A Fun Little "Pick Me Up" for the Sickies

by: Dawn Knight

I hate feeling sick...never met anyone that likes it ,really! I DO however LOVE this little image of sick little Leonard from DRS Designs. I made this darling little box out of one sheet of 8.5 x 11 card stock that was SUPER quick and easy! How much better would you fell if someone gave you this little gift as a sickie Pick Me Up? I thought it would be cute to put cough drops in or a few packets of chicken noodle soup... or when all else fails... M&M's!I would even love to see this for party favors, a little thank you treat... or for something special for you kids lunch boxes! what a fun treat at camp or school!!!

If you click HERE, these are the directions for the box. I would love to see what y'all come up with... and please play along with the EASIEST challenge over at The Pink Elephant blog for a chance to win some spankin' fun candy from none other than DRS! Super easy this week, Y'all... just make a card or a project with your favorite color combo... mine is Pink and Black...LOVE IT!!! So that is my post for ya! I truly hope that you will make one of these boxes... I have REALLY embraced my 3-D side lately and I am loving the result... what could be cuter than Leonard!!! have a wonderful day...thanks for tuning in...

Stamps used...Leonard the sick pig G1019, dot background H628, sentiment (part of) E1015

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Challenge #24 - Dazzling Diamond Dust

Wow! 24 challenges so far!! We hope you have been enjoying them! We sure have. The DT's challenge this time was to use dazzling diamond dust as their focal image. This is such a cool technique and really takes no time at all. We would love for you to participate in the challenge. Just post a direct link to your creation in the comment section and if you upload to a public gallery, please use the keyword DRSC24.

Check out some inspiration from the DT below before you get started on your own project...

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One last thing!!! Be sure to stop by The Pink Elephant Challenge blog starting today thru Sunday, DRS Designs will be sponsoring the current challenge - check out the details at The Pink Elephant on how you might be able to win some DRS Designs stamps!!

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Jessica G./Jess' Obsession:

Cathy Indelicato/Crafty Thoughts...



Renée Van Stralen/Stamping for Sanity ...

Debbie Seyer - A Peek Into My Stamping Room....



Vicki Parson/Stamped Smiles:



Sue ~ DRS Designs




DawnMercedes/Amusing Musings



Jennifer/Ink N Scrap Habits



Heather Lee-Reppen / The Best in Life

Dawn Knight At Dawns Rubber Room

Deb Felts--With a Stamp and a Song

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'Tis the season...

posted by: Cathy/Crafty Thoughts...

for wrapping things up! By that I mean, school activities, graduations, etc. My post today includes some of those end of year events BUT the project can be used year round...just change the theme of the card and you are good to go!

So, just what am I talking about? How about something easy that we all need...sometimes in a pinch, sometimes not (we just wait until we are in a pinch to actually do it!)....GIFT CARD HOLDERS!

Here is an easy way to make a gift card holder without breaking any time limits...

I'll show you some inspiration first...

Images by DRS Designs...

Thanks to the coach...who always had an iced coffee in her hand...




(I couldn't find my sample gift cards - lol)
These new release images - coffee trio (K747) and espresso-ly wonderful sentiment (F754) and thank you greeting (H789) really came in handy, just in the nick of time!!!

Congrats to the grads...







This one was so easy thanks to this 2009 image (F739)! The hardest part of this one was getting up to heat emboss the images!! LOL The inside sentiment (E729)is a newer release as well.

These holders are really simple to make. Just take and 8.5 x 11 sheet of cardstock, cut in half at 4.24in. Score at 1.5 and 6.5, fold and decorate. Flap can be adhered with ribbon, brads, two-sided tape or any combination of these items, even staples!

Thanks for checking in. Be sure to stop back tomorrow for another DT challenge...get ready for some sparkle!!!

See you soon...

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Vacation Time

by Sue

Welcome!

Are you ready for summer and vacations??? Whenever I think vacation somehow my brain goes right to golfing!

As I was creating this card I really had nothing in mind and was just "flying by the seat of my pants" so I was surprised where I ended up.

