A mug for ME!

So in a recent outing with my mommy playgroup... we went to a clay cafe. There are lots of them around, but basically you go on and paint on whatever pottery (at a price) and they glaze and fire it for you and then you go and pick it up. I've gone many times, but usually it's to make things with the kiddos handprints or footprints. Or make some other kind of gift item.

Well in my recent trip i did make a couple of gift items, but I also made a coffee mug for ME ME ME! I am overjoyed at my coffee mug. haha. The only thing i wish i had done better was in painting my lettering. Perhaps i should have used stamps! :)

Here is my mug...

It's really difficult to tell what my mug says in the pictures, but it reads "Makeup is Art!" And yes those lippie prints are mine. My friends sure got a good laugh at me painting my lips with painting glaze! hahahaha. I think i even had video of it somewhere on my computer. It was pretty funny and fun. :) But oh so worth it for my very one of a kind coffee mug! :)

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Viva La Verve challenge card

I'm going to keep this post quick since this is my last day visiting my parents and my 10 year high school reunion is tonight!

This is a card i did about a week ago but just hadnt found the time to post yet. WOOPS, i'm getting a little behind! AcK!

Every friday verve posts a challenge with a twist in their forum on splitcoast. This past month was the first month i did all 4 challenges! Granted i did them kinda back to back minus this card, but i still did them all! I did not win though. Oh well. haha.

Here is my card...

Ok, time to go meet up with an old friend for lunch, so i'll chat with everyone soon!!!!

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Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Anniversary AND a card! :)

Hello Everyone! I wanted to be sure to wish everyone a fantastic Thanksgiving today! We traveled yesterday and it took 2 hours longer in the car than normal due to a rockslide! No fun. But the boys were great. :)

Today is a double holiday for me! Not only is it Thanksgiving... but it's also my anniversary!

4 years ago today my hubby and i were married! And today we are back in the same town. He says our anniversary landing on Thanksigiving is completely unromatic. I think it's kinda fun that we are in the same town we got married in though (since we were living in LA when we got married, but the wedding was in Indiana where i'm from).

So indeed today I have a lot to be thankful for!

In honor of the day, I wanted to list some other things that I am truly thankful for...

My Family

Our good health

My friends

The success of my new stamp company

the support of the paper crafting world in so many ways

Here is the card I made for my hubby. I also used a technique i've never done (because in order to get anything accomplished in my life, i must double task! I made this card using the Viva La Verve challenge number 2! :)

Using the cracked glass technique... here is my card...

Since Verve has some fantastic clear stamps, i was able to curve the sentiment to go along the oval. I love that you can change the shape of clear stamps!

I really wanted a lovey dovey image, but *GASP* i dont any hearts from verve! So i've heard, i'm going to "heart" the next release from Verve which is TOMORROW, so i see some buying in my future! Since i dont own any heart stamps, i just drew some hearts and colored them in with copics.

BUT, speaking of the Verve release...

Verve is going to be having a super fun blog party tomorrow for their release...

Thanks for stopping by today and perhaps i'll see ya tomorrow!

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Home for the Holidays with Verve!

My subject title is multi purposeful! I really am going home for the holidays! Well, the thanksgiving holidays anyway! :) We're packing up the kiddos into the truck and making a very long 9 hour drive to Indiana. Please pray for me with no potty accidents and boys who dont try to poke each other!

The other reason for my post is Verve's Project Parade for the month! Now if it no small secret that I'm in love with verve's stamps along with the sketches, challenges, and delicious inspiration from the design team. It truly is the best place for me to go to work up the crafty mojo! And each month they have a project parade showing off the releases from that month fit with a prize at the end!

This month's project parade was to make a holiday gift. The samples from the design team were all less than $10! Well i followed suit making a gift for less than $5. Go me!!!!

I simply altered a candle jar. I love giving candles, and AC Moore has these fabulously smelling candles for only $4! All the paper and ribbon used on my candle were scraps! (the paper is actually baby boy paper! shh, dont tell the candle it's not christmas paper!)

Here is my gift...


