HELP WANTED

Seems like I'm the person "с обострённым чувством пунктуальности". Not. On the very second day of my promise to post every day this week, I screwed up. Seriously, my head and thoughts were here, but the opportunity wasn't. Sorry girls.

There was a page I made months ago but never shared it here because it was one of those "silent" pages. I was caught up in the design and playing with pretty papers that when the time came to add the journaling, I was lost at where to put it. That was before I started taking Ali Edward's "Storyology" class. Now I really try to think about my stories ahead of time. I can't add a page to my album without a story, it just doesn't feel right. I need your help with where to put it. Here's the page:

I cut out the letter L with my silhouette and used the negative piece. I saw this idea on Jennifer Gallacher's layout and always wanted to try it:

There's not a whole lot of journaling, but this page needs a story about their love. Should I add a pocket? Add journaling right on top of the page? Place it on the back of the layouts? Or redo the whole page? What would you do? I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thank you and I'll see you soon!

Very "Pinteresting"...

Hi! I seem to find myself browsing through pictures every Sunday morning, when I get to stay home alone with my little ones. Looking through last few folders, I realized that some of the photos were affected by Pinterest. Mostly in a good way, like this one:

 

We were having so much fun on the fourth of July, that I didn't even take a single photo that day... Doesn't sound like me, I know. But seeing a few patriotic photos on Pinterest, I decided to photograph our kids on July fifth. No one should know it wasn't the fourth, right? And if I didn't write about it here, you would've not known either. 

I asked all of the kids to wear red, white and blue for a photoshoot. Well,... they did, but in their own interpretation. You should have seen their outfits... They reminded me of a Lady Gaga style. Pretty scary. At least they seemed to have so much fun dressing up. No, I'm not going to post that photo here. I told them, I don't want to scare my precious visitors away.

So, last week Suzanna made a pull apart bread (recipe found on Pinterest) which smelled so good that we started pulling it apart before even taking a photo of it:

 

We are definitely making it again! It was SO good - with garlic, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Alena found this tasty salad, that was a perfect addition to our dinner:

 

Loved dried cranberries in it! And for me - anything with avocado sounds good, so that was a very pleasing combination. I guess we are making that for the next time someone comes over. But if you want to bring something like this -

 - you are always invited! That was my sister's work of art. It. Was. So. Good. Crunchy edges, chewy center, caramel drizzle on top and fresh raspberries...

So, going back to other pictures I found... These looked very Pinteresting:

 

I let my kids join the Pinterest site and they have a lot of hairstyle ideas pinned there. It seems like it comes useful sometimes. Aaand, looking at the following combination of photos, you can guess what else they have been pinning a lot. A lot, a lot. 

 

They thought it was fun to try on all if those (there were more) shoes and take pictures of each other at the store... I guess Pinterest can have both positive and not so positive affects on people. At least, there are some big plans for more cooking. They love to try new recipes, and I love when someone else takes turn creating in the kitchen.

Oh, and before I go, I need to share one more picture... It's also features a hair style. It is a very unique one though - even Pinterest doesn't have one like this...

It was specially designed with the help of trampoline and photographed by older sister. Don't you think that the facial expression of this little model goes well with her hair style? I think it does. 

I'm up for the challenge - a post every day this week! Let's see if we can do that...

I hope you are having a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow!

Feeling thankful...

Every day of this week I was noticing blessings and was feeling thankful for them. You don't have to wait til November to celebrate Thanksgiving. You can celebrate it in your heart anytime, any day or rather EVERY DAY.

Thankful for having a blueberry field right around the corner...

 

Thankful that kids love berry picking (even though some pick them from the bucket)...

Thankful, that the person who was selling the house, we wanted to buy originally, didn't except our offer, otherwise we would've never found this place we love SO very much...

Thankful for quite mornings like this one, when older kids enjoy reading Bible with their cousins... 

 Thankful for those happy and sweet smiles...

Thankful for lazy days of summer and that we can spend them together...

Thankful that my bed is softer than Suzanna's at the moment...

 Thankful for seven hundred sixty fourth time that we live next door to my sister's family...

 Thankful for precious moments like this one...

 Thankful for a wonderful husband and a loving father...

Thankful for our sweet little baby...

 

Thankful for the flowers - one of the amazing creations of our Heavenly Father...

 Thankful for Pinterest and all the great ideas you can find there, including this recipe... Thankful that my children are old enough to bake all kind's of delicious stuff... (not so thankful for eating to much of it)...

