Happy New Year

Hi Everyone,

These cards are made with the holiday revelers in mind.  I always think of sparkle when it comes to New Year's Eve, however, it's going to be a quiet one for us this year.  My mood is more pj's than confetti ;)

Since I equate this holiday with gold and silver, I grabbed my double sided tape and glitter to create the background.  All that was left to do was add a sentiment (365 Days of Happiness), to which I added a glittery mat. This card was simple to make, just a bit messy.

Here I created a background using Interlocking Star and Splatter Background stamps.  I colored up the Wine Glass from the Pour Me Bottle and Glass stamp and die cut and matted both, embellishing them with some glitter glue.

I added a row of gems and some die cut letters for a sentiment, attaching them in what I hope is a celebratory fashion.

Have a happy and safe New Year!

Karin

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Happy Holidays

Hi Everyone,

In my attempt to make quick and easy cards, and make ones that I haven't made a thousand times before, I came across this doily tree in one of my notebooks.  One of those ideas I jotted down when doilies on cards were all the rage.  Well, for me it's what's old is new again, so I grabbed my doily stash and gave it a go.

After folding the tree I attached it to a simple snowflake embossed background, embellishing the flakes using the same pearls from the gem and pearl "garland" on the tree.

I used a couple of circle punches for the Happy Holidays Greeting and it was done.

I did attempt to take photos along the way, if you wanted to try for yourself.

I just can't get the pictures to turn 1/4, so that they are right side up.  I thought about not including them, but if you tilt your head to the left, they may still be helpful ;) .

It really is just a folding back and forth until you run out of doily :)

May everything be right side up for you this Christmas season!  

Happy Holidays!

Karin

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Red & White

Hi Everyone,

It's feeling like crunch time in my house, so I'm thinking what Christmas cards I do have time to make, will be of the simple variety.

Here's one that has minimal stamping and a few die cuts to make it happen.  I created the white tree by stamping the underneath layer using the Snow and Starry Background stamps, using red and pink ink.  I die cut the tree out of the top layer and sent the tree through my snow embossing folder, adding some glitter glue for sparkle.

I stamped the peace on earth portion from the Three Wise Men Peace stamp and punched it out to make it look like a moon.  After then gluing on my tree, it seemed off, so I added a die cut deer in white to add some balance to the design. 

If you are still working on cards like I am, be sure to stop by the DRS Designs store! Right now, Christmas stamps and background stamps are 20% off.

Ho, Ho, Ho!
Karin

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Cheerful Smiles

Hi Everyone,

This is a random card share in the midst of everyone's holiday cards, but I had a friend who had some out patient surgery last week, and I wanted to make a card to cheer him up.  

I knew I wanted to use the Cheerful Smiles Get Well Greeting, so I decided to make some smiling Bandages to go along with it.  

I masked off the middle of the band-aid, so that I could make a face with googly eyes and a hand drawn mouth.  I colored and fussy cut them, attaching them and the greeting with some dimensional tape.

The simple background was made using the Starry Background and Easy Dot Background.

Here's the simple inside, using the Feel Better Soon from the bottom portion of the greeting on the front and the Bandage stamp again.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Karin

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Pumpkin Spice

Hi Everyone,

With Halloween fast approaching, I was running out of time to make a card celebrating my love of hot drinks. This cute Paper Coffee Cup can be decorated for any time of year, and I was remembering making a snowman type cup for this card, so I wanted to replicate that in some way for the fall. 

I made the background using an embossing folder (Darice brand) with fall words and made patterned paper for the bottom portion using the Candy Corn Border stamp and Copic markers.

The cup was made by stamping it and decorating it using the Splatter Background stamp in candy corn colors.  Then I stamped it two more times, once on white and once on orange, fussy cutting the lid, sleeve and cup, and then assembling them like you see here. Since the sleeve was orange, I used that as my "pumpkin", attaching a yellow face.  I have a jack-o-lantern die (Darice brand), and those were the negative parts left over, but I did have to do a bit of extra cutting to make the mouth fit the cup.

I paired it with the Pumpkin Spice Everything Nice Greeting that was stamped and die cut and I attached that, and the cup, using dimensional foam tape.  Since the end of the greeting states "everything nice",  I resisted my urge to add a creepy spider as embellishment...lol.

Cheers to hot drinks!  Happy stamping...
Karin 

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Give Thanks

Hi Everyone,

This Give Thanks Pumpkin Stack is one of my very favorite fall themed stamps from the
DRS Designs catalog.  It's a gorgeous image with a sentiment built right in, which made it possible to make a simple, but festive card.

After the image was colored up, I stamped the background using the Interlocking Circle Background, coloring  in the circles using the same markers.

I added a plain yellow strip behind my main image, and playing off the background, I embellished the card using a big felt button.

I'm giving thanks for all things pumpkin right now, and I hope you are too!

Have a great day!
Karin 

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Welcome Home

Hi Everyone,

 We have lots of excitement in the family.  My eldest niece got engaged last week, and her sister, my youngest niece, bought a new home!  And right now they're traveling together across Europe on vacation...They're currently living their best lives, and I couldn't be happier or prouder of the lovely young women they've become.

