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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Gift Card and Note Holder for Dear Old Dad...

by Dawn Mercedes/Amusing Musings

Or Husband, Boyfriend or Uncle...

Sometimes those men in your life are hard to buy gifts for. So...you resort to giving them a gift card to their favorite restaurant or shop. How to present it? Well...here is a nifty way to send him the card along with a personal note about how much he means to you!




This month, DRS Designs is releasing several golf stamps. If your man is into the game, be sure to check out the new stamps all this week in sneak peeks on the design team blogs.






Inside this "card," there are 2 slots where you can slide in a gift card and a note card. Basically, the inner layer is a sealed business sized envelope that is folded in half and the top edge is cut off, revealing the 2 pockets. Be sure have have strong glue or adhesive to keep this stuck together.

The outside is a piece of cardstock that measures 4.25 x 11 inches. Score at 1.5 and 6.25. My insert measures 4x4 inches square. This will give you plenty of space to write a special note to a loved one.

Embellish all layers as you wish. A velcro dot is used to secure the top flap. This would also be great for end of the year teacher notes and gift cards...if your kids are still in school, like mine! Or soccer/baseball coach appreciation note and gift card. Boy, the uses for this gift card and note holder are endless!




Remember, the DRS Blog hop starts on Thursday. Comment on all the cards along the way and you will be entered into the drawing for fun and treasures!!



(Stamps used: Graphic Golf - 992LU, Above Par Bday - 507GU by DRS Designs)

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Stamping Solid-ly with Solid Stamps

by Dawn Barrett/Amusing Musings

Could that be the latest stamp-inspired tongue twister? Just try to say that 5 times quickly.

DRS Designs has a stately Silhouette Grad Cap(W1092KU) that I chose to use this week. Since we are in the mist of graduation for highschool and college seniors, I thought I'd stamp some conGRADulatory cards.

Solid stamps give some people the fits but here are some ways to help you get a good color, especially when using large images.
1. Put a little texture on that stamp so it picks up the ink. Some people rub the new stamp on their jeans. For this stamp, I used my sanding block and lightly sanded the top surface.

2. Be sure that your ink pad is nice and juicy. Craft ink can help a lot too.
3. When you stamp your image, hold it down a little longer than you usually do.
4. Try adding cushioning. Either with EZmount or place a magazine underneath your paper.


Now on to the Graduation Card examples...


I love using acetate on cards! I stamped and embossed the Easy Swirl Background (688HU) in silver. The black card base is cut slightly smaller than the normal so that it fits inside the acetate "cover." I used black craft ink and clear embossing powder for the simply solid mortarboard. Then, silver cording is added on the spine of the card to create this elegant graduation card.

Solid stamps can be quite versitile! They don't have to stay solid, or one color! One idea is to mask an area and then color it in with daubers. For the Silhouette Grad Cap, I used post-it notes to mask the top area before daubering on a darker blue. This can give a bit of texture to your image.


I used a gold Sakura pen to add in the tassel detail.

If you want to change the look of a solid stamp, you can try the "rock n roll" technique. First, ink your stamp in a light color, then roll the edges in a darker hue. Also, markers may be used to color a section of the stamp a different color too. Be sure to look up DRS Designs' many graduation stamps and sentiments!

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Making your stamps S-T-R-E-T-C-H...

By Dawn Barrett/Amusing Musings
As big as our eyes are for rubber stamps, most of our wallets are probably not big enough to buy everything that we see. The solution is to make what you do have...STRETCH. Find new uses, new techniques, new ideas, etc. One thing that I do is to take a look at the details. For example, this stamp is such a quirky, funny little guy.





(717FU)
Not much to crop or stretch? But look closely. That #1 fan glove is just itching to be the star of a card. With the magic of ink and repeated stamping....hehe...you can easily make a card like this:

We use paper and ink and scissors. So pick up those scissors and cut away...until you come up with a new point of view for your stamped cards!

I can get a birthday boy sitting anywhere I chose when I cut off the gift he is sitting on. (650KU)

Take a look at your stamps by DRS Designs and see how you can STRETCH their use!

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