I’ve always liked writing letters and sending postcards. I think it is tied back to a trip my Nana and Fardy took to England when I was a child. I loved the postcards they sent home. I particularly loved the ones that were addressed just to me. Not my brothers, not my mum and dad, just to me.

I’ve never forgotten how lovely it is to receive something in the post with your name on it. And it gets even better if it’s handmade. Making something for someone is a gesture of love. It’s a way for me to hug someone from afar, to let them know they’re important to me. And in times of a pandemic, when I can’t show people love through food, when we can’t get together around a long table in the sunshine, then, for me a handmade card in the post is as close as I can get to that gesture.

It’s a simple pleasure, that’s rewarded when I see those cards in the homes of friends and family.

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This year with COVID-19, a steady stream of cards have been crossing the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. And right now, Christmas cards are in postwoman’s satchel, bouncing down the street and being slipping into letterboxes in Denmark, England, France, USA and Australia.

I couldn’t make Christmas cards last year because of the bushfires but this year I wanted to show how resilient we’ve all been this year. So I created cards of a burnt out stick, a scorched Christmas tree decorated with a star and baubles, to show that despite everything we have the ability to shine on.

If you are like me, far from friends and family, cut-off from people that mean the most to you by the global pandemic, it’s important to remember that you are loved. You make someone feel lovely. And to shine on!