So, while I'm still struggling with stamping, due to an injured finger, I used some dies to create this new home card to send along with a housewarming gift. 

I dry embossed the background and used some die cut letters (you could use stickers for this too!)

to make the base of the house.  I used a square punch and cut it diagonally to create the roof portion, and added a little heart for the chimney.

I stamped the One Line Welcome onto one of my die cut clouds and added a die cut sprig to stand in for a tree. 

With my finger on the mend, I'm hoping to have a more stamp laden card to share with you next week!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karin

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Halloween Scream

Hi Everyone,

I'm struggling with an injured finger, and while it's taking it's sweet ole time healing, it's been a challenge to stamp and type.  Hence, the short and sweet post.  And the super CAS cards.  Lucky for me the stamps are cute, and completely saved the day :)

This first one features a die cut along with these two stamps:

It's a Scream Halloween Greeting

Silhouette Graveyard

The stamps I used for this one:
Favorite Veggie Candy Corn Greeting

Candy Corn Border

Thanks for being sweet and visiting today!
Karin

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U Suit Me

Hi Everyone,

It's been a crazy busy week, so unsure of whether I'd be able to find time to make a fall card, I thought I'd show off the anniversary card I was able to make for my hubby.  

I always beat him at cards, so I came up with this pun, which I cut using my alphabet dies.

  I stamped and die cut the 5 Cards stamp and created the bottom of the card using the

 4 in 1 Poker Suits stamp and coloring in the hearts and diamonds. 

I added a strip of gems and pearls along with a punched heart and photo corner.  

For the inside I used the Happy Anniversary portion from the Love is More Precious Greeting and the 

4 in 1 Poker Suits again in the corner.

However, I remembered making this Christmas card when I was in a time crunch, so I started with that simple idea and was able to squeeze in making this easy Halloween card. 

I was starting with an orange base, so I added some orange water coloring to the bottom corner of my white paper, dry embossing it after it had dried.  I glued on my die cut cat and added the 

Purrfect Halloween Greeting that was die cut and embellished with ink to match. 

The bottom corner was blank and needed to be balanced out, so I added the Broom that had been colored and fussy cut.

If you're making fall and holiday cards, be sure to visit the DRS Designs store.  For a limited time shipping is free on purchases over $25.00!

Have a great day!

Karin

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October Birthday

Hi Everyone,

I have lots of fall birthdays coming up in my circle of family and friends, so I scoured my sketch book, and I chose a card layout that looked interesting.  I've been in a rut and needed to kick start my card making mojo :)  

I began by stamping the October Birthday Greeting, die cutting it and adding a couple of mats. I then sliced it in half. 

I chose a simple embossed background, adding a border strip in the center, that I embellished with a bit of ribbon. 

I attached the sentiment along with a die cut leaf and some pumpkins that were fussy cut from the Pumpkin Pile stamp.

A bit of glitter on the leaf and a few matching gems and I called it done.  

I wish I could say fall is in the air, but I'm looking at temps in the 80's this week. However, I'm not complaining, because the frost will be on the pumpkins before we know it :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

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Happy Birthday

Hi Everyone,

This past weekend I celebrated the birthday of one my dearest friends, so I veered off of making fall cards, and made a cheerful birthday card. 

It seems bees are out in full force at the end of summer, I'm always swatting them away from my plate whenever we dine outside...lol. The Happy Bee was my inspiration for this, so I stamped and colored her up, adding glitter to the wings.  

I dry embossed the background and added a strip of paper made using the Splatter Background stamp, along with grey and yellow ink.

 

To fill up the card, I added some die cut flowers and a butterfly, which left me a space for a greeting.  I chose to use the Happy Birthday portion from the Ladybug Birthday Greeting stamp, simply because it fit my punches.

I hope you are enjoying the waning days of summer! 

Thanks so much for visiting :)

Karin

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Single Tree

Hi Everyone,

The Single Fall Tree makes an appearance on my cards today.  It's an easy to use stamp for fall and winter, perfect for the cardmaking seasons ahead.  

I began by water coloring a spot on my paper in fall colored inks, and once dry, I stamped the tree on top, adding some glitter glue to the branches.  For a bit of texture once it was dry, I roughed up the edges of the cardstock and added some brown lace.  

I used the Goodbye Summer Hello Fall Greeting, which I stamped, die cut and attached to the image panel.  And, for embellishment I used the leaf image from the 4 in 1 Harvest Designs stamp, which was layered using circle punches, and roughed up as well.

Since I had my tree stamp out, I chose to use it on a quick sympathy card.  It's a must have card for ones stash.  I dry embossed first, and stamped the tree a few times without reinking, to create that effect.

I added the Our Thoughts With You greeting and a piece of green paper to the corner to balance out the card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

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Halloween Greetings

Hi Everyone,

By using the Wooden Frame Collection stamp, I was able to cram all kinds of Halloween goodness onto my card today.

The background was made using the Spooky Eyes Background stamp, along with a cut and stamped piece of angled grey cardstock, stamped using the Empty Spiderweb. I added a piece of patterned ribbon to cover the seam and attached it to the yellow base.

