Tolstoy and Scrapbooking

I am having the great pleasure of participating in a round-robin challenge. That was where we each came up with our own theme, made our book and then sent it to the next member on the list for them to do a page on "my theme." This person's challenge was to do a lay-out on classic literature so I chose the book "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy. I just thought it appropriate to do something from this part of the world.

Inner flaps that open for a surprise underneath.

Butterflies

This was a fun accident. I hit the wrong button on the copier and I got black and white instead of color copies on my butterflies. Well, they were pretty so I decided not to trash them. Later on I did a black and white fat book challenge and came across the butterflies as I was looking for something to do. Perfect, I thought, since I hate to throw anything away that's pretty. Fat book means it is 4"x4" and it has some sort of 3-D embellishment, thus the name "fat book," as after you have not even too many together in a book it becomes very fat. Such fun. Click on the "Butterfly" title above to go to the Yahoo mini-scrapbooks group home page.

Easter Children's Play

I am so often amazed at the talent and spirit with which children are so freely creative. Of course, a play like this takes a lot of work and is a credit to the people who work with them. This was the story about the risen Christ from the tomb and we even had a cardboard tomb. The gold soldier costumes were made by one of the teachers and myself from poster board one church so graciously sent us. My thanks to all those who sacrifice to send us materials for the work with children. It certainly adds to their joy and ours.

Bethany Church, Bucha, Ukraine

These cute little bags were sent to us by dear ladies at First Baptist Church at Carthage, Texas. We filled them with candies and some small trinkets to give to the children in five Sunday school classes for an Easter treat. Just a small expression of the true gift of the risen Christ. Thank you ladies for you love and generosity.

Inchies

I would like to show you how I have displayed the "inchies" we did this past winter. They run along and decorate the top of my bulletin board. Inchies are 1" x 1" squares that you decorate in any way and then trade with other artist. These are the inchies I received from all over the world, ie. U.S., Europe and Haiti. Great fun swapping with these talented ladies.

Our Little Old Man

This is Samson, our little old man, age 14. He is one of the reasons we went to Nikolaevka last month so we could bring him back home. His litter mate, sister, Delilah passed away this past winter. Sam is showing his age, but just still as bouncy as ever. We bought them in the Crimea when they were palm size the second year after we arrived in Ukraine. My how time flies.

A Love Gift for Family

If you look closely you will see a heart of Crocus' in the grass. I planted these last fall as a spring surprise for my family. Of course, the first year they are pretty sparse, but they will thicken up each year. I may just have to hide another heart in the grass each year. They are so beautiful.

A close-up of God's beautiful creation.

Leah's Book Done for Julia

This is a scrapbook Leah did for our granddaughter Julia who is soon to be 6 years old. She did this in a board book so it would be heavy duty for Julia to play with and show around.

Julia and her beautiful mother Sarah. Notice any resemblance?

All three grandchildren, Julia, baby Tripp and Jordan.

The whole family at Christmas time 2008, L-R,Jordan, Sarah, Tripp, Jaime and Julia.

Jordan and Julia, ages 3 and 5 here.

Last Page

Grandpa, Grandma and Auntie Leah

Pretties

These little pretties are called "Inchies" because they are an inch in diameter and were done for a challenge at Handmade Mini-books Group. They are being sent to someone in America who will distribute them to several places around the world. I will in turn receive back that many from other artist from those same places. Just having fun.

Leah's Work

This is some art work done by Leah a while back. She really is quite the creative one when she wants to be. I think there is a budding artist in there trying to get out, but it doesn't have much chance since she is such a busy bee. She is in the youth choir at church and she works with youth in our church plant at Yablonka. She also has a small group or two she attends. Lastly, she works in Kiev with a mission helping in the office. We don't see her a lot, but that is how it is with a soon to be 22 year old. She is a happy kid and fun to be around.