These are the stamps I ended up using this week ~

and here's my card ~



Like Jennifer said yesterday, I love coloring as well. There's something very relaxing about it, and I was able to spend a lot of time coloring this card. Sometimes it's hard to tell in a photo, but I stamped my golf stamp (minus hole at bottom) on white cardstock, and just like any young child colored not only the images but around the images too. I also stamped an extra on a separate piece of stock which I popped up on my card. When I was done with that I stamped my retirement saying (which isn't a retirement saying here) on white and colored around that in yellow as well. I then cut out the first 4 lines and attached them to my card. A quick purple layer and then I mounted it all on a folded black card. Voila, I was good to go!

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

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Back To The Jungle!

Posted By Jennifer

There's something I just love about the Dustin Pike images from DRS Designs! Maybe it's because they are so cute & fun to color, and just like a little kid, I LOVE to color! Lately, my favorite technique is masking and I've been having fun creating "scenes" and filling in all of the empty space around my stamped image. The Dustin Pike images are great for that too!

I recently made this card with many of my favorites--coloring, masking, and can't forget ribbon!


See that cute little guy in the left corner? I felt I needed something there to fill in the empty space, so I created a tag using the monkey you see in the main image. I cut him out just so with my Nesties and matted him as shown. That little tag was just what this card needed to make it complete!

Stamps: DRS Designs- Jimbo and the Gang (p891)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink, SU! Ballet Blue
Paper: Smooth white cardstock by Office Depot, Colored Cardstock by American Crafts, Bazzill
Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Nesties, Spiral Clip by The Paper Studio, Ribbon by Pebbles Inc., Brads by Joann's Scrap Essentials
Finished Card Size: 5.5" x 5.75"

Thanks for visiting today! Hope you have a great weekend!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Tee for Two?

Posted by Jessica G./Jess' Obsession

Any golf fans out there? Or fans of golf fans?? DRS Designs has a wide variety of golfing images and sentiments, including newly released stamps perfect for celebrating your own golf pro.

The first card is a one-layer card, super quick and easy to make, yet still with texture:

Stamps by DRS Designs: Silhouette Female Golfer G1149, Way Above Par sentiment G507. Cardstock: Wild Wasabi. Ink: Versamark. Accessories: white EP, striped Wasabi grosgrain ribbon, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder.

The guy golfers don't need to feel left out with a version just for them, too:

Stamps by DRS Designs: Silhouette Male Golfer G038, Golf bag F947, Back Nine sentiment. Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Textured white, black. Ink: Versafine black, Wild Wasabi. Accessories: Long rectangle Nestabilities, black organdy dotted ribbon, Martha Stewart border punch.

Add a little fun to your next golfer's card with these humorous sentiments and classy silhouettes!

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Simple Pleasures

by Deb, With a Stamp and a Song

It's often said and it's true, variety is the spice of life! I've found that to be true in card-making too. Sometimes I love making really intricate, over-the-top designs, and sometimes I yearn to get back to the basics. It is nice to find a balance between the two...a simple card with a little unexpected twist. It is fun to take an every-day thing and use it just a bit differently than you normally would.

My friend Vicki R. gave me a huge box of envelopes, the kind that are for a card the size of a folded sheet of full card stock. My card for today uses a pale pink one, sealed and then trimmed along the long end. I used a round tab punch to make a notch for a pull tab through only one layer.

For the front of the envelope I cut Basic Black and Regal Rose mats in graduated sizes slightly smaller than the envelope dimensions (cut duplicates for inside the pocket while you're at it, along with a layer of white!). I cut two pieces of white card stock large enough that they would overlap slightly with the seam just above the center. I stamped the bottom half diagonally with DRS' open plaid backgrounder (p631) and inked along the bottom and sides. The top half I punched along one long edge with a Martha Stewart scalloped edge punch. I stamped the coffee cups (K747) on the plaid (I didn't even color them) and then adhered all the layers together atop the envelope.

