I know that the new craze in the stampers world are copics. Now, I personally do not own any, can’t really afford them after creating and still raising 4 children, but really there are lots of lovely cards made everyday without them. I am not bashing the copics, because personally I would love to own some to play around with and I always go do the blog candy give-a-ways if they are included. There are many lovely cards showcasing copics. There are lots of great mediums outside of copics. I know lots of us use color pencils and a variety of different markers out on the market for stamping and card making. I have purchased many a markers in the last few years, but I have to say my personal favorite that I can afford are the Bic Mark-it. I have the 36 count package and pretty much love it. The only thing I might say about them negatively is I that I would love a better skin tone color, but really overall, I pretty much love this set. Recently, and since I first purchased this set I have had several people ask me what I am using to color. Well, if it is not colored pencil it is the Bic Mark-it. So, I thought for those of you who don’t own copics and was wanting something comparable to copics and affordable to play with this would be a good alternative to the copics. I have also used the Prismacolor colorless blenderg pens with my Bic Mark-its and have gotten good results. The “flower” on the “flower” cupcake category on the welcome page here I used a peach perfect Bic Mark-it and the Prismacolor blender pen. So don’t be afraid to try things like this all you can do is discover something wonderful or dump it.

Let’s say you already own the Bic Mark-its, but not sure how to use them to get the look you want. Well, someone shared this tutorial with one of my friends from you-tube. I thought “how great is this”. I naturally know how to shade, it is in my blood, but not everyone does and could use some direction. So, I hope you find this to be helpful and encouraging if you have difficulty achieving this. Mainly, things like this are just a matter of practice practice practice… So, with no further delay from me being so windy… here is a GREAT tutorial for using the BIC-Mark-it markers….

Well, what can I say I still have cupcake’s on the mind!! I love to share all the fun finds such as these! Here are 2 tutorials that are not mine, but I think these would be a great craft ideas for a little older child! The first video is “how to make a gift card holder” and the second video is more of just a decative fun cupcake. How fun to maybe make these second ones at a child’s birthday party? Lots of fun things come to mind.. so watch the video’s and I am sure it will inspire you to make one too!! Make sure you watch both videos, because the end result for each is way different, but they are both super cute!!

Gift Card Holder Cupcake:

Decorative Paper Cupcake: