For your viewing pleasure...

I posted a slide show to the right of the stamp sets. The slide show will run through all the pictures. They are in no particular order, just according to catagories from the idea book. Let me know at Kit20296@aol.com if you are interested in any of the stamp sets.

Thanks for looking.

Inky Hugs,
Leanne

How many days till Christmas?

Greetings again from the Rubber Room!

I did a search and asked how many days till Christmas? This is the reply I got:

87 Days
13 Hours
52 Minutes

...But who's counting?

And the way the economy is...I have to get a bit creative. I make a lot of Christmas gifts for my family, but that also requires some of that green stuff. So, in an effort to not wait till the last minute, I thought I would start now getting the gifts put together. So to buy the materials I need I thought I would try to find a new home for some of my stamps. I spent the last 3 days going through all my stamps, looking and asking myself, which of these do you really truly want/need?

So in an effort to reduce the amount of stamps I have and to get started now on Christmas and to make room for more stamp sets this next year...I am posting here the stamps I am selling. You can see what the stamps look like, the condition they are in by clicking on this link. http://picasaweb.google.com/Scrappingamma/MyAcrylixStampSetsForSale
Some are well loved, some are brand new and have never been used. Here is the list of the stamp sets.

A1037 Baby Impressions $7.

B1019 Celebration Solids $6. This set is missing the Christmas tree
B1033 Blossom Blocks $9
B1170 Fairy Dust $9.
B1174 Flower Fairies $9.
B1185 Bottle Caps $9
B1186 Ho, Ho, Ho! $9
B1207 You're Invited $9
B1208 Birthday Script $9
B1209 Cherish $9.


C1004 Dragonfly and Friends $12.
C1048 Rose Splendor. $12.
C1057 Little Things Matter $12 Brand New. Never been used.
C1166 You and Me $12
C1070 Sunflower Garden $12.
C1105 Retro Lowercase $10. This set is missing an "l"
C1196 My Mom Stamp Set $12
C1201 Spirit of 76 $12.
C1202 Three Cheers $12
C1209 Christmas Script $12.
C1214 Harvest Wonders $12.
C1215 Throughout the Year $12. Brand new. Never been used.
C1217 Smitten $11. The tiny little heart is missing
C1223 Antique Tags $12 Never used, brand new.
C1226 Floral Charms $12.
C1229 Accents, etc. $12 Brand new.
C1239 Vintage Father's Day $12
C1243 A Friend Is $12
C1251 Harvest Memories $12.
C1252 Abundance Borders $12.
C1261 Finding Beauty $12.


D1114 Create a file $14
D1135 Words To Live By $14
D1053 Kid Power $14.
D1087 Elegant Floral $14
D1133 Seed Packets $14.
D1136 Paradise $14. Never used, brand new.
W326 Friendship's Garden $14


If you see a stamp set you like, send me an email to Kit20296@aol.com. Make sure you put "Stamps" in the subject line. Shipping is the actually cost of shipping, so make sure you send me your zip code so I can calculate it for you. As far as payment, I prefer paypal, but can also accept checks and money orders. No credit cards please.

So until next time,

Happy Stamping!!! Or Scrappin"!!!

Inky Hugs,
Leanne

Baby's First Christmas

Greetings and coming to you from the Rubber Room!

I know I am a few days late in posting the layouts I am doing for this month's workshop. It just seems my life has a way of getting away from me. You know that adage: "One step forward, two steps back?" Well that's the story of my life. Now I don't want to bore you with details or sound like I am complaining or whining...its just the way things are! I can live with it...and if I can't, I do have a mouth and a hefty vocabulary and I can sound off. Just ask my children. LOL

So anyhow, this month's workshop, we're using CTMH's Perfect Day paper pack. I've used two different sketches from both Imagine and Cherish. Now this first layout I used "Fantastic Five" layout located on page 62-63 of Imagine. I changed it a tiny bit and I took some ideas from the New WOTG brochures. When I saw these new Spring colors, CTMH introduced in the new 2008 Fall catalog along with the background and texture papers of this paper pack, I immediately thought of baby and Christmas. And the fact that I am still working on my granddaughter's first year album (among other albums) I decided to do "Baby First Christmas." Now the second layout is the right side of "Then and Now" located on page 100-101 of Cherish.

The font I used on the title and subtitle is called "Fling." It matches the titles from the My Stickease. I also cut the flourishes with my Wishblade. Once I figure out how I can include items for you to download, I'll include them in my post. Meanwhile, if you would like the gsd file I have for the flourishes, send me an email at Kit20296@aol.com with Flourishes in the subject line. I'll then be able to send it off to you directly.