Here are the stamps I used to fill in the frames and make the greeting:

Accent Bats

Goblin

Candy Corn Border

RIP Tombstone

 Deco Happy Halloween   

Cheers to candy corn all things sweet!  Thanks for stopping by...

Karin

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Fall Friends

Hi Everyone,

I have a fall friendship card that's full of autumn colors to share on the blog today.

I began making my background using brown ink and the Open Leaf stamp.  Knowing that I wanted to add it to a yellow base, I stamped over the leaves using the Splatter Background stamp.  I did three stamping passes using 3 yellow and rust colored inks.

For my sentiment, I die cut some sticker paper, covered that in brown glitter, gluing it to the corner, and adding a small gem to dot the i.

The card seemed a little dull, so I used the "Rock and Roll" technique to stamp out a few 

Medium Silhouette Leaves.   (Ink up stamp using a light color, then roll the edges of the same stamp in a darker ink.) I then fussy cut them and attached them to my card with some foam taped for added dimension.

Thanks for visiting!
Karin

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Turkey Time

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to move on to making some fall themed cards, and I ended up going all in with this card, skipping right past early fall and Halloween, heading right on to November and the Thanksgiving holiday.  

Choosing to make a fun and funny card, I used the High Tailin' Turkey and the Turkey on the Run   Greeting, stamping and coloring them both and die cutting them together.  The rust colored background was made using the Medium Silhouette Leaf stamp

After attaching the die cut and adding a punched border, it was hard to see my leaf background, so I stamped and fussy cut a leaf as a fall embellishment.

It's hard to believe that summer is winding down, but I'm looking forward to all that fall has to offer.  And DRS Designs has lots of great stamps to celebrate the upcoming season!

Happy Stamping!

Karin 

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Watermelon

Hi Everyone,

I'm still celebrating summer treats with my post this week.  Last week it was lemonade, and this week it's watermelon :) It's clean and simple, suitable for a friend or a thank you card.

I created the watermelon slice using my regular graduated oval dies, and a scalloped die for the bite.

Instead of making regular seeds, I used a heart punch to help convey my love ;) 

I stamped the greeting and a few ants for embellishment along the bottom of the card to finish it off.  

Here are links to the stamps I used:
Splatter Background (It's hard to see, but I stamped the green portion of the melon)

One Line So Sweet Greeting

4 in 1 Garden Bugs

Thanks for visiting, hope you're day is sweet!

Karin

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Lemonade

Hi Everyone,

Here's a refreshing card celebrating the summer season, and that favorite drink, old fashioned homemade lemonade.  Ahhhhh!

I made a lemonade cup out of velum, sponged with yellow ink on the inside and a bit of glitter glue for a sugared rim.  

I stamped and heat embossed the Citrus Slice, cutting it in half and using one part for the drink embellishment.  

The background was created by stamping the Five O'clock Somewhere Greeting (for those who like adult lemonade perhaps!) and dry embossing over using a citrus embossing folder.  

I attached the glass, added a straw, die cut lemon and the second half of the citrus slice to finish it off.

Cheers to the rest of summer!

Karin

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Christmas in July

Hi Everyone,

Due to the extreme heat outside and the DT recent creations here at DRS Designs, I decided to follow suit and make an easy wintery card.  It's never too early to make holiday cards :).

I stamped and heat embossed the Triple Trees with Snow and after I ran it through a snowflake embossing folder, I added some glitter glue to the flakes. 

I chose the All is Calm Christmas Greeting and added a couple of die cut deer that were attached using dimensional foam tape.

Right now for a limited time, there's free shipping on orders over $50.00 at DRS Designs...Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

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Summertime Beauty

Hi Everyone,

I feel like summer is in full swing, with lots of heat and sunshine in my home town, so while I don't live near an ocean, I do live close to one of the Great Lakes.  If you've never seen one of the 5 Great Lakes, this is a word of encouragement to visit.  They're almost like an ocean; they're so, so big.  And bonus...There are beaches, but no sharks :)))   

This beauty could be visiting any sandy shore in her cute bathing costume, and I thought she would be perfect for a bright, summer card.  After coloring up and fussy cutting the Frog Sunbather, I attached her onto an embossed and matted frame and created the backgrounds.

I stamped the yellow paper using the 4 in 1 Seashells and 4 in 1 Ocean Designs.  On the pink strips, I chose to use the sunglasses from the 4 in 1 Fashion Accessories to create a design.  I finished it off by punching out the Summer Story Greeting and adding it in between the patterned strips.  

Wishing you sunshine and smiles!
Karin

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Twins

Hi Everyone,

What's better than Leonard Pig flying a kite?  Why, two Leonards of course!  He was the perfect image for an easy breezy summertime card :)

I stamped him twice and then added a couple of extra kites from the 4 in 1 In the Sky stamp.  After die cutting the image, I added some string to the two other kites to make it look like they were being flown from outside the frame.  

An embossed background and some ribbon were attached to the card base and I chose the punny Missing You Pig Time Greeting to finish it off.

Hoping your day is a easy and breezy too!

Karin

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