Now of course since it's around the jar of the candle it was hard for me to photograph the scene. So here's a couple other shots...






This was super easy and quick to make! I always have these jar candles around (because we always have them lit in the house, and at 4 bucks a piece and them going on sale for 2 for $5 often, i buy them a lot!) So all i needed was a 3.5 strip of patterened paper, whatever other scraps and bit you want to embellish with and then maybe some ribbon. You could easily add other 3D embellishments. I stuck to paper piecing to make the images stand out. And since they were pieced onto the main patterned paper, i didnt want to distract from them so i kept the entire thing pretty flat.

To paper piece the trees and snowflakes i just stamped them onto paper and cut them out. I also stamped onto the main paper and glued the cutouts inside the stamped images. Also stamping on the background helps to give the paper pieced image a little more oompf.

I hope that everyone has a fantastically wonderful thanksgiving holiday and for those traveling, please be safe!

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Refilling copics and making custom colors

Hey there everyone! This is just a quick little video tutorial. I've been asked by many how i refill my copic markers. I dont do it any special way, but for those that have never seen a marker refilled before, this might be helpful to watch.

In the end of the video i also show you how i make custom colors (you know, when you go "man, why hasnt copic made a color to go inbetween G24 and G28!")

The other type of custom colors i like to make that i dont reference in the video is lighter version of some of my favorites (like Y21 for example). I do it the same way as in the video but i use colorless blender solution as one of my colors. So 5 drops y21, 5 drops blender solution, 5 drop y21, 5 drops blender solution, etc.

Enjoy!

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2nd post for the day, just an announcement...

Hey everyone! I posted my card i made last night at midnight last night so this is techncially my 2nd post for the day. :)

I just wanted to give a little shout that the countdown to christmas sale is up on the PMS blog and this week is a fun one because there are free fairies involved.

Ok ok, so it's a shameless plug! But i didnt think i'd be a very good store owner if i did post about it here as well. :)

Ok, scroll down to see my vervie verve card. :)

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A little mojo for your weekend

Well it's no secret i'm in love with Julee's sketches for mojo mondays. My new goal is to do the mojo challenge each week. Ok, so that was my goal starting this month and i think i've done 2. hahaha. Well, in my defense, the middle of this month got a little rough on me.

In any case, i have a fun card to share with you using this week's mojo sketch...

My tree image is one that I used to teach my copic club class at Funkie Munkie this month. I taught about the cone shape, how it relates to images we color often and then in addition, how to add a little more shape to a cone. For this this example, we took the shape of a cone for the pine tree, but then by using some shading of copic markers, helped to make the branches stand out. It was a super fun class! And now since i have about 6 trees colored in, i figured, why not work on some christmas cards! :)

Here's my card...

I used the Christmas in the Air set by Verve Stamps. As you may see if you clickie on that link there, that the tree in the set is a very 2 dimensional tree. It's fantastic for paper piecing (which is the next thing i plan to do with it!!!) but I wanted to show everyone in the class how you can really make a 2d image stand out with a little shading. I was very pleased with the outcome!

I used various snowflakes from the set (there are 5 different sizes!) to create other aspects of my card, like background paper, etc. And i outlined everything with a spica pen which you can kinda see in this picture...

Well, thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!

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PMS FAN BLOG HOP!

Welcome the PMS Fan blog hop. Ok, so yeah i'm the company owner, but i can still be a fan of my own stamps right? Hahahah! I'm definitely a fan of all of my illustrators so it isnt like i'm saying i'm just a fan of myself! If you are just a reader of my blog, and dont follow the PMS company blog... today we are having a blog hop for the fans! My hopes are to do this every month. There is also a new "makeup for the weekend" challenge posted on the PMS company blog so you really should go over there RIGHT NOW! :)

I actually didnt even follow the challenge. Shame on me! I kinda forgot when i was making my card for this hop that it would be posted the same day as the challenge. Woopsie. :)

Here is my card using Moody for Fall from the Moody Girls line...