I stamped the cups again on white card stock, colored them with Copic markers, cut them out with paper snips and a craft blade, and then adhered them with dimensionals. I kept the embellishments simple, adding a trio of pearls in one corner, and a ribbon around the entire envelope tied into a bow embellished with a tiny heart hat pin.


The inside is simply layered with the sentiment (F754) stamped in the corner with a pull tab attached to the center. This wide-open white space is perfect for a longer message or for multiple signatures...I very often bring cards like this to group gatherings so we can all sign, and then one group member will hand-deliver it. For smaller groups, a standard sized envelope and pocket card made this way works just fine.

I love the pop of black against the soft colors, and the fresh simplicity of the layout. I hope you like it too.

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A Quick Tip

by DawnMercedes/Amusing Musings

Sometimes, you hear that a friend of yours is sick. As luck would have it, your card stash is void of "get well cards." Or perhaps you hear that another friend's mother has passed away. Once again, you look and find that you have no sympathy cards. Not every event in life is planned. So, you need to stamp simply and quickly once in a while. Voila...a one layer card is a good solution...but how to make it stand out?


ADD MINI LAYERS!!

For this sick piggie, just the vase, snout and ice bag are layered with dimensionals. But the result is interesting. Adding some texture with the ribbon and prima does the trick too. Notice that the sentiment is also a mini layer propped up on dimensionals.

So the next time you think you're in a pinch. Keep it simple and add mini layers!

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Making a Master Board!

Posted by Vicki/Stamped Smiles:

Hello and happy Monday! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!
Are you STILL using those decorative papers to create your cards with? Sometimes those papers can REALLY add up too and then you're left with ALL this printed paper that just sits around forever it seems like and piles up...you can't even give it away after a while!!
**I've got another solution for you! Don't buy anymore!**
TEEHEE!! Easier said than done, right?! Well, this is where a "master board" comes in handy. I'll show you what I'm talking about....

The first thing you want to do is gather up some fun stamps/images that you think would make for great decorative paper! This is where you can "customize" your stamped decorative paper by making a theme or specific colors as your focal.
Here I've taken an 8 1/2" x 11" full sheet of white card stock and selected this Lots of Lines Background (H366) stamp and covered the entire card stock with it using a gable green ink.

I've also decided to make my master board a specific theme by selecting the Citrus Slice (D851) and repeatedly stamping it in yellow ink without re inking it until it runs out for added depth. My third choice of image comes from the partial "Sweet" Birthday Greeting (E161) stamped in orange colored ink. Because it's a word, I made sure that I stamped it both directions so that it doesn't matter which way you use the paper. (As you can see my colors and theme were carefully chosen to give the appeal of Summer/fruit!)
**Now...you are ready to use your master board like you normally would use your decorative background papers!! Simple, easy and totally customized!**

Here are THREE cards that I've made with my "master board" decorative paper! As you can see in the picture, I still have lots of left overs to create plenty more projects with! On the right card, I used it to help me create a birthday card with the Sunny Days Birthday Greeting (G592) right over top of the paper! The middle card displays an anytime card using this fun Large Margarita Glass (G017). I made sure to put some sparkle on that one! :)
And for the left card, I made fun circles for my layout with the Eyeglasses (F856) and the Broken Mower Greeting (G863) stamps....don't forget about using your master board for your scrap booking layouts as well!! If you run out...it's so easy to make another one!

(Click on the picture for a larger view.)

If you'd like to catch one more card using the same paper I've made on this post, you can go check out my blog for one more! :)
Start using those stamps to make your own master board and stop buying all those papers!
There is also another wonderful tutorial on the DRS website if you'd like to view that one as well!
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!!

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To The Dads...

posted by Cathy/Crafty Thoughts...

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! I have a quick, clean and simple post for you today as I'm sure you have a busy day of celebrating or just plan relaxing planned.

I decided that guys can be pretty simple...where cards are concerned that is!!! Most guys don't like all the frou frou "stuff" we tend to put on our cards, so these cards are for all those manly men out there...and for the ladies that make cards for them!!!

