SYW323 – My Way with Nelya Lutsyuk

Nelya Lutsyuk: [00:00:00] It's important to document. Also small moments can be magical. Like everyday mundane moments, like you're gonna miss it one day. And sometimes just seeing like a photo, you know, from the past. Even when life was really crazy and busy, you just give anything to take it back.

Jennifer Wilson: Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way, the show that explores the breadth of ways to be a memory keeper today. I'm your host, Jennifer Wilson, owner of Simple Scrapper and author of the New Rules of Scrapbooking. This is episode 323. In this episode, I'm interviewing Nelya Lutsyuk for the My Way series. My Way is all about celebrating the unique ways memory keepers get things done.

We're excited to have Nelya as the January featured artist at Simple Scrapper.

Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Hi Jennifer. So nice to hear from you.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. I'm looking forward to chatting with you, Nelya. Can you share a little bit about yourself?

Nelya Lutsyuk: Sure. So, I [00:01:00] don't know if you can tell by the name, but I'm originally from Ukraine. You might maybe hear a slight accent, but, um, I've lived here since, uh, I was about seven, so most of my life.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Uh, let's see, I got four kiddos, happily married, I live in Washington State and I like scrapbooking.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. Nice, nice. What part of Washington State.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Uh, Tacoma.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay, very cool. Yeah, I have not spent much time up there, but the places that I have visited have been so beautiful.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah. Pacific Northwest is beautiful. Year round.

Jennifer Wilson: For sure. So do you have a favorite recent layout or project and like why, why is it stand out to you?

Nelya Lutsyuk: Let's see, so I guess I'm not really finished with it. But this year I decided to do a December album. Not a daily, because I knew I wouldn't want to mess with that. But, uh, it's kind of nice to, um, have all my, you know, Christmas-y and holiday things all together.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Nelya Lutsyuk: I've just kinda had [00:02:00] it, you know, in a regular album, amidst everyday life. So that's something I'm excited about. And I've already kind of been sharing with kids, Hey, check this out. And I like that I can make your inter interactive. 'Cause I don't have it in um, page protectors, which I usually do. So that kind of gives me more freedom. And it's an eight and a half by 11.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, fun size. Yeah. So do you think you'll do it again that way next year?

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah, I might even play with the sizes. I'm not sure. 'Cause six by eight I do, uh, scrapbooking, we can talk more about that later. But, uh, I felt like it's, know, if I did do six by eight for a December, I'd probably do spreads versus like a one-off page.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I love eight and a half by 11 though. I was just thinking about the other day, I was thinking about maybe doing some digital pages and I was like, Ooh, I think I wanna do those in eight and a half by 11. So.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah. It's like a sweet spot not to, you know, not as big as the 12 x 12, and they're really bulky, especially for like kiddos, you know, holding the albums and such.

Jennifer Wilson: No doubt. Yes, for sure. I'm always thinking about that. 'cause those big albums [00:03:00] are just giant and heavy.

Nelya Lutsyuk: For sure. Plus in storage, you know, they take up a lot of precious space.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. So is there something in your hobby or even in your everyday life that you're excited to do, use or try?

Nelya Lutsyuk: Oh yeah. I have a few for, for both categories.

Jennifer Wilson: Awesome. Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Um, in, in regular everyday life, I've, uh, become quite a big fan of like grocery pickup orders. I wasn't aware that until my husband mentioned to me that there's no extra fees if you like, you know, you have a minimum.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: $35. And so I've loved that, especially with, you know, four kids in tow.

I end up buying like twice as much as I planned to. Um, if I take them all. So that helps me, um, you know, narrow it down. Also, my smallest is four, and so I'm looking forward to homeschooling him in the fall. I've done it before for preschool, so, um, I'm pretty confident about it. Probably I'll take the Abeka curriculum. Um, so I'm looking forward to those like light bulb moments [00:04:00] when I, you know, when I see him learning.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh yeah, for sure.