I just love the moody girls! They are so much fun to color! This image i actually used in my copics class last month. So ladies who are in my class, yes this is the exact image i colored in class. Notice the pretty flowers at the top of the image. Thats from where my copic peed on my paper and left the ugly brown blob! hahahha!

I should have taken a better close up shot of the image. Well, maybe we'll do a color with me for this one! :)

You have just 1 more hop to make in this blog hop! And that hop it to my friend JAN! She is so awesome and has really supported me in my adventure of starting my own stamp company! So i'm honored to get to link to her!

Also a reminder that today is the LAST DAY to get the 35% off of any set on the PMS site. Tomorrow will start an all new Countdown to Christmas sale!

And now...here's




Stamps
Moody for Fall
Everyday Thanks
both from Paper Makeup Stamps

Copics:
SKIN E00, E21, R20(cheeks), B91 (eyeball) E71(eyelids)
HAIR E33, E35, E37
LEAVES YR12, YR14, YR18

SCARF B91, B93, B95

Paper
Patterned Cardstock from Martha Stewart Crafts (it's from a stack you can get at walmart for 8 bucks! and it's thick!)
Cardstock is from SU, forgive me but i think the colors were brocade blue and ruby red??? they were just in my assorted stash!)

Tools and Accessories

Oval from Custom Cutting System by Creative Memories

Flowers off the stems available at AC Moore (1 buck for like a prima bottles worth!)

Swirls from Quikutz flourish set

Pearls from kaisercraft

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Time for some smokey eyes!

Ok everyone, i'm so sorry it's been a minute since i've posted a video! We've been redoing and remodleing and painting and i've even tried taping some videos but just havent had the time to edit them!

Anyhoo - here is a super fun one using PURPLE! I love purple. I've tried to say i dont (high school color, i think i OD'ed on purple in highschool) but truth be told, i just really love the color purple! Not lavendar as much, i'm talking deep rich purple. Love it! The great thing about purple as an eye color is it truly works well with just about any skin tone! It's a great way to pull off a color look without going overboard.

This video makes a very easy smokey eye using purple but it's also not over the top so ANYONE can wear it! Check it out!

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whats that? a POST?!

Ok, so this is the time of year when posting becomes a little more difficult. There is always events at school and other misc things taking up time that makes finding craft time a little more, um, rare. And then half the things that I make this time of year I cant post on my blog because they are christmas gifts and I don't want the recipients to see them! But today i was ready to post and i realized i hadnt posted since last thursday and the post before that was 5 days prior. I was like, holy moly where did the time go!

So i will try to make sure i have some more things to post here! I have a fun announcement coming up (shh, cant say yet, it's a secret!) and I have quite a few makeup videos that need editting. I was only going to post the makeup videos on my makeup blog, but i had such a great response from my readers to post them here too! So i will. Maybe it will help my blog not be so vacant. hahahahaha!

Ok, onto my project for today!

This little gift card holder was created with some inspiration (and exact measurements, thank you!) from Jen Del Muro.

Slip off the ribbon to open the box!

I stuffed the inside of the box with some matching tissue paper. You wouldnt have to do this. The gift box does hold any standard gift card perfectly, but you could also put some jewelry or any other small trinket inside! It was so super easy to make, i can see myself making lots of these little boxes to use as gifts. The template could easily be modified as well so you would never get bored with it!

and now for...

Stamps:
Curly Surpriseabella from Stamping Bella
Sentiment also from Stamping Bella

Paper by Creative Imaginations

Coloring With Copics
Colors used... E33, E35 (pants) G82, G85, R37, R81, R83, Y35, Y38

Tools and Accessories

Flower by Prima

Rhinestone by Darice

Pink Satin Ribbon from my ribbon bin!

Classic Rectangle Nestabilities in both Small and Large (to get the closer in size mat)

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Just Us Girls Challenge...

Have you heard of the JUGS challenges? JUGS stands for Just Us Girls and they have a fabulous challenge blog HERE. My dear friend, Lisa Kind is one of the JUGS and when Paper Makeup Stamps released the Henry image for the Sarah Anderson family. If you dont remember, Sarah Anderson is a an online stamping friend of mine. She suffered a tragid loss when her little boy, Henry, suddenly became ill last week and passed away. They are still unsure of the cause. $2.50 from every sale of the Henry image or stamp, goes directly to the Anderson family. This is to help build Henry's memorial.