Images by DRS Designs...all the cards sport the same sketch but different focal image, sentiments and colors. They are great cards to mass produce and a way to get cards made when you're in a mojo-less state!!! (We all have those times, admit it!!!)

A Father's Day (D834) card with a favorite auto image (E894)...



A belated birthday D1077)card with a guys favorite tools image (F379)...



This card could be used for a few occasions, birthday, hello, congratuations, you name it...everyone likes to have a terrific day (D375), right?! And what better way to have a terrific day than out riding your motorcycle (E073)!



Thanks for stopping by...I hope this inspires you to stock up on your manly cards!!

Be sure to check out the DRS Designs blog this week...this week marks the final blog posts for our May/June guest designers Dawn and Deb...we hope you'll visit and wish them fond farewells! We have two new designers gearing up for July and August...we can't wait for you to meet them!!

See you soon...

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Bee-cause you're Special!

by Sue

Welcome!

If you need to send a thank you to someone special, this is the card for you!

Here are the stamps I used for this card ~

and here's my card ~




I started my card by cutting my white cardstock to 3 3/4 x 5. I stamped our cute bee stamp across the top, twisting and turning just a little bit. On the back of my card I drew a light pencil line approx. 3/4" from the top, then cut out everything above the line. After coloring and adding a little sparkle to the bees wings, I did a little dry rubbing using turquoise ink along the 3 white sides. I attached this to my folded bright blue card and all that was left was to stamp my sentiment on blue paper and emboss using white powder. I layered this on lime green cardstock and attached it to the center.


Now it's time for ~


Your Trick by Agnes H. - To prevent cutting (with a craft knife) too far by mistake: before you start making the actual cut, make a little notch (small cut) at the end of your intended cutting line. Then later on, when you reach that point, you will feel the notch and know when to stop.

My Tip: If you've ever bought unmounted stamps and cushion to mount them, you may have noticed it can be a bit difficult to cut through both layers. My tip this week is to invest in a pair of scissors exclusively for cutting rubber.

Thanks for tuning in this week! Please remember to submit your tips and tricks to: submitdrs@yahoo.com I can't do this without you!! Remember, any tip I use will earn you some blog candy!!!

Have a great week!

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Featured Friday Designer #8

Hi There - Welcome back to our eighth Featured Friday Designer!! As you know, back when we had our Guest Design Team call we were so impressed by all the entries we received that we just couldn't limit our decision to only Guest Designers so we came up with our Friday Featured Designer to give even more people a chance to inspire us!

So today we would like to introduce you to Dana Grothaus, danascott96 on Splitcoaststampers. You can find more of Dana's work on her blog, Dana's Dabbling Studio.

The stamps we asked Dana to work with were...










And here is what Dana created using those stamps...








Be sure to stop by Dana's blog to check out more of her work and for more info on these cards!!

Thanks so much Dana, we wish you continued success!!!

See you soon...

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posted by : Heather Lee-Reppen

It's me again! Hope you enjoyed my non-traditional backgrounds yesterday. Today I just have a couple Father's Day cards to share. My husband always complains that I make my cards too complicated. According to him, guys like simple not frilly. So in honor of him, here is my simple Father's Day card:

This next one is a bit more complicated (it definitely won't be going to my husband) but still manly enough for a golf loving dad :
Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to stop back tomorrow for our Friday Featured stamper!

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Non-traditional backgrounds

Posted by: Heather Lee-Reppen

Hello all! Hope you are all having a wonderful week. Today I wanted to share some cards that use non-traditional background stamps. By non-traditional, I mean stamps that weren't necessarily designed to be a background. DRS Designs has an awesome selection of background stamps, but they also have an awesome selection of other stamps that can be used to create backgrounds!

For my first card I used the golf bag stamp to create the background.

This next card uses the worm can stamp as the background. This stamp is fairly large but still works well as a background!

For my third card I used a simple "Happy Birthday" sentiment to create the background paper.
I'm pretty sure I've shared this card here before, but I thought I would share it again. Here I used the small frog stamp to create the background.Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Heather

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