Articles : Featured Guests

Meet Leslie/lilkoala3

Our Featured Guest for February

Most of have had a chance to meet Leslie Raechele, aka lilkoala3, on the message boards or have come across her fantastic layouts in the gallery.  She is our resident smarty-pants and brainiac.  Her quick wit and sharp repertoire has us in stitches and can only be matched by her mad skills with an ATG gun.  Join me in welcoming her as our featured guest for the month of February and maybe you will learn something about her you didn't know.

Here is a recent LO she created about herself:

You can check out the rest of her gallery Here.

 
Tell us about yourself.

My name is Leslie, but my friends call me Chainsaw. I can bite through steel, and I can breathe underwater and fly.

Tell us about your family.

The woman I call “Mama” tells me that I hatched from a buzzard’s egg she found on a stump in the woods. If that’s indeed the case (which I doubt because even though I can fly, I don’t have wings nor feathers), I’ve never met my real parents. I was, however, raised with two sisters. Sometimes, we like to think of ourselves as if we were Baldwin brothers. We’ve decided I’m Alec, my sister Lonna is Stephen, and my sister Shanda is Billy. Being labeled Alec was much more gratifying before the whole “thoughtless little pig” drama. 

How long have you been scrapbooking and what got you started?

I started scrapbooking when I started my PhD. I was no longer the smartest person I knew, so I decided I could at least be the best scrapbooker I knew. And then I met Beth (Beth_W), and my self-esteem was reduced to zero yet again. Don’t worry, I sent her my therapy bills. Oh, and Beth, they raised my co-pay to $50. 

What inspires you?

The songs of Celine Dion, attractive, naked men, and the comedy of Phyllis Diller, Rita Rudner, and Kathy Griffin. 

How do your family and friends feel about your scrapbooking?

They don’t care. My mother once used a piece of my Bazzill to clean up a spill, and my Daddy calls it “that thing you do with stickers.” I don’t tell most of my friends that I scrapbook because I want them to fear me, and it’s hard to fear someone that wields decorative border punches. 

How long have you been a part of the ACOT community?

I don’t remember, but I think it’s been about 3 and a half years. But since I’ve been known to take 3-month long “sabbaticals” here and there, I’ve probably spent about 2 and half years on ACOT. I get lots of messages asking me where I am during those times, and I usually just say I’m working on my dissertation. The truth is that I run a black market business selling harpoons to whale hunters. Trust me, it’s only cruel until you’ve had a chance to slather your body in blubber. Jergen’s just doesn’t compare.

How did you pick your screen name?

I didn’t pick my screen name, my screen name picked me.

Do you have a favorite manufacturer/product line?

Currently, I guess it’s Sassafrass Lass. I like their last line of paper featuring hedgehogs. I seriously contemplated getting a hedgehog after I bought that paper. And then I saw this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sntg8QWF2-0
and realized that hedgehog people are crazy people.

How would you define your style?

Awesome. I’m my favorite scrapbooker. Next to Donna Downey, who once told me that I was going to hell at a class I paid 65 bucks to take. I appreciated her honesty. And I’m not kidding. I also journal on every layout that I complete. I think of scrapbooking as storytelling. Even on paper, I don’t shut up.

What is a favorite technique that you like to use?

That’s kind of a personal question, don’t you think?

When and where do you create your layouts?

All of my layouts are created on the floor of my dorm room. Since I don’t like to vacuum, this means that there are pieces of hair stuck to all of my layouts. I think the fact I include so much of my own DNA on my layouts means that they’re made with that much more love. Now, the little crumbs of food that get stuck to them? Well, that’s just an unfortunate accident that I can’t justify. Oh, and I scrap everyday between the times of 3:37 and 3:42 AM.

What is a favorite layout of yours and why?

They’re all my favorites, but I’d have to say that I enjoy my layouts that include pictures of my cutest ex-boyfriends the best. Who needs notches on bedposts when you have scrapbooking?

Do you look like anyone famous?

They say I look like Al Roker, but I think my hair is prettier than his.

Thanks so much, Leslie, for sharing more about yourself with all of us at ACOT!  


 

Published on 02/05/2009.