Winter

 Hi Everyone,  

To those who celebrate, I hope your Christmas was a happy occasion and that you're looking forward to the new year!  These are two last minute cards I made for the holidays, and since they have a more general winter theme, I thought I'd save them for after Christmas sharing.  If I didn't use them for Christmas, I would stamp a Happy New Year inside and send them on their way :)

Did you know that DRS Designs will make a personalized stamp?  Well, they do!  

One of them is the Christmas Village Custom Name Sign and I used it here for a card for my neighbors. I simply added it to an embossed snowflake background along with some gems.

This snowflake card utilizes the Medium Filigree Snowflake on the base and the Large Filigree Snowflake on the white panel.  For the sentiment, I stamped the new One Line Happy Holidays and hand cut it, gluing it onto a piece of red paper and hand cut again. 

A few large and small gems were attached to finish it off!

Happy New Year stamping friends!

Karin

Merriest Christmas

Hi Everyone,

Here are a couple of last-minute Christmas cards that I whipped up.  I used the same embossing folder for both, so the backgrounds were a snap. 

I colored the World Globe, and knew I wanted to pair it up with the Merry Christmas to All sentiment, so I thought a Santa hat would be on brand and really bring on the holiday cheer.  I stamped and fussy cut two hats using one for the globe and another for an embellishment.  A few scattered gems finished it. 

The hats came from these stamps:

Santa Face

Santa Puppy

 

For this card I used a piece of the holly paper I made for this card here, and added the Santa Face and the Merriest Wishes Greeting, along with a few gems in the snowflake centers. 

Wishing you and yours the Merriest of Christmases!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

 

Merry Christmas to All

Hi Everyone,

Using the new Merry Christmas to All sentiment from DRS Designs on my card, I decided to pair it up with the Santa with Birds Christmas Scene because he's depicted with "all" the little birdies.

I stamped and colored up the scene but ended up with a big smudge along the top.  Don't you hate when that happens?  Lucky for me my dies saved the day by letting me crop out the goof up. The scene is simply smaller and, in the end, fit the card well.   I also added some glitter glue to the fur on his clothes for a bit of holiday sparkle.  

I layered it onto a background that was stamped using the Medium Filigree Snowflake and lined with a strip of embossed snowflake cardstock.  Finally, for embellishment I added the Small Cardinal that was stamped and fussy cut. 

Happy Holidays!
Karin

Red and White Christmas

Hi Everyone,

Since I love a red wine and I love a white wine, I feel like this stamp was made for me!   I just don't love a sweet wine, the more tannin the better say I.  That's probably why my palate prefers tea without sweetener too. Enough about my beverage preferences and on to the card!

I kept the card monochromatic in keeping with the sentiment and used snowflakes on the background for that reason too.  Who can sing White Christmas without imaging flakes in the air? 

Here are links to the stamps used on the card:

Interlocking Snow Background

Pour Me Bottle and Glass

Drink the Red Christmas Greeting

Happy Holidays!
Karin

Mistletoe and Holly

Hi Everyone,

I'm loving the new wine themed holiday stamps from DRS Designs.  They're perfect if you have any oenophiles in your life!

Here I made a piece of background paper using an embossing folder that I inked up and sent though my machine.  I then colored in the places that weren't embossed using some markers and a bit of ink sponging. 

I die cut the new Fine Wine Christmas Greeting and attached it to a large, die cut snowflake, finishing it off with a few fussy cut images of wine glasses and some holly.

Those stamps can be found here:

Triple Holly

Pour Me Bottle and Glass

 

Peace On Earth

Hi Everyone,

I used some untraditional colors for today's holiday card.  I feel like the colors and patterned paper I made have a mid-century modern vibe :)

The background was embossed with large snowflakes, and the following stamps were used to make the strips:

Snow Background

Easy Dot Background

Splatter Background

The Small Peace On Earth and World Globe image are a couple of new stamps from DRS Designs.  

Happy Holidays!

Karin

 

Gather Hope

Hi Everyone,

I'm still celebrating the fall season with my card today.  Lots of leaves in fall colors and a super sentiment to celebrate Thanksgiving.