I can't begin to tell you how much fun I had doing these pages. Especially with the new colors and papers.

I still have lots more to finish up from the week of the crash. Hopefully, I'll be able to them soon, provided I don't have too many interruptions.

Thanks for stopping by!

Untill next time,

Happy Scrappin'!!!

Inky Hugs,

Leanne

The Saga Continues...

Greetings once again from the Rubber Room!

I can't believe its been almost a month since I last posted anything. Its not that I didn't want to...I did but its kinda hard when you are without a computer. Yes, my dear friends...I have joined the ranks of the "computer crashers!" So, heed my warning...if you haven't backed up everything on your computer, do so NOW. Quit reading my blog, go back up your computer. We'll still be here when you return. I have a few friends who use http://www.mozy.com/ and recommended doing a back up there. So, I've signed up with mozy and feel a bit more secure.

When my computer crashed, I thought I had lost everything...pictures, layouts, gsd files (for my Wishblade) countless other files. So, what is a girl to do when this kind of thing happens? I cried a bit, cussed myself out for not backing up when I should have, smacked the side of my head and said..."see it did happen to you!!!" and then called in the professionals. Yes, another mistake! I called the Geek Squad! I hadn't heard of any bad with them...not like Circuit City. So, I called. Heard the words I needed to hear. "Yes, we can help!" Then I was quoted the price. I almost feel out of my chair! But what I had on my computer was priceless. So, the first free day, DH and I had together, off we trekked with computer in hand off to see the Geeks. I explained everything I needed done. I explained what was important to me. I specifically named things that needed to be saved. The gentleman behind the counter told me, they could save everything on my computer and for an extra $59.95 put everything back on my computer the way it was before the crash. Ok...that sounds pretty good, so we agreed, put up our house for collateral (only kidding here...but you catch my drift about the pricing right?) and off we go, leaving our beloved computer behind. They said, it'll take 2-3 days. On the third day of my computer in what I thought was capable hands, I get a phone call. Its the Geeks and they left a message on my voice mail, telling me there is a problem. Turns out, I have a dual hard drive and they are linked together. They called it a fancy name but I can't remember it. But because I have this unusual kind of computer, they cannot put my computer back to the way it was. They recommended they save everything from my hard drive to an external harddrive. Now, DH has an external hard drive that he isn't using, so I thought I would take this into them and they can save it to that one. Nope, no such luck. Not enough room on the one I had. So for an additional, $84.95 I would have not only my computer back but also an external. So why am I spending an additional $59.95 for my computer to be back to the way it was before? Another question is...why didn't they check to see if the computer had a dual harddrive? Afterall, aren't they the professionals? So, we go round and round with them. You know...these guys...have very bad listening skills! They can talk the talk...but sure can't walk the walk!!! Anyhow, I did manage to get them to knock off $50 of the external harddrive. But the story doesn't end there.

I get home get the computer set back up and found so many different things wrong with it. Now, remember who you're talking to!! I am so much a creature of habit and change just sends me into a tail spin. I could enumerate all the things wrong, and I probably could take the computer back to the Geeks...but why should I? I drove almost 60 miles to take my computer to the professionals...and they screwed it up. I don't think this warrants another chance. So, instead, I am venting here and I am writing a letter to the Geek Squad's corporate office.

So while the computer was off for repair...I felt so lost! I never realized how much time I spent on the computer. In my opinion...way way way too much time. So, I had to fill in the gap and take my mind off of my computer being gone. So, I cleaned and scrapbooked. Well, I scrapbooked as much as I can. No computer for printing out pictures, no computer to typing out titles or cutting them on my Wishblade. I couldn't even work for my upcoming workshop. Luckily enough, I did place the workshop order before the computer crashed with CTMH. But what I was able to do was: find pictures and matched up papers. Went looking into all my magazines for inspiration instead of the internet. I was able to find a few sketches and used them along with my Imagine and Cherish. So, I was able to design the layouts, and cut the papers and put them aside till I can print out the pictures. So here is my latest creation...

Now remember...my New Year's resolution is to use up all my old papers right? So, far I think I am doing pretty good. But that is just my opinion.