The JUGS team wanted to help promote this image and each and every single one of them bought it. They then decided to do a special challenge in addition to their regular weekly challenges and asked me to be a guest designer! (awww, how sweet!). In addition to this bonus challenge, There is a prize! A $15 gift certificate towards the Paper Makeup Stamps website. You will have until Wednesday, November 18 at midnight CST to post your creation in order to qualify. They will post the winner on their blog on Thursday, November 19.

Here is my card for the challenge and Anderson family...

We would love it if you would support the cause and join in this challenge with us!

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Makeup monday

yeah... makeup monday isnt happening today! I had a big fashion shoot yesterday, and then a model's luncheon t do today and then a fashion show to do makeup for tonight. PHEW! AND there was just a release from paper makeup stamps! YIPPIE.

SO needless to day, i'll probably be awol for a few days. :) But it's the good kind of awol!

See ya on the flipside!

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PMS blog hop!

If you have hopped here from Meli's blog, then you are right on track! If you are just happening on my blog, go back to the beginning! You'll want to read all about the Countdown to Christmas sale!

Now before I forget (because i sure did last time and had to go back and edit it in!) YOUR LETTER! You need this letter to get your release discount code! My letter for you is the letter O!

And now, onto my card...

I love this little monster! He's kinda like my 3 year old... reckless, and a little over dramatic! hahahah! He was fun to color as always (using my trusty copics) and i use the color challenge from this week on Splitcoast! Neutrals with a Pop!

Now, hop along to Dawn Mercedes! She's got a fabulous creation for you!

And now...

Stamps:

Boo Boo Monster from Paper Makeup Stamps

Feel Better Soon sentiment from Paper Makeup Stamps

Coloring/Copics

B21, B24, B26

R83, R85, R89

E42, E43

N0

Paper:

Pizzazzill by Bazzill Basics

BoBunny

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Teacher, Thank you Fairy Much...

It's another sneak peek day from Paper Makeup Stamps. But before i get started with my sneak peek for the day, I wanted to let you know that the digi version on Henry is now available on the Paper Makeup Stamps website. You can buy this download HERE and proceeds will go to the Anderson family. To read more about this digi stamp, please go to the Paper Makeup Stamps Blog.

If you are more interested in the rubber form of the Henry image, the rubber stamp will be released on November 7th with the rest of the rubber release from Paper Makeup Stamps. A portion of the proceeds from the rubber version also goes to the Anderson family. So you may buy whichever you prefer and still know that you are helping out the family in the wake of their loss.

There are 2 other fairy designs being released on the 7th. The one i have to show you today is Ms. Nancy, the teaching fairy. The real Ms. Nancy is actually my 3 year old's teacher. She is just one of the kindest women you could ever know, so having this sweet natured fairy named after her was a no brainer to me!

Here is my card...

Now i have to warn you, the word teacher is not a stamp. The bonus to being the stamp company owner is i have all the fonts on my computer, so when i decided i wanted to use the word teacher on my card, it was a pretty easy add on. The Thank You fairy much is a stamp however that was released previously.

Now dont forget to check out the other design teams cards and the other fairy design to be released.... TOMORROW! Please join us at 8pm CST in the PMS forum at the release party! We always have so much fun!

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Monster of a day...of

Well a monster of a day it was! I just couldnt get the mojo going to make a card. And what do i do when i need mojo? I go to the mojo monday blog! haha. I mean really, what better place to get mojo than a place with mojo in the name!

And I'm glad i did because i needed a good card for today's sneak peek from paper makeup stamps! Ahh, thank you Mojo Monday, for pulling thru again!

Here is my card...

Here's a more close up view of the very fun twisty tree, drawn by my friend, Steve Hammond (of enemy arts)...