I dry embossed my background and then sponged the leaves with different fall colors to make them more pronounced. The Gather Hope Thanksgiving Greeting was stamped, and I added a punched border along with a few brads.

I finished the card with a few die cut leaves, an acorn that was fussy cut from the Fall Leaf with Acorn stamp, and a ribbon bow.

Be sure to check out all of the fall stamps from DRS Designs and have a great day!

Karin

Autumn Cards

Hi Everyone,

Sadly, the trees where I live are now all bare, but I'm trying to keep all the vibrant fall colors alive by using them on my cards.  

Here is the fourth and final card using some background paper that I made using stamps from DRS Designs.  You can click here to see how I made it out of one 8 1/2"x 11" piece of card stock.  The stamps I used are:

Filigree Pumpkin

Silhouette Branch

Splatter Background

The sentiment stamp named Season of Thanks Oval, was heat embossed using a glittery powder and colored using regular, non-alcohol based markers. 

This card features the new Gather Hope Thanksgiving Greeting, that was embellished with a couple of little pumpkins to match my embossed background.  The pumpkins are from the 4 in 1 Harvest Designs.

 

For more fall colors, I stamped a border of the Open Leaf and colored them up to match.  

Thanks for stopping by!
Karin

Always Thankful

Hi Everyone,

I really liked using glitter glue for my leaves on this card, so I thought I'd make another small scene and do the same.  Using a large leaf die, I cut out the scene I made using Winter Trees and the pumpkin from the 4 in 1 Harvest Designs.  Once again, I sponged on some sky and grass and colored in the pumpkins, and lastly adding the sparkly leaves.

The embossed background and the Always Thankful Greeting were both enhanced with a bit of brown and orange sponging. 

Some matching twine and ribbon were added for texture, along with a couple of brads.  

Thanks for peeking in on the blog today!
Karin

Trick or Treat

Hi Everyone,  

Since Halloween is next week, it thought it was time for me to share something on that theme.  

Whenever I host at my house, I like to send my guests home with a small treat.  This time of year, my go to take home gift is pumpkin bread, but I ran short on time for elaborate packaging.  I had 12 of these bags leftover from a long-ago Halloween, and they fit the mini loaves perfectly, so I dressed them up with a ribbon and tag made using the Small Trick or Treat Greeting. 

I found I made one too many tags, and also had a piece of ribbon left over, so they made their way onto a Halloween card.

The background was stamped, and heat embossed using the Interlocking Star Background, and the main image was made using the Goblin stamp.  I stamped them on top of each other, colored them up and added googly eyes.

Happy Halloween!

Karin

Thankful

Hi Everyone,

If you missed my post from last week, be sure to click here to see how I made the background paper that's featured on my card today.  Once again, the stamps I used for it are:

Filigree Pumpkin

 Silhouette Branch

Splatter Background

The lovely Always Thankful Greeting is a new one here at DRS Designs and it was die cut, matted and attached to an embossed strip.  I left room at the bottom for the adorable Laid Out Scarecrow that I colored up to match the card. 

Thanks for stopping by check out all of the latest stamps right here!

Have a good one!
Karin 

 

Backgrounds

Hi Everyone,

Back when I started stamping, I kept a notebook of various ideas to assist me in making cards. This was one idea to help when making multiple cards at once. 

It begins with a piece of cardstock, 8 1/2" x 11" and you simply stamp down the center of the paper, both horizontally and vertically, with whatever stamps you choose.  In my case, I used the following... (excuse the terrible photos of my table full of bits and scraps!)

 Fillagree Pumpkin

Silhouette Branch

Splatter Background 

Then you cut down the center and across and you have 4 pieces of background paper for your projects.

Here I attached it to a brown card base and used it for the backdrop for the Classic Turkey and the soon to be released Let's Talk Turkey (083B).

And here I paired it with the Large Happy Fall Y'all Greeting, attaching the pumpkins from the 4 in 1 Harvest Designs for embellishment. 

