That is a hint. Today's post is
CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN PROJECT #3!!!
AKA The Mini Matisse Thank-You Note Collection
Okay, I may not be as organized as I'd like, but I am a militant thank-you note writer. And my kids have their notes out (usually) by New Year's. They may dress like rejects from the Beastie Boys, they may eat McDonald's a wee tad bit too often, they may talk like sailors, but THEY WRITE THEIR THANK-YOU NOTES!
Of course, the little one is too small to actually "write," so for her I created these little masterpieces. YOU CAN DO THIS.
Supplies:
Scannable artwork from your mini Matisse
Notecards (I use pre-folded ones from Die Cuts With a View) (what is with that name anyway?)
A few sheets of patterned paper (I used scraps from Anna Griffin and Scenic Route)
American Crafts "Kate" rub-on Minimarks
Scanner
Letter stamps (I used KI)
Scraps of cardstock
Stickles
Stamp pad
Trimmer
2" circle punch
Adhesive
Dimensional foam adhesive squares
Step One. Choose a lovely piece of artwork from you child. If you are like me, you have BOXES of the stuff. What a great way to use it!
Step Two. Scan it into your computer.
Step Three. On my computer, I can select the scan area... that's what I am doing here. This is great if you don't have PSE or another digital design program where you can crop. I added this photo merely because it makes me look like I know what I'm doing.

Step Four. Open a Word document and create an entire sheet of your child's masterpiece. I resized the artwork to about 2x2".
Step Five. Print on cardstock.
Step Five. Trim!

Step Six. Trim your patterned paper to 4.25"x1" and adhere to the left side of the card. Punch 2" circle from coordinating PP and adhere on top of strip. Cut cardstock to approx. 3" x 1 1/2" and adhere to lower right corner. (This is the photo where I was laying everything out to make sure it looked good).
Step Seven. Place the rub-ons on the cardstock. (NOTE: I have not yet adhered the mini Matisse masterpiece. It's just sitting there for placement purposes. If you have already done so, you are getting ahead of the rest of the class and need to slow down and stay with us! I used to hate it when the teacher would say that -- but in this case, I have a good reason.)
Step Eight. Place foam adhesive squares in each corner of the mini Matisse masterpiece. Yes, you could just adhere it flat, but I think this looks so much cooler... don't you? This is why I didn't want you zipping ahead and adhering the artwork down. Because you're popping it up, it would be difficult to use the rub-ons AFTER the artwork had already been adhered. Now, aren't you glad you trusted me??
Step Nine. Stamp your child's inital in the upper right corner of the card. Immediately decide this was a mistake and try to figure out some way to save the situation. Decide to call on the old adage, "When in doubt, reach for the bling" and grab your Stickles.
Step Ten. Stickle it up. Decide that it looks MUCH better.
Step 11. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. You get the picture.
Variations on a theme: I could see these as a great gift for Grandma (How cute would that be -- a whole collection of notecards using her grandchild's artwork??) Or what about for a teacher? Or if you are like me you are totally loco and have volunteered to be your child's room mom... and when you are looking for a gift for the kids to make for Christmas, Mother's Day, etc., this would be perfect!
If you do not have a scanner, you could simply give your child a set of 2x2" squares and ask him to decorate them. You could use stickers, stamps, etc.