do bear in mind weight and size please if you do decide to help out. And please remember, we're trying to help Mary to get back on her feet and also to give her inspiration. If you have anything to donate, then I very politely ask you please to make sure it's useable - if you wouldn't want it as a gift then imagine how bad that might make someone already suffering from such an experience feel. These are my words, nothing of this ilk has come from Mary. I think the greatest gift to her would be our love and to know how much we care - a card is a great way to show this as well as it can be such an inspiration.

If you're in the USA and want to send something to Mary then please drop me an email for her address so you can send to her directly - the same goes with any donations of pre-loved goodies. I've very quickly whipped out one of my most loved stamp sets (my Habico Santa) - plus a new and pre-loved set of SU stamps and dies I've seen Mary using and I know she will do a much better job than me with them.

I thank you so much for reading this far my dear girls - I try hard in this life to make it a happier place, often through the Snippets Playground. And, how wonderful if we can turn all that fun and love we have for our Playground into something so, so positive for Mary. 

Bless you, and thank you, if you read this far. I think you will have - because I know my girls and their kind hearts. Any questions do please email me.


Can I please ask that you contact me via my email address on RHS of my blog page, if you wish to have Mary's address - do not leave just a comment but do follow up with an email please. I can't carry on with noting comments and then flipping around my email searching out your email addresses - it's taking me ages.

Please do carry on - it's just a bit overwhelming today! You darling girls - as always! xx