Now I just need to remember this idea for making multiples of Christmas cards! DRS Designs has many stamps that work well with this technique :)

Have a great Tuesday!
Karin

Happy Fall

Hi Everyone,

I know creating a whole scene for a card is not my strong suit.  I love the look this type of card, but I always feel intimidated when I start out. Teaching myself to think small is the key, so I chose to make a 4 1/4" square card and that helped keep me from being overwhelmed.

I began by sponging the background grass and sky, and then stamped the Summer's End Tree and new, soon to be released Windmill (025H) stamp on top.  I colored in the windmill and added some glitter glue in fall colors to the tree.

The Large Happy Fall Y'all sentiment was attached with some dimensional tape to complete the seasonal card. 

Be sure to stop by the blog as we roll out cards featuring new holiday stamps from the DRS Designs store!

Happy Fall!
Karin

Thanksgiving

Hi Everyone,

I know I've skipped right over Halloween with my card, but it grew out of the fall themed patterned paper that I made using the following stamps:

Open Leaf -Brown ink

Silhouette Branch-Green ink

Splatter Background-Orange ink 

I added a dry embossed pumpkin panel (Cuttlebug folder), attached the die cut Close to Your Heart Thanksgiving Greeting and added this to a brown card base. 

To finish, I added a die cut leaf (Darice) and a raffia bow.

It fully feels like fall in my part of the world right now, but if you need extra inspiration, check out all the fall, Halloween and harvest stamps right here!

Happy Stamping!
Karin

Goodbye Summer

Hi Everyone,

I knew I wanted to mark this time of year using the Goodbye Summer Hello Fall Greeting on a card, but I was struggling for ideas.  I had multiple ink pads out, pumpkin and leaf stamps, dies... and well, you name it! My table and mind were an overwhelming mess, so I pared it all down and ended up making a monochromatic card. Depending how you look at things, this took me either 2 hours, or an actual 20 minutes. 

The greeting was die cut and heat embossed, and I used the Fall Leaf with Acorn for the background and the fussy cut embellishment.

I wrapped a strip of leaf embossed paper with some plain twine, before attaching everything using dimensional foam dots.  

The card is much more fall than summer, but I'm ready to usher in the new season later this week!

Thanks for stopping by and check out all the stamps here at DRS Designs!

Karin 

Pumpkin Spice

Hi Everyone,

With today's card share, I'm celebrating that favorite fall flavor of pumpkin spice!  

I began by stamping the Paper Coffee Cup a few times and fussy cutting everything to create the lid and sleeve.  The cup itself was stamped using the pumpkins from the 4 in 1 Harvest Designs and then I wrapped it with a bit of raffia.

The Pumpkin Spice Everything Nice Greeting was die cut and layered (along with the cup) onto a background that was wrapped with lace and stamped with the Pumpkin Pile.

Thanks for visiting today!

Karin

 

Happy Birthday

Hi Everyone,

When it comes to cardmaking, September is a heavy birthday month for me.  It would be great if I planned ahead, but since my good intentions usually fail, my cards tend toward a simple design.

I stamped the Wordy Birthday Greeting in black, orange and red ink, adding some yellow sponging around the die cut. I attached the sentiment at an angle to an embossed cupcake background and added the fussy cut Birthday Party Pig.  Both of these stamps can be found at DRS Designs.

To finish it off, I added a few punched stars for a confetti like embellishment :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karin

Get Well Soon

Hi Everyone,

Masculine cards are not my strong suit, but I have a friend recovering from back surgery, and he's a guy, so before I left for a visit, I whipped up this simple card. 

I stamped the Sailboat in a navy blue to match the card base and distressed the edges before wrapping the panel with some twine. The Cheerful Smiles Get Well Greeting was die cut and sponged with some blue chalk before I attached it to the card.  

The boat seemed too plain, so I added a bit of light sponging around it as well, and that seemed to finish it off.

Thanks for peeking in and hope your day is smooth sailing!

Karin

From Our House

Hi Everyone,

After making this thank you card last week, I whipped up a second one, so that I wouldn't be caught without one, next time I was in need. 

It's pretty self-explanatory, just an embossing folder, some circle dies and a few cute stamps!

Bitsy Bumble Bee

Happy Bee

Beehive

 From Our House to Yours Greeting

All that this card needs when the time comes, is a thank you sentiment stamped inside!