Easter Preparations - Costumes

Easter in Ukraine happens a week after Easter in America, but I can tell you that the pastors are already speaking about it in church. And they will continue for some time after the actual holiday.

Today I had the privilege of helping prepare costumes for two little solders from the children's choir. They will do their play Easter morning. We made armor from gold colored poster board. I will try to get pictures to show you later. Easter is still two weeks off for us. They turned out well and the boys wanted to start sparing with their swords. It was fun.

Skeletons of Summers Past

Just wanted to share with you this shot Jeff took looking out at the Black Sea on our last night before leaving Nikolaevka. The structures you are seeing are summer slides into the sea for one and another into a big water tub that, of course, is not there right now. As quiet as this village is in winter, it comes alive in summer with vacationers from all over Ukraine and Russia as well.

Scrapbooking Class in Simferopol, Ukraine

I had the exciting privilege of working with a number of young ladies on Saturday in creating "faith books". These are scrapbooks where they chronicle their walk of faith. Since there are no scrapbooking stores in Ukraine as yet, we must be more creative in how we do our books. They are simpler in some respects, but for these ladies, very pleasing to learn how to do. And most importantly, they have a place to record their walk of faith and the people who were a part of it. This makes a wonderful book for them to share with their friends and also telling the story of their faith life.

Hours of Fun

That's me in the black sweater with several of the young ladies in the class. We had such a good time and they are now started on something they can add to for years to come. Please pray for these ladies that their books would be a wonderful influence to others.

Sharing Ideas

Faith-Booking Class in Simferopol, Crimea

Greetings from the Crimea region of South Ukraine. As you probably already know, we are here for a mission. On Saturday, tomorrow, I am doing a scrapbooking class for 10 young ladies. I am so pleased the Lord gives me this opportunity to work with young women. They will be making a scrapbook that documents their Christian walk of faith. This will not only be valuable for themselves, but it will be a great way for them to share about their experience with friends by showing their scrapbooks. Please pray for us even if you see this after Saturday that it might be an ongoing blessing to many.

Ukrainian Homes

Jeff's trigger happy finger can't help but stop along the way to capture some of the scenes. The Lord has taught me patience through this as each trip takes longer than for most travelers, but the results are often worth the time. Photography for Jeff is part of recording his ministry, but has also become a hobby for capturing God's beauty.

Pivenny Bug River on Road to Crimea

Ukraine Travels

On Monday we left the Kiev (spelled Kyiv here) region to travel south to the Crimea where we still own our very first home we bought upon arriving in 1994. The Crimea is a large peninsula that hangs out into the Black Sea just north of Turkey (my geography got a lot better after we moved here). The terrain is mostly what they call a steppe region, that's a high plain, but it also has mountains that run down the eastern side of the peninsula. This is the location of the historical war-time meeting "Yalta Conference" held in 1945 with Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin. Well, I'm running down a historical rabbit trail, so I just wanted to say that we are spending a few days here to pick up our dog, do a scrapbook conference for a church, and visit some folks who are part of the church we helped start here in Nikolaevka. Check out this for a related article: http://franksukraine.blogspot.com/

I Challenge You - Smile Cards

Friends, I have taken on a project that has been humming around in my head for a while. I take it to mean that it is spirit-led, as it just doesn't go away, so I'm now going after it. I'm writing so I might invite some of you to join me in this endeavor. The prisons in Ukraine are very dismal places. The elderly who are house-bound are often in a very depressing situation. I can't do much for all these people, but there are those who visit and minister to them. Therefore, what I can do is make pretty cards to give to those people to pass on. I invite you to do the same. I am making small 4x4 cards for economy sake. I'm using pretty pictures from magazines, Bible verses and poetry (in Russian of course), and anything that I think would put a smile on someone's face. You could do anything that you think would be an encouragement to someone. Pictures of flowers, animals and children are especially liked, but it doesn't have to be like that at all. Just use your imagination. Send one or send several and I will make sure they get into the right hands. If this interests you, email me at coleenfranks@gmail.com and I will give you a mailing address. May you be richly rewarded for your efforts.