Nelya Lutsyuk: I've also gotten back into reading like physical books. Because I've been such a big reader in the past. My husband likes to joke If I read nearly as much as you, I'd be like some sort of professor by now. But, um, since having kids, it's been more like audio books. But, um, for my last birthday in September, my friend gifted me a book. Which was, we kind of had like this little thing going on in our youth. Um, it was almost like a tradition for us. And so I've actually read half of it by now. So that's kind of a nice, um, new thing.

Jennifer Wilson: No, it's wonderful. Do you have any genres that you particularly like or maybe you're curious about?

Nelya Lutsyuk: Well, I've always been into like Christian fiction, like Karen Kingsbury and Francine Rivers. Francine Rivers is my new book. um, I also, I think fiction in general is something I'm delving back into. Because, um, I feel like since maybe getting married and having kids, it's been more nonfiction, like, I don't know, maybe theology or Christian books [00:05:00] or parenting stuff like that, or marriage. Um, but this is just kind of like fun, almost like a, an alternative to watching a movie, you know.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah, no doubt.

Nelya Lutsyuk: life.

Jennifer Wilson: A nice escape from the everyday.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: If it's, you know, somehow traumatic and tragic.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah. Yeah, it's fun.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: And I suppose in the scrapbooking world, I will attempt process videos hopefully in the near future. So that's kind of something that I'm excited about. And then, um, attending local crops. I have attended maybe two or so.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Nelya Lutsyuk: But in the past, this may sound silly, but like I didn't even think it was an option. Like I thought, you know, I am really involved. It's kind of online and Facebook groups and such. But, um, I've found some, not too far from me, like within an hour maybe of me, and it's really fun for me. So. I'm looking forward to more in 2026.

Jennifer Wilson: Fantastic. I'm kind of a, uh, consider myself kind of a backwards scrapbooker too. Is that I started [00:06:00] digital and so I, I was never, I was never into the hobby in the golden age of when there were stores and crops all the time. Um, but meeting in person is really, really fun and really special.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah, for sure. And um, usually I don't think I've attended, maybe I did attend one time by myself, but like, uh, I got my little sister into it. I mean, she's not so little 25. But, uh.

Jennifer Wilson: Always be your little sister, right?

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah, of course. So it's definitely more fun if I, you know, bring a friend along. It's almost like a, um, like whether or not I attend is almost up to that. I feel like sometimes.

Jennifer Wilson: Hmm. Oh, for sure. Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Actually, one other thing I have is, uh, I've been seeing, you know, 2025 just ended. And so I've been seeing like year in review layouts online, like on Instagram and such. And I think I'm actually gonna, um, do one soon.

I've actually been choosing photos. I've been like, like finding them and liking them on my phone. So I can find them easily. So haven't ordered them yet, [00:07:00] but probably in the next few weeks I will. So that's something that will be new for me.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, those can be really fun. You can get a lot of photos on a page when you try, or even a lot of story depending on if you want more words and more photos. So those are fun.

Nelya Lutsyuk: I'm like thinking how I wanna do it. Probably like double layout where all the photos are in one, maybe like square photos. And then on the other, if I do have journaling about each one, I might just like pop the notes in there.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: I'm thinking.

Jennifer Wilson: I can't wait to see it. That's, that's really fun.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Me too.

Jennifer Wilson: So this is a My Way episode because you're our featured artist our first one of the year. And we have kind of a standard series of questions that we love to help peek behind the scenes of your hobby. Um, the first one is a little, you know, more big picture.

What would you say to a non scrapbooker about why you love this hobby?

Nelya Lutsyuk: Well, in the past I never considered myself very creative or artistic. But this really kind of makes you like, learn about yourself that, [00:08:00] oh, hey, I can be or creative or artistic or crafty. Um, like I was never a good, like, good at drawing or paint or anything like that. But I guess it can bring out your creative side and you can actually enjoy it even when you didn't maybe know about yourself. That you're even capable of something like that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes. For certain.