Thankful for this day. Thankful that there's something to be thankful for every single day!

p.s. Haven't created anything yet, except Thank You cards. Partially because I was sleep deprived most of the time and also because I was afraid. (just like driving for the first time after having a baby... it's just the way my body responds, I guess) Afraid to screw up or do something wrong and I don't want that to affect the way I feel about this hobby. Have been making page after page in my head... does anyone know how to export those files onto paper now?

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to be back soon!

Наше благословение

Прежде всего хочется сказать - Слава Богу за его милость, благословение и подарочек которым он пополнил нашу семью! Сердце преисполненно благодарностью за то, как чудно Он всё устроил и за здоровенького сынулю! Спасибо также вам, друзья и родственники, за вашу поддержку в молитвах, посещения, звонки, поздравления, пожелания, гостинцы и подарки! За то, что окружили нас своей заботой, вниманием и цветами!

Наше маленькое чудо в белой обвёрточке:

 

Ещё раз всем спасибо и Божиих вам благословений!

Welcome SUMMER!

Hello friends! For those who are wondering - yes, I'm still here at home... We are enjoying our first day of summer together. The weather is perfect and having kids home without a thought of homework is great! They deserve a break after a year of hard work.

 

 

If you know me, you probably know how much I love pictures! And for that reason I love Project Life jest as much:)) How else would you remember the happiness on their faces on the last day of school?... Yeah, I might be just one mom in the neighborhood with a camera on their last day, but I want to remember these moments!

 

This is the moment when the summer has officially begun! Coming home from school on the very last day - can anything be happier than that? Oh! How I remember those days being a student myself. Feel like I need to make a page about it:))

 

 

These are the "last day of school" smiles!))

My kids like to keep journals. Both of their journals were getting too full and I thought starting new ones right in the beginning of a summer would be a perfect idea. But I wanted their summer journals be more like Smash book type. I told them, that they can choose some photos to add to their journals whenever they want - I wanted too see the summer from their own perspective. It will give them something to do and it will be a memory they will treasure forever:)

We are blessed to live next door with my sister and her family. (School pictures have four kids - two of them are mine and two are my sister's). So, the idea of Smash books was very exiting for my kids, they shared with their cousins and decided to do four of these books. The more people are involved the funner it is. (Just like we did our ABC books... Remember?)

And here are some images of finished Summer Smash Books:

I've cut all the titles for these books with Silhouette. I added a few pockets inside for memorabilia but kept inner pages pretty plain, letting them do what ever they desire... Here are just a few pages from one of the books:

 

And here all four of them (three facing front cover and yellow one facing back):

Backs of Smash books (front of the yellow one):

Thank you for stopping by! And I wish everyone the greatest Summer ever!

Mine looks great already - my 14year old just delivered a glass of homemade Frappe to me! Got to go sit outside to enjoy it!

See you later!

Mini book (finally!)...

Today I wanted to share with you a mini book I did for my mother-in-law (the one I've mentioned here quite a few times before). Even though I started way before her birthday, (that was the only thing she wanted for her birthday, but she doesn't know I'm making it) I still couldn't send it on time. Her birthday is today and just today I'm taking it to the post office. Well, I was working on multiple things at once throughout this time plus I did have one BIG OUCH with this book.

My biggest fear when I scrapbook is to spill liquids on my work surface, so for that reason I try not to have any of those on my table. Last week when I sat down with intentions to finish this book, I had a bowl with warm water under the table for my feet (something I saw on Pinterest). My album wasn't glued together yet, and still had an accordion shape. So, as I sewed on one side... the other one slipped off the table... and went right into the water... I had to redo one fourth of the book. Lesson learned. No water in the scrap room! On the table or under it!

The idea of inner pages for this mini book came from Marie-Laure, French scrapper - enlarged photo, flips with smaller pictures and a pocket to hold things. But I had to figure out the way I will put it all together, but I had a formula to work with.

This pocket will hold a note:

 I divided this album by months (to give it some flow), adding one 5x7 photo for each spread, four horizontal pictures for inner flips and two vertical 3x4 photos for the pockets:

In the beginning I wanted to have a journaling spot on one of the flips, but then realizing I wouldn't be able to complete it on time, I just replaced it with more pictures.

 

I cut out words using Silhouette for the pockets to add a little something to them.

 

 When the book was done (and I knew it's finished dimensions, I made a cover with heavy cardboard inside. To bind the book together, I decided to try something new instead of rings. I made all pages separately, but then glued them together with a folded strip of paper. To make sure they stay together, I sewed every page with sewing machine. It's a fun way to make a mini book, but it does take a little longer.

For the cover I used paper by Heide Swapp, ribbon, flowers and rhinestones. I tried to keep it pretty simple, knowing it will be handled a lot.

I hope all the work was worth it and I'm glad it's finally done.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a very wonderful day!