Making Mini-Scrapbooks

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Click to join mini-books

Valentine Challenge, Fat book pages

Jordan's Album

This was our Jan/Feb Challenge project from Yahoo Mini Groups. We do various mini-albums for scrapbooking and such. Jordon's is one of my granddaughters. This challenge was to do a scrapbook by recycling something. I chose a child's board book because I was making this book for Jordan herself (age 3), so I wanted something tough to hold up to a lot of carrying around and flipping through as a three year old would do. Leah is doing one of Jordan's older sister Julia which we will show you soon. Here is the URL for Yahoo's Mini-Books Group if you want to check it out: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mini-books/
Also, if you'd like some easy directions for mini-books check out this website for clear easy directions to some fun stuff: http://www.making-mini-scrapbooks.com/

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Altoid Tin Mini-Scrapbook

Since Cinnamon Altoids have long been my favorites, I thought it fitting I should make a mini-scrapbook from one. I brought enough back last time I was home to make a few more. Check out Big Picture Scrapbooking for directions. . You'll probably have to sign up but they have a number of free classes with easy to follow directions. The following picture is the inside minus the photos, as yet.

Craft Team at Bethany Church of Bucha, Ukraine

These are the ladies that make it happen at Bethany on Sunday mornings. Half the Sunday school is doing scrapbooks of their whole Sunday school year experience. They are from left going around the table Leda, Leah (my daughter), Tamara, Lesya and me, Coleen. We have one other lady Sveta that helps us part time when her job allows. These ladies will also be the ones who help do crafts for kids camp in the summers. Most of them have been doing this for several years now.

Just last week this same group and I met for a team meeting where they all made picture frames (we like doing crafts ourselves on occasion) and traded secret pal names. We are very grateful for those of you who send supplies for the work here.

Creating with Color

Green-
the color of growth and life.


Green -
the color of calm and peace.


Green-
the color God chose
to decorate the earth.

Luxury or Necessity?

I am in California at the moment because my dad was hospitalized at age 86 and I wanted to be with him and my sisters. It was/is still questionable whether he will make it. He had a burst appendicts, septisemia (system wide infection) and now pneumonia, but he is a fighter and constitution is an area he always had an iron will. We shall see. Those who pray I would appreciate you remembering him/us.

I was showing my sisters some "fat book" pages I did (see previous articles and pictures). These are small 4X4" pieces of art. My youngest sister made a remark, "boy, I wish I had the luxury to sit and play like that." My answer to her was, " that it is not a matter of luxury, but that I made a choice. Life is too short to not do something that gives you joy." The house work, the job demands will always be there, you never catch up, they never go away. So, in the end, is your life going to be about a neat house or the job done to perfection? OK, I know that our lives are full and there are many demands, but what would it look like if you took even just one hour a week to do something that gives your heart joy? Is it something you could share with others that might contribute to their joy and their experience of you. Maybe it might even set a lifetime example for your children or others. If you can't take one hour, then you are living a sad life and missing out on sharing that heart of joy over something that you delight in.

Is it luxury or necessity? My father is in the cold winter of his life. He's done little that gave him joy, but feeling the press of doing the next demand. It has been a hard example to overcome. I've had to deal with guilt at taking time to do something that is purely fun (tyranny of the puritan work ethic). I've come to see, not only can I share my art with others and bring them happiness, I have become a different person. I have become someone easier to be with. I use my art to teach others and that is also gratifying as I see them taking delight in something they have created. So for many this is not a problem, but for many they are trapped in the "American rat-race. So I ask the question again differently, what would be the thing you would do that would so delight your heart? Try it, even for just a short time and see if the satisfaction in life is not worth the cost.

Sunday School Bouquet

This was a fun project the kids did in Sunday school not long ago. I think the Craft Team had just as much fun doing them as the kids.