On this layout, I stamped, using some old woodies (wood mounted stamps) from CTMH's All Occasion stamp set and filled in the blank spots around the crayons of CTMH's School Days B&T paper. Now, the abc paper was something I had in my stash from when I first started scrapbooking (in 1997). Most everything on these two pages came from my stash that I've been hoarding for years. The pics are of my daughter Kelli when she started into preschool. The year was 1987 and we were living in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

There is so much more I would like to share with you...but I think my ranting on about those Geeks is enough for now. I do have another two page layout to share...but I'll wait till tomorrow and post it then.

So, until tomorrow, thanks for stopping by, its great having you here! If you enjoy reading my blog ...please feel free to leave me a comment. I love reading all your comments.

Happy Scrappin'

As I say to my grandchildren...

"Hugga Hugga"

Leanne

Mojave Mustangs 1999

Happy Fabulous Friday to you!

I thought I would share with you the layouts we are doing this month for our monthly scrapbooking workshop. I have attempted quite a few times to do these layouts of my DS Kevin, and nothing seemed to come together. Have you ever had troubles like this? But when CTMH introduced their paper pack of "Game On," my troubles were over and prayers had been answered. I love the fact that most of the B&T papers are so neutral, you can add almost any color. Luckily enough, Mojave High's school colors are red and gray. It just really ties the whole layout together. Kevin only ran track for just one year...his junior year. I asked him why he didn't go out for track in his senior year, his reply was, "I couldn't go out and there and give it my all without Corey being there!" Corey was a good friend of Kevin's. We lost Corey in the fall of their senior year in an automobile accident. The loss of just a terrific athelete and friend to so many was felt that whole school year.

I am including both pages here separately so you can see each one a bit more closely. It was so much fun doing these pages for Kevin. As I was working on them, Kevin and I spent alot of time remembering those years he spent at Mojave High School. Go Mustangs!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Happy Scrappin'!!

Inky Hugs,

Leanne

I can see clearly now!

Greetings once again from the Rubber Room!

Well, not this time! This time we are coming to you from the kitchen/dining room! DH and I talked about this for quite some time. I had asked him a while ago...what do you think of taking down that cupboard above the sink. Its always in the way. My children complain about bumping their heads on it. Its awkward to do the dishes with there. So, I threw the idea out to him. His come back was something I hadn't thought all the way through. What do we do with the items in the cupboard. It holds all my crystal and silver pieces. Its nice from the diningroom perspective, to see all the pretty crystal and silver, but not from the kitchen. The only useful thing about that cupboard was it held some medication there and kept out of the reach of the little ones. Well, I was able to find a new home for the meds. So, I thought and thought and thought (similar to Winnie the Pooh and his "Think, Think, Think") and I came up with a solution. It took some reorganizing on our part, but that didn't take too long. So, one Saturday afternoon, once the twins went down for a nap. The doors came off on both sides and with DS Kevin, and myself holding onto this big oak cabinet, DH unscrewed each of the 8 six inch screws holding the cupboard in place. I thought my arms were going to fall off, but it came down successfully and without incident. So this is the beginning of our kitchen remodel. It may take up forever to complete, but I am so happy to have such an open area. I can look out to the diningroom and feel like I can be part of what's going on and not always stuck in the kitchen. I have taken a couple of before and after pictures that I'll share.

This picture was taken from the kitchen looking out into the diningroom, before the cupboard was taken down.

This picture was taken from the diningroom looking into the kitchen before we took the cupboard down.

So, now that the cupboard is all emptied out and everything is either on the counter or on the diningroom table...this is what it looks like without the cupboard there.

Here's another photo from a different perspective. This is looking out from the kitchen to the diningroom. Don't worry, my windows don't always have towels on them. I just ordered some new curtains to put up there.

Here's looking out from the kitchen to the diningroom/livingroom area.

Well, that's about it. Our time here is just about up! Thank you so much for stopping by! I enjoyed having you visit. Please feel free to leave a comment, I just love reading them.

So, until next time,

Happy Scrappin'

Inky Hugs and Smiles!

Leanne

Gotcha!!!!

The year was 1971, I was a sophmore at William Woods College, in Fulton, Missouri. I had come home on for spring break. This picture to the right was taken at Christmas a few month's earlier. I thought it would be fun to play this game with my brothers. You know how fun it is to tease and make fun of them...it was always a blast to get into their heads! I had two younger brothers, Skip and Jeff. Jeff is the one in the front. Don't you just love his fashion sense? :) Skip is the third one back, standing behind our mother.
I apologize for the poor picture quality, I had taken this picture out of our father's picture album (the magnetic sheet kind) and I did my best to restore it.

