Local News

Dallas 9-Year-Old Aspires To Be Tattoo Artist

DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ― According to Lilly Hibbs, tattoos are a way of life. Her mom works on body piercing and her dad is a tattoo artist. The 9-year-old said she just wants to follow in his footsteps.

"Monkey see, monkey do," said Stephen Hibbs, Lilly's dad. "I guess she watches us everyday she wants to be a part of it."

Stephen said he just couldn't be prouder. "Most parents would say, 'I can't believe your kid wants to be a tattoo artist.' Where I say, 'I can only be lucky if my kid turns out to be a tattoo artist,'" he said.

Lilly spends her day at Suffer City Tattoos in Dallas, doing what she says comes naturally, learning the skill of body art.

"When I was 7, my dad asked me if I wanted to tattoo him and I said yes," she said. So, Lilly tattooed her dad with a picture of Patrick from SpongeBob SquarePants.

The video was posted on YouTube. "One person saw video of me tattoo. They just stopped in saying they wanted a tattoo by me," Lilly said.

One person even drove from North Carolina to get a tattoo by Lilly. "He wanted an anchor, so she drew him an anchor," said Stephen. "He loved it."

But Lilly has a little help. The needle is heavy, so her dad holds on while she draws.

At only $5 for each tattoo, Lilly realizes that she won't get rich any time soon, but she is saving up for something a little zany: a gigantic plastic gingerbread man.

"I don't think I will ever buy her a plastic gingerbread man, she will buy it for herself," said her dad.

Lilly has drawn about six tattoos and says she realizes she has a lot of art classes to take before she can perfect her skill. Meanwhile, her dad worries that, like most kids, she will rebel -- throw in the needle and run off to join a sorority.

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