Fatbook, What Is That?

Sometime back I joined an internet group that does scrapbooking. Mainly we make mini-scrapbooks. A Fatbook is a 4x4" size book. People sign up to a particular challenge (this one was Christmas) and they make a card for all the other participants. When finished we mail them to each other. It doesn't take many cards for the book to get pretty fat. Sure is fun and I learn things from doing it that I can pass on in my classes here. You can check them out at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mini-books/

Pages

Book taken apart so you can see the individual pages.

Back Sides of Fatbook

Christmas Event

On Saturday the 13th of December I had the privilege of serving a great group of girls. The Irpen Bible Church invited youth girls to "The Meaning of Christmas Party." There was singing, games, stories and lots of fun. We ended the evening with a craft which they will have as a lovely remembrance of the evening. It is my joy to do these kinds of events because I see how much fun they have in the creative process. Laura Kanaykina is the short one in the first standing row who organized the event. Thank you Laura, for allowing me to be a part of this holiday.

Craft Fun

Lots of fun for the girls and for me in being a part of what they do.

Full Tables

Girls at work on their "Hearts." Leah (in the black cap) is my daughter who helped with this event. She likes working with youth.

Showing her "Heart"

These girls were so cute. They love to get their pictures taken and to show off their pretty work. You can certainly see how I find such satisfaction in doing this work with them.

Heart Frame

A close up of one girl's work. Notice the Bible verse on the left that will go as a message to many who read it. The really loved the glitter and used a lot of it.

Remembrance of Summer

Here is one of Jeff's photographs from my garden last spring. Some of you get to plant these in the spring and fall. In our climate (on a parallel with southern Canada) we only have spring pansies and they are among my favorites. So I'm sharing this little lovely as a reminder of things to come while much of the northern hemispheres are in cold. It does my heart good to look forward to the beauties to come.

How This All Came About

I caught Jeff in a casual moment reading not long ago when we were in Poland on "car docs" business. We have been married for soon to be 25 years. He took a short-term mission trip to Ukraine in '92, then another and said he wanted to move. I thought, "are you crazy?" I said, "I don't even want to move across the street, much less across the world." A long story short and God softening my heart, we are now in our 15th year in Ukraine. My college-aged dreams of traveling Europe have been fulfilled, I just never dreamed (in my wildest of dreams), that it would be fulfilled in this way. So it has been a wild adventure. Not always easy, sometimes extremely challenging, but I wouldn't change a thing. Jeff is my hero, my mentor, my best friend and he's the one, holding hands with Our Creator, that has brought this all about. How long we will be here is anybodies guess, but it is not a guess to the One who sent us, so we shall see.

Blah! Blah! Blah! Why Write Another Blog?

This is a question that I know will come up since I have already been writing "The Franks In Ukraine & CIS" for almost a year. That site I feel has been an expression of what our mission is here in Ukraine. I will continue that writing as it is our joy and our life work for as long as God keeps us here.

Another Aspect:
Life has many twists and turns and there is more to each soul than just the work they do. Therefore, I have decided that "Tea on the Terrace" will be an expression of the more personal side of our lives, as I see it. I hope this might be a place where some might come and sit, as if we were having tea together and maybe even find refreshment. What this will become a year hence, we shall see.

Winter In Ukraine

As I sit in the warmth of home, I can look out and see the cold, yet be rather untouched by it. Since I tend to be rather a cold-natured person, that's how I like it, although it doesn't mean I don't venture out. These are days of winter when I prepare for different events and look for inspiration to create in my upstairs studio. I have been so blessed to have this space. It was a big empty attic when we purchased this home in Ukraine 11 years ago. Now it is like a knotty pine cabin with all its wood. I look out and see pine trees that far exceed the top of our high-pitched roof. Still, civilization is encroaching with more and more homes being built around us. Ok, so enough perambulations around my house. Time to get to work. Hope you like the picture.