Anyhow, sorry, I keep getting side tracked. So, when I came home, I told my brothers I had this game. But if I explained the game and the rules, they had to agree to play it. There was to be no cheating, no fighting about it. Oh BTW, this two were great at fighting...if one even looked at the other the wrong way, they were in a knock down drag em out fight. I had their solemn oath, that no fighting, cheating or anything else would go on. They were to conduct themselves in good sportsmanship manner. LOL Yeah right and if you believe that...I have some land in Florida to sell, called the Everglades! LOL

Ok...back to my story...so here's the game:

One participant was to form an "O" with their fingers. Kinda like the sign "A Ok"! The other participant was to try to stick their index finger into the center of the finger forming "O". The finger forming "O" had to be below the waist. It could be on your knee, on your leg, over your eyes, if you were laying down on the floor. It just had to be below the waist. I could see the wheels turning in my brothers' heads and them thinking...Oh good another way to pummel that little &^#$ *^(^#$. They thought that game sounded like so much fun. They both heartily agreed to participate in the game. So, every time I would come home, the game started up. Little did I know, to me it was starting up, to them, it was one continuous game...it never ceased. To my understanding, they (my brothers) drove our mother practically to the brink. She would trip over them as she tried to get dinner one night and they were sprawled out all over the floor. Turn around and there they were playing this game.

So, every time I would go home, (to me) the game would start up. We would try to get so creative in how we presented our fingers. Even though our mother didn't like tripping over the boys in her kitchen or almost falling down the stairs because of this game...as soon as the game started up, she would laugh and laugh and laugh. I think we continued the game just to keep her entertained! LOL

As we (or should I say I) got older, we (I) would continue to think of more creative ways to get the boys to look at my fingers shaped "O". One year, my husband and I would at the county fair. There was a booth that did hand cravings. I can't remember all that went on to make it, but it was plastic and your choice of red, green, blue, or yellow. You had to stick your hand into a vat and pull it out or something like that. Well, I did it and you guessed it...my hand dipped into this plastic vat with my hand and fingers in the shape of an "O." I did two of them...one I sent to Jeff and the other I sent to Skip. I also made coffee cups with the fingers shaped "O" on it for both of them. Unfortunately, one of the cups was broken in one of our moves, so there is only one now in existence. That's it, picture above.

We have had so much fun playing this game over the years. I've taught it to my husband (he doesn't play it right!), to my children, to coworkers, to friends. As my brothers have taught it to their loved ones and their coworkers and their friends. Can you imagine? A construction site with a bunch of guys trying to get the others to look at the finger shaped "O" fingers. Or even trying to stick their index finger in the finger shaped "O?" I can't wait to try teaching it to my grandchildren!!!

Now, now, quit scratching your head trying to figure out why I decided to tell this story today of all days? Well, this weekend, my older younger brother Skip, decided to go pay my younger younger brother Jeff a visit. They did some touring around the area. And low and behold...look
what they decided to send me!!!

Gotta Love Em!!!! After all, they're family!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So until next time!!

Gotcha!! :)

Happy Scrappin"!!

Inky Hugs,

Leanne

The Creative Process Continues...

Greetings once again from the Rubber Room!

After all the writing I did yesterday, that "mother's" voice kept whispering in my ear. So, I decided to shut the old girl up, I started tidying up the rubber room. I also promised my daughter Kelli, I would watch the children for the afternoon. I was focused on getting things cleaned up in here and getting the dining room table cleared, I really didn't want anymore distractions. But afterall, a promise is a promise! Right?

So, I did what any Gamma would do...made a game out of cleaning up Gamma's room. I had paper flowers that needed to sorted, I had a bowl full of buttons that had to be separated, papers to files, and patterned paper to sorted and pulled. I had Deborah go through the bowl of buttons and sort them in a small plastic tray, putting like colors together. I thought that would be an easy job for a 6 year old. Then I had Matthew, sort through the paper flowers and put same colors together. There wasn't much to do there and he did an outstanding job. He was done before Deborah was, so I had him take the little silk flowers off the stems and put into a small plastic container and throw the stems away. The total amount of time on this project took us about 2 hours. How wonderful, two hours of children getting along, being happy and just being kids. I got my papers sorted and filed. We got a lot accomplished in that tiny bit of time. We rewarded ourselves with watching a couple of episodes of "Dora!"