Nelya Lutsyuk: And then, uh, definitely documenting memories for my family.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Nelya Lutsyuk: I love that aspect. And I think when I add journaling to a page, it makes it more meaningful and I can almost like, you know, excuse the fact that I may be running behind on chores or something like, Hey, this is, you know, somewhat important for my family.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, it is important. Like, yeah, I think that's, uh, and the more that we do communicate to non scrapbookers about the value of it, the more that they understand as well.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah. Especially with having kids. So my oldest is 11, my youngest is four. And what's interesting is like, I think they all look at different aspects of a layout. Like one of my girls, as soon as she [00:09:00] goes, uh, to something I made she starts reading the journaling right away. Like, oh, I wonder what mom wrote, you know. Or my younger girl of course, she'll be more about the product or what kind of, what kind of cute things have been added here, you know? And then I think my oldest boy, he'll be more about just like, oh yeah, just like kind of reminiscing in the memories. So that's really interesting to see.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh yeah, it is. I guess when I think about it, my daughter will probably look at the supplies, 'cause she's like super crafty and loves that, loves, you know, all the, the art supplies. My husband though looks at the photos pretty much exclusively and he's always like, why is it not bigger? Like, he wants the big photos.

And I'm like, 'cause I have only a certain amount of space here and I wanna put other things on it.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Right? Yeah. All the stuff we buy need to make it on there.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. I mean he, I think he'd rather have a photo album sometimes, but, um,

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah, that makes sense.

Jennifer Wilson: He gets what he gets.

Nelya Lutsyuk: And I have done Shutterfly in the past, but it's not nearly as fun for me.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. And that, that matters like, 'cause that's what's gonna keep you working on it.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Mm-hmm. I agree.

Jennifer Wilson: So tell us how you got started scrapbooking.

Nelya Lutsyuk: I guess major [00:10:00] life events kind of paved the way. So, um, when I got engaged, I kind of made an album. Although I like, I'm a little embarrassed about it now, you know, since I've grown in the hobby. But, uh, especially after having kids, I think after having my first, I was really excited to just, um, kind of documenting, I guess my pregnancy journey and then like all the baby photos, so major life events like that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Especially having kids.

Jennifer Wilson: That's a, I think that's a, a really standard story. Now, when you started, like what sizes or formats were you working in and are you still kind of doing it the same way, or, you know, have the past 11 years seen an evolution for you?

Nelya Lutsyuk: Um, so yes and no. I guess. Uh, was exclusively 12 by 12. I don't think I even like, thought of any other options. I thought that was what scrapbooking was.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Nelya Lutsyuk: And I do still scrapbook 12 by 12. Although I also have like three other sizes I do. And then, um, I think they were more basic, like you said, you know, more photo centric. Um, and [00:11:00] also I didn't really have a style back then, which I kind of maybe, um. I have a narrower, maybe sense of what I wanna buy and what products I like and stuff like that.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay. Okay. And how, like, what, what does that look like in terms of what you like really enjoy? Are there particular like brands that you like to buy? Um, are there particular, um, what sizes are you most creating in?

Nelya Lutsyuk: I would say, well, each of my kids has a six by eight album.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Nelya Lutsyuk: So there are lots of everyday like mundane stories in that.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Um, but I do also buy like 12 by 12 pages. 'Cause I can cut those down, obviously to six by eight. Um, I do also buy like six by eight paper pads because that can be the background. You know, I don't have to like, waste time on anything. Um, and I realized I don't like, um, very, know, like, um, old style or, um, vintagey, I guess.[00:12:00]

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Types of supplies. I like more bright colored and maybe modern, um, fun colors. Yeah, and I think I've embraced that more as I grew, I used to be a little intimidated by color.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, certainly.

Nelya Lutsyuk: You know, like what I'm talking about. Maybe Vicki Boutin or um, Paige Evans, I would be like, wow, I could never. But just by kind of practicing and just trying it and doing it over and over, I think you kinda get more confident in that.