I really wanted a leaf to be falling on my card, much like the leaves are in the photo. but alas, i only had a random SILVER leaf. and i do mean it was silver. Why i had a silver leaf? I think it was in a prima jar of green and shimmery flowers. I then remembered the wonderful power of the copic airbrush... so i took what looked like this (ok, so this is the backside, i forgot to take a picture before hand but it looks the exact same )

and i turned it into this!

Pretty nifty huh?! I love the copic airbrush.

Dont forget to check out the Paper Makeup Stamps blog for more monster-ie fun sneak peeks.

Also - if you are just tuning in for the first time today, check out my 1 am post from this morning... just scroll down to read.

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In Loving Memory of Henry Anderson...

Yesterday was a tough day. I found out that a stamping friend, Sarah Anderson (you may know her, or have seen her blog in my blogroll) lost her 3 year old on Monday. It was a sudden illness that only came up on Friday. They still are unsure of what happened. Now Sarah is just one of those "online stamping friends" our husbands tease us about. I have never met her, or her children. But the mere thought of what she must be going thru has just really bogged me down. With a 3 year old and a 1 year old myself, it just hits too close to home. She could use all the support and prayers out there right now!

There are companies in the stamping community joining to help honor her sweet little Henry.

Lorie Ames has organized a way to donate for a memorial for Henry. Henry loved his local zoo and visited it almost every day in the summer. As a memorial, trees will be planted there in his honor. Melissa at Pink Cat Studio has created a digital stamp to help raise funds for a tree for Henry. All proceeds from the sale of the digi stamp, minus Paypal costs, will go towards the tree. If you would like to donate towards the tree, please visit this webpage to purchase the digi stamp:http://www.pinkcatstudio.com/Digital/DigiStamps/Animals/Zoo/GiraffeAndMonkey.htm

Another way to donate to the memorial is to print out this form and mail in your donation directly:http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/Parks/PDF/MemorialTreePamphlet.pdf

Please write on the form that the donation is for Sarah Anderson’s son Henry. Once all of the money is collected, a tree and location will be selected. If you have questions about the form please contact Lorie Ames. Lorie will be in contact with Sarah along this memorial journey to ensure that her wishes are followed.
To contact Lorie, please visit her blog at http://www.live-love-laugh-create.blogspot.com/

If you don’t know Sarah and would like to learn more about her, please visit her blog: http://scrampinmama.blogspot.com/

Thank you for your help to raise money for a tree for Henry.

Tomorrow at the Paper Makeup Stamps blog, we will release a digi in Henry's honor as well. This image will also be sold in rubber, but not until after the stamp release.

Here is a sneak peek of what will be released tomorrow from PMS for Henry...

EDITED TO ADD

the digital version is now available and the rubber version will be available on November 7th at 8pm! You can purchase it here

Other companies are jumping in (I Heart Papers, and LimeLight PaperCrafts). I will let you know as i find out of other companies.

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November Sneak Peeks - Everyday Thanks

I'm in love with this Everyday thanks set (to be released from Paper Makeup Stamps on November 8th). For one, it has one of my all time favorite fonts used throughout, and it's just perfect for any occasion.

Here is the card i made... (remember this image? Its the one I colored in my last Color With Me video! It was just sitting on my craft table! My card came together in about 5 minutes because of that! AHHHHHHHHHH)

If you happened to miss the Color With Me video (beware the dance music, haha), you can still watch it HERE

Now dont forget to go over to the Paper Makeup Stamps blog not only to see the other fun thanks sentiments in this set, but also to leave a comment (you can leave one here too *wink*) and be entered to win the entire release!

and now...

Stamps:
Melody Fairy from Paper Makeup Stamps
Everyday Thanks from Paper Makeup Stamps, to be released on November 7th

Copics and Coloring...
watch the color with me video for more indepth but here's all the colors for a quick reference
E00, E000, E21, R20, R85
E30, E33, E35
B000, B0000
YR000, YR00, YR61, YR02
B12, B14

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PMS sneak peeks for November start now!

Yippie! Time to show off some new stamp designs! Today i have a new moody girl for you. She was very fun to color. I just love all the detail in the moody girls, but yet the detail lends to them being colored a new and different way everytime. It's like they'll never get old! :)

Here is my card...