Then it was time to go home. Their mother came by to pick up the children, and they were just so excited about all the fun things they did that day. Of course, Kelli said, probably the same thing all mothers say..."Why can't you do that at home?" I can answer that dear! Its more fun at Gamma's!!! LOL

So now with the rubber room all neat and tidy, and the dining room table all cleaned off...I just may start on a new project. Unfortunately, the laundry is now whispering in my ear. But I do the laundry and play at the same time! I don't do well with multi-tasking, but this I can do. The twins will be here later on this evening after church...and I'll be ready for them!! LOL

Thanks so much for permitting me into your busy day and letting me ramble on a wee bit more.
Until next time,
Happy Scrappin'!!!
Inky Hugs
Leanne

The Creative Process

Greetings once again from the Rubber Room!

Let me ask you something...how do you plan out your pages? Do you go through that whole roll of film and assigned papers and embellishments to it? Or do you purchase papers first and then look to see what photos will go nicely with them? Where do you normally find your inspiration? How do you determine which photos to scrap and which ones you don't?

Have you sat back and wondered why you do some of the things you do? Oh, I question it all the time! I tried planning out pages for the photos I had, but I change my mind too many times. So, my biggest rule of thumb for me is....go with your instincts. Go with the first thought that pops into your head. I'll be at my LSS and looking at all the papers, and if something or some photos I know I have, pops immediately into my head, I'll usually purchase those papers. Same thing goes when I am browsing the internet.

But then, here is where it gets messy!!

I have my papers! I have my photos!! Now...what stamps coordinate with these papers? What stickers, what ribbons, what embellishments, what rub-ons do I have that I can use? At this point, I am on a mission, seek out and destroy!! Seek out all things possible to use on this page and destroy the rubber room doing so. If I don't destroy it before, its the clean up that's the killer.

Now, with all that said, I have destroyed the rubber room and the dining room table. In case you don't know, I have to share my rubber room with my twin grandsons. They usually arrive here on Thursday and leave on Sunday to go back to their mother. I do my best to keep this room as neat and tidy as possible, just to keep little sticky fingers out of things they shouldn't be messing with. But even that has fallen by the wayside this past couple of weeks.

Now, you're probably are saying to yourself, it can't be all that bad. Believe me when I say its bad...its just that BAD! Then you're probably saying, then clean it up Gamma! YUCK!!! I love a clean house, but hate to clean...I love to organize, but it never stays that way! Have you ever said this to yourself?

I am just pumped at wanting to keep on with creating more scrapbook pages, that I don't want to be bothered, tidying up. But, that "mother's" voice is going off in my head. Do it now...get it done and then you can play.

So, if you've read everything to this point...thanks!

Let me share my latest page. Its going to be the intro page to my granddaughter's first year album. Its her ultra sound photo, telling her parents to expect a little girl! Papers are from a slab from Colorbok, "Dena's Closet." Stamps are from Close To My Heart, Quilt Sampler (retired) and It's a Girl (retired). These are both wood mounted stamps...it was strange using woodies after using the acrylics for so long. Most of the embellishments either came from my stash or was included in the paper slab.

Thanks so much for letting me just ramble on and for stopping by. Don't forget to leave a comment of two about the artwork you see here. I love hearing from all of you!
So, till next time....
Happy Scrappin'!!
Inky Hugs
Leanne

Before and After

Greetings from the Rubber Room!

When I first started scrapbooking way back in the day, I started with 8.5"x 11". I was comfortable with that size. I'd work with that size for years when I was in Graphics with the military. All my friends and scrapbooking buddies were all doing 12"x12" and I sat in awe of all the gorgeous things they were doing. I didn't have room on my rectangular page, but remain true to my convictions...until I through my convictions to the wind and stepped out of my comfort zone. It was about the same time (I think) that CTMH stepped out of their comfort zone and converted all their wood mounted stamps to acrylics. Since then, I have slowly but surely converting my 8.5x11 pages to 12x12.

So here is the original page in the 8.5x11 format. It was one of the first pages I had ever scrapped.

Here is the page I just completed. This is in a 12x12 format. Same pictures, almost the same colors, but this time, I didn't hold back. I had so much fun creating this page. Papers and cardstock are from CTMH and paper flowers are from CTMH as well. Most of the other embellishments, I got from http://www.just4funcrafts.com/.

Jenn there at just4funcrafts is a gem to work with and so very very knowledgeable when it comes to any kind of paper crafting.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Don't forget to leave a comment of two about the artwork you see here. I love hearing from all of you!

So, till next time....

Happy Scrappin'!!

Inky Hugs

Leanne