Jennifer Wilson: So you said each of your, your kids has a six by eight album. Is this kind of an ongoing thing and you like add a new volume as you, uh, fill it up? Or is it an annual thing? Okay.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Uh, it's just kind of whatever. So they each have a baby book also, which has been in various albums. Like I said, in the past. I only knew really of 12 by 12. And.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Um, one of them has eight and a half by 11, and one of 'em has eight by eight. But then since, since I, uh, documented their, you know, up to 12 months of their life. Since then, it was just kind of like anything goes in six by eight.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. Are there any particular like projects or activities that you're focused [00:13:00] on this year? It sounds like you might do another December album, but other things like you want to, um, prioritize.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Well, um, I have been more, um. I guess focused on not neglecting myself.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Not necessarily photos, but just like thoughts. And I've even sometimes made like lists about myself. So that mostly goes in a like traveler's notebook. 'Cause I can just whip those out quickly and I don't have to like worry, hey, I have all this real estate to cover with photos or journaling. It's a kind of just for fun things. So I think I've been more focused on doing things just for myself and documenting some of my things even from my past, like my childhood or things I'm interested in.

Jennifer Wilson: Now does, do any of those end up being layouts or is it mostly in the travelers notebook?

Nelya Lutsyuk: Um, occasionally, but uh, I think most of the time it stays the traveler's notebook. Occasionally I'll make a layout, but that's probably, if I have either multiple photos or a lot of things to say.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure, sure.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Now, if someone like hasn't seen your work [00:14:00] yet either, uh, on your Instagram or in our Spark Magazine, um, how would you describe your style in three words?

Nelya Lutsyuk: I guess, um, let me know if you'd agree. 'Cause it's kind of hard when thinking about yourself, but vibrant, eclectic, and sometimes whimsical.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. No, I like those.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah, especially since scrapbooking about children. You know, many times like to just make it kind of something that would appeal to them, I guess.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, no doubt for sure. And I, yeah, I just also having like different ages of kiddos, you have like different stages of life and different things they're interested in. And.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: That gives you a lot of like kind of breadth in the, in the, the colors and the patterns you use too.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah, for sure.

Jennifer Wilson: So other things that you're using most often, whether it's like products, tools, particular techniques.

What do we see, um, in your pages?

Nelya Lutsyuk: I guess, um, some techniques I love are tone on tone embellishing.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Nelya Lutsyuk: I'll ever get tired of that, and especially because when I do that, I, I tend to [00:15:00] use products like more easily. Like I don't really care what it is or if it really matches with the photo. If it's orange, I can use it.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: The background is orange. Um, I guess it almost blends in in a good way. Um, another thing is distressing edges. And I actually don't own an edge distresser, like tool. I just use scissors because I don't like having, you know, one more thing that I can only use for one, I guess. Um, thing. I also noticed that when I'm like nearing the end of, um, a pack of stickers or like a paper pad, I will, I will start a layout with a product focus. So that's something I've, I guess, I don't know if you consider that a technique. But I guess using a product as a starting point has been really good for me because I love using something up. It gives me so much satisfaction.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Probably even more so than when I buy something new. Like getting rid of something like, yes. Um, yeah, recycle the packaging or sometimes upcycle it if it's really pretty.

Jennifer Wilson: So would you say that your pages are pretty like [00:16:00] dimensional and like thickly layered, or is it Not so much?

Nelya Lutsyuk: I, it depends, I guess, in which album. I do like dimension and stuff, but I, I try to sometimes like tone it down a notch so that I could fit more layouts, I guess. And especially in, um, maybe, uh, like recently I bought a planner. And so that, you know, isn't as wide margin as, um, a regular album. And then also like in a traveler's notebook that's, uh, like an insert versus an actual like 3D album or three ring album. I do try to make it much thinner and just focus mostly like on stickers and not too much dimension in that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. So what are you using your planner for? Is it part of your memory keeping process or is it for planning?