You cant even tell, but the pink paper was stamped with the swirlie tree before i embossed the paper. I thought it would show up a little more than it does. Oh well. :)

The sentiment is also a new single sentiment being released.

If you want to win the entire release, make sure to leave a comment on the Paper Makeup Stamps blog!

Here are


Stamps:
Moody for Fashion
Lonely for you sentiment
both from Paper Makeup Stamps, release date November 7th

Color - Copics
Purples used are BV20, BV23, and a little BV25, BV0000 used in airbrush for sentiment
Pinks used "R80" custom color, R81, R83, R85, R89, R0000 used in airbrush around image
Skin: E00, E000, E01, E21

Paper:
Pink Pirouette Cardstock from SU
Spring Lilac from CTMH

Tools and Accessories
Nestabiltiies Labels 4
Cuddlebug embossing folders
pearls by kaisercraft
grosgrain ribbon from AC Moore (sorry, cant think of the company name right now and i have a baby on my lap!)

Thanks for stopping by today!

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It's all about the love... Spread the Love blog hop...

(by the way, if you are looking for my makeup monday post, it's below this post.)

This is a very sad post. I'm participating in a Spread the Love blog hop. It is in conjunction with the Stamp Something Challenge blog. But please start at http://spreadthelove-forjaimie.blogspot.com/

On October 4th, 4 teenagers armed with knives broke into a home were a mother and her 11 year old daughter were sleeping. They stabbed the mom, Kimberly Cates, to death and left her daughter, Jaimie, for dead in their driveway. It was a completely random act, their home was chosen only due to its secluded surroundings. This blog hop is in support of Jaimie. She needs all the support of the world! If you would like to send her a card, please send me an email at makeupbykatie @ yahoo.com and I will send you the details. Here is my card for Jaimie! Jaimie likes pink and black! Donations can be made, here. Now hop on over to... Vicki Parson http://stampedsmiles.blogspot.com Thank you for stopping by today!

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Makeup Monday! A video tutorial

Hiya everyone! Well a bit back when i asked for suggestions on what everyone wants to see on my blog... i got a big response to BRING MAKEUP MONDAYS BACK! I know i've posted some other makeup videos randomly, but i'm going to try to have one for you every monday. I'm sure i'll slip up now and then and i'll try to make up for it... get it? Make Up? hehehe. Ok, i'm a cheeseball.

In any case, here is a video tutorial using the new-ish Notoriety Quad by MAC. You dont have to have this quad to do this look. They are great fall colors, but you could substitute any colors you would like. :)

I have some other tutorials in the works and one video that focuses on my favorite brushes. But if there is something you'd like to see, leave me a comment and I'll try to get it worked out for ya!

Here's the video... and a little FYI, it's uploaded quite large so you can see the detail. Click on the video if it's too big for your screen and it will open it up to full view. :)

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My tot's got... COLOR

And apparently he's just got 1 color.... BLUE! haha! It's his favorite color. He asked the other day if he could make a card for his friend. So i said sure. And since The Greeting Farm was hosting a tot challenge, i figured, why not! I told him there were 3 challenges, and explained him. He said he wanted BLUE. So i guess that means he wanted to do the color challenge? He did ALL the work himself.... as i'm sure you can guess by the magnificently blue card. He even stamped the image. He clapped in glee when he lifted the stamp and it was actually in the center of the paper i gave him to stamp on! haha. The rest are punches obviously. I tried to explain he was supposed to use the punched out design, but he said he liked the frame better. haha.

And to my own amazement, when he asked to use my marker (COPICS) i let him. My dad always let me use his art markers when i was a kid. I figured I owed it to my own children.... so long as their was supervision! I was very impressed with how well he stayed in the lines (he's 3). He colored each section on it's own. He just never wanted to change the marker color. hahahaha.

Here is his card... using dress up ian.



The Greeting Farm is having a VSN tonight in their Paper Craft Planet forum... so check it out if you have some stamping time tonight! Party is at 7Pm!

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