Nelya Lutsyuk: Kind of an, everything goes. So it's eight and a half by 11. So occasionally I'll do a spread, but usually it's just the one side. And I just treat it, I guess just like any album, it can be something about the family, it can be something about me, it can be something about any of the kids. [00:17:00] That's what I do for 12 by 12 and eight and a half by 11.

It's kind of anything goes.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. Yeah, no, it sounds fun though. It's good to like, have new, new foundations to work on and different, different, uh, sizes and orientations. Just helps us be, feel more creative and, and have a new challenge.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah. I think I really like variety in just, just about everything.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Nelya Lutsyuk: In the scrapbooking world, sizes and formats and, um, starting point, even. Like I said, I like to start with a product focus. Other times I, I'm like, I love a photo. Other times I, I think I wanna, you know, uh, write out a bunch of journaling. Now what can I add to that? So I really like to change things up every once in a while.

Jennifer Wilson: Are there any trends that are like standing out to you, things that you're already doing or wanting to try?

Nelya Lutsyuk: Stitching, I'm always a fan of. I.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Don't always use it, but I always love the look of it.

Jennifer Wilson: Machine or hand stitching?

Nelya Lutsyuk: I've done both.

Jennifer Wilson: Uh,

Nelya Lutsyuk: I haven't gotten my machine out in the longest time. So lately it's hand stitching.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Repetition is [00:18:00] another one. Like whether it's a shape or, I don't know, just about anything or like maybe an icon. That just kinda like gives me a, just, I don't really have to think much if I just add a bunch of hearts or circles or I don't know, repeatedly stamp an image. That helps me to just like make fewer choices, I think.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. And it makes a big impact too. So.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah, for sure. then I guess focusing on color and there's, I mean different ways. But one of my favorites is rainbow order anything. And often I'll, I'll, uh, use scraps either into banners or just layering. Also, uh, I like to make just monochromatic pages and in the same way as tone on tone that just helps me to use up, know, everything that's blue. And, um, I like to mix and match, um, collections and manufacturers, just about everything. I don't think I've owned a single collection of anything yet. Um, so that's kind of like an added challenge. Maybe that's why it's fun for me.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah, I see that. Like [00:19:00] how often are you digging into your scraps? I'm someone who kind of like avoids my scraps and then maybe we'll use them for a thing and then I toss them and start over.

Nelya Lutsyuk: So I actually have in two places. The bigger scraps are like in a magazine holder, I guess it's like maybe eight and a half by 11.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Nelya Lutsyuk: I do not tend to go to those as much as, um, my little bin, which is like maybe, six by eight, slightly bigger. I do, um, use the smaller ones way more often. And I think what was a game changer for me was, like I organized them and I store them by color in rainbow order.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Nelya Lutsyuk: And that's been a game changer for sure. Like I use them so much more since then. So I always like recommended to people.

Jennifer Wilson: Maybe you need to cut down your bigger ones.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Oh, that's an idea. I think sometimes if I'll, like, if I'll look at it and I'll think to myself, man, um, I need to, you know, do something about this.

I'll maybe start with a paper I wanna use up and see what else maybe matches it.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Sometimes if I'll, [00:20:00] um, I'll participate in a challenge, like a sketch or like where it gives you the dimensions and I'll find a scrap that's big enough. Then I'll be like, likely to use it. But those small ones are always much easier to use. Plus you can make a grid, you know, like if you cut them all down to the same size, there you go. That's your layout.

Jennifer Wilson: I love the idea of storing 'em in rainbow order though, so.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Mm-hmm.

Jennifer Wilson: It's

Nelya Lutsyuk: really easier than you think. I don't even, um, even like separate them by anything. It's just like, there's the pink right after that. It's the red and so on.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Sometimes they get a little, you know, out of place, but it's not a big deal.

Jennifer Wilson: So let's talk about how scrapbooking fits into your life. Where and when are you typically scrapbooking?

Nelya Lutsyuk: Well, I'm a stay at home mom for, for now. So, um, I'm sure it's easier than, you know, for someone who's also juggling work or other things. Um, and my oldest is, I mean, my youngest is four, so there's no baby in the family anymore. It's really all about kind of my time management. [00:21:00] And I think, um. do usually work on it at least somewhat while my three older ones are in school. You know, younger one is sometimes playing by me in the same room or whatnot. Sometimes, sometimes I'll maybe stay up a bit once the kids are in bed. Um, but I think during the day is more likely for me. For right now, it might change.

Jennifer Wilson: How did that look when they were much younger?

Nelya Lutsyuk: I think during nap time, I would use, utilize that time.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: I'm not one of those people that are like, baby's down for a nap, let's go do chores. I'm like, it's me time.

Jennifer Wilson: It's play time. Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Oh yeah, for sure.

Jennifer Wilson: That's cool. I like that sense of balance that you have, uh, and you feel this, the permission to, to take that time.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah. Honestly, I think, um, I'm a little too enabled at times. So I need to sometimes be strict with myself and I'll only like, I'll use scrapbooking as a reward. Okay, I got some chores done, now let's do it. You know, how much can I do [00:22:00] in the one hour before I gotta pick kids up or something?

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah.

Nelya Lutsyuk: It's hard not to, you know, lose like, let yourself go too much.

Jennifer Wilson: So we've already talked, you know, about at least one organization strategy with your scraps that works for you. But are there any others for photos, supplies, or tools that has particularly been effective?

Nelya Lutsyuk: Um, with my photos, it's really simple. I don't really use anything other than my phone, but what I've, uh, I've done is I'll like it, you know, it goes in the favorites album.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Nelya Lutsyuk: In my phone. And, um, I keep it there even after I print so that it's easy to find the date. So then after I'm, you know done with a layout, I'll, uh, easily scroll through my favorites album and find the date and it goes straight on there.

Um, I never, um, I never like struggled to, oh man, I gotta do this. I gotta add the journaling or the dates to all this whole stack of, uh, layouts. I don't consider it done until, uh, you know, it has all the information. So I think that's an easy one that everyone could do. If you favorite your photos. [00:23:00] That makes it much easier to find.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes, yes. Anything you can do to, to narrow it down. 'Cause it's, but narrow it down in the positive way in terms of selecting. Because if you focus exclusively on deleting the stuff you don't want, you'll never finish. Because.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Oh.

Jennifer Wilson: There's just too much.

Nelya Lutsyuk: There's just too much.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Nelya Lutsyuk: It's better maybe to take more photos than not enough. 'Cause you know, you, you have regrets later on if you don't. And my husband is one of those people that wasn't very a photo person. Like not a fan of taking photos at all, like before we got married and such.

But I think, think he like realized how much it means after having kids.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, for sure.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Been a really good sport. Like he doesn't hate it, like.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. That's cool.

Nelya Lutsyuk: I love that.

Jennifer Wilson: So, stepping back here, where would you like your scrapbooking to be in 10 years? So you'll have a a 14-year-old to a 21-year-old.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Wow. I can't imagine that actually. Um, I guess a very practical one is, uh, we're hoping to be in another house by then. We've been at this small house, you know, since, [00:24:00] since starting off our family. And, um, hopefully in the near future will have a bigger house and I'll have a room of my own. Right now, I don't, uh, I kind of share it with my son's bedroom. His desk, so it'll be nice for him to have his own space and for me to have my own space.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Um, also I would love if my daughters like scrapbook with me more often. Every once in a while they'll try to get, you know, they'll, they'll get crafty. But, they're not, I think they just like playing with the things they don't really care about the memory keeping or the photos as much. But I'm hoping they're gonna be scrapbookers also.

So that's another thing. Um, maybe even having other physical friends other than my sister that I could do this with. Maybe, I'll meet them at local crops. I don't know.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I don't know. I just, I feel like, um, especially since the pandemic things have become so online and then add AI on top of that, like, there's just so much of the sense of disconnection. That I [00:25:00] think there's a, a pull towards like retreating from the online world and finding connection again in, in the real world space.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah, I agree. I would really like that.

Jennifer Wilson: What has being a scrapbooker taught you?

Nelya Lutsyuk: Uh, well, I was surprised to find out that I am in fact creative. In a ways.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Nelya Lutsyuk: And then also that if you don't document the stories, no one else will for your family, like especially for your kids. Um, I love when they, uh, I dunno, ask me about, Hey, tell me about the time I did this and this. And I remember even like liking hearing childhood stories about me, you know.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Even I myself sometimes forget the things I've written down, either in a physical journal or on my phone or in a scrapbook album. And I'll be surprised, wow, this happened. I don't even remember that good thing I wrote it down. It's important to document. Also small moments can be magical. Like everyday mundane moments, like you're gonna miss it one day. And sometimes just [00:26:00] seeing like a photo, you know, from the past. Even when life was really crazy and busy, you just give anything to take it back.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. That the, there's certainly that sense of connection to the past and, um, ways of just feeling deeper gratitude for everything that we have are, and have experienced and, and will experience going forward.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah, for sure. And also I would also say, um, taught me that I should also be in the pictures and not only be taking the pictures.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Because sometimes you don't even notice. Until you're like, wait, there's a bunch of, you know, Christmas pictures, but it's all the kids, probably not even my husband's in them.

And so it's kind of like, okay, note to self next year do better.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I definitely had some times where I was doing more like remote shutter or even like tripod pictures to try to get myself in it more, and I probably need to do more of that rather than just me like doing a foreground selfie of, look, here's me and everybody else in the background.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Oh, yeah. I only do selfies. I should really consider doing the same as you. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Um, particularly at Christmas, it can be really [00:27:00] fun to like try different things if you can get everyone to be patient enough. Or just don't care and do it anyway.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Oh, and the live feature has saved me so many times.

Jennifer Wilson: I bet. Yeah. Especially with little kids, they are so squirmy. Yes.

Nelya Lutsyuk: And also, um, sometimes I'll have only a video and not pictures, but I'll screenshot, you know, multiple moments of the video. And it's, even if it's slightly blurry, I love having like a time lapse and I can have like, you know, eight pictures on a layout.

And I, I love that aspect too.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh yeah, I've done that. Especially, um, my daughter plays volleyball and it's, all, the pictures are the same. It's not very interesting. But doing the little time lapse can, uh, I don't know, make it more interesting and make it more exciting. So.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Yeah. I, I imagine that would tell the story a lot better than just like one snapshot.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. So can you share where our audience can find you online? You said you're gonna start working on process videos, and so anything else you have new or coming up?

Nelya Lutsyuk: I think process videos is just about [00:28:00] it for the new. I mean, maybe way in the future I might teach a class. But I wouldn't know the first thing about that. So I'd have to like learn more about that. I guess right now I'm mainly on Instagram and YouTube, uh, nelliepickles_crafts. That's me.

Um, and yeah, I'm just gonna continue doing, doing what I'm doing. Mostly just layouts of various sizes, 12 by 12, eight and a half by 11, six by eight, and Traveller's notebook.

Jennifer Wilson: Sounds fun. Yes. Yes. I can't wait to continue to follow you and, um, I know our audience is gonna love, uh, hearing more about the hows and whys of your hobby.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Thanks so much. I was, I was so pleased and surprised that you reached out to me.

Jennifer Wilson: Yay. Yay.

Nelya Lutsyuk: That you even knew I exist. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: I love hearing that. Yes, yes. Thanks again for spending time with me.

Nelya Lutsyuk: Thanks so much for your podcast and your time.

Jennifer Wilson: And to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to Scrapbook Your Way.

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