Be sure to check out all of the bee themed stamps at the DRS Designs store!

Have a great day,

Karin

Thank You!

Hi Everyone, 

We were invited to dinner this past weekend, so here is a quick thank you card I made for them using stuff laying around my craft table.  I'm a messy stamper, but for once it made this card fast and simple.

I had my rectangle dies sitting out from making this card, and my Medium Daisy Bloom out from making this card here, all I had to look for was the Brush Thank You stamp.

 

I even scavenged the cardstock from a pile on my table, so all that was left to do was tie on some twine, add a die cut butterfly and write a note inside. 

Thanks for stopping by!
Karin

Cheerful Smiles

Hi Everyone,

My card today is generic, one of those cards that you can you use as a birthday, friendship or thinking of you cards.  In my opinion, you can never have enough of these in your card stash.

While I know Dogwoods don't come in these colors, it's my favorite flower stamp from the DRS Designs store, and I thought it would work for a background colored up in these fresh, happy colors. 

I added a die cut sentiment from the Cheerful Smiles Get Well Greeting which was embellished with a piece of ribbon.   

The yellows and oranges are making me think about the next season....GAH! I'm not ready to say goodbye to summer, so I'm quickly squashing that thought. 

Enjoy the summer as long as you can folks!

Have a good one!
Karin 

 

With Sympathy

Hi Everyone,

Sadly, I was in need of a sympathy card and didn't have one on hand.  I have a simple, go to card design, but I've used it so many times, that I have no idea who I've sent it to in the past.  I chose another easy to replicate design in a neutral color, but I feel like the browns may have been a bit drab. More depressing, than soothing.  I'll choose a soft green or blue next time for my monochromatic sympathy card. 

The background was stamped using the Silhouette Branch and the sentiment is With Sympathy

  I mounted the greeting on some black cardstock and used a border punch and a row of gems to add some interest.  I also added some matching twine before I attached the greeting to the card. 

Not wanting to be stuck without a sympathy card for next time, I took inspiration from Lisa's beautiful card here, and made one for my stash. It's not as pretty as hers, but the recipient won't know that! 

Here are the stamps I used for this:

With Sympathy

Dandelion Puff

Spatter Background

And inside:

His Blessings Faith Greeting

Thanks for stopping by the blog today!
Karin

Birthday Bees

 Hi Everyone,

It's been a bit since I've inked up these adorable bee stamps from DRS Designs, so I thought I'd use them to make a happy birthday card.  A bee theme makes a perfect summertime card. The yellow is so bright and cheerful! 

The yellow background was stamped using the Honeycomb Design stamp, and the strip in the center was made using the Polka Dot Background stamp.

I fussy cut both the Bitsy Bumble Bee and the Happy Bee and die cut the Special Birthday Wishes Greeting, adding a few gem embellishments, along with some glitter glue to finish off the bees.

I hope you're enjoying the heart of summertime!
Karin 

Ohio Buckeye

Hi Everyone,

After moving out of state for her job, my friend has recently moved back home to the great state of Ohio.  While it's not exactly down the block from me, it is much closer than Minnesota, so I made this new home card for her to celebrate the move. 

The background of the card is embossed houses, which really ended up being hard to see after covering it up with a die cut Ohio, but I loved being able to stamp the Ohio Buckeye from DRS Designs in the center.  I added a little gemstone in the spot of her new hometown. 

I finished it with some matching twine and a key embellishment that was fussy cut from the 

Just Moved House Key stamp. 

Inside I stamped the New Home Greeting along with that same key.  

Thanks for stopping by the blog today!
Karin

Christmas in July

Hi Everyone,

It's that time of year...Christmas in July!  Every year at this time I vow to start my holiday cardmaking, get all excited about the theme and promptly make a card.  And that's pretty much where it ends. Womp womp. :(  Maybe if my goal was two cards, instead of fifty, maybe then I could reach it by the end of the month.  In any case, here is my first offering.

I colored up the Snowy Birdhouse, die cut and matted it.  I layered it onto a background made using the Interlocking Snow Background stamp and added a few punched mini snowflakes. 

For the greeting, I used some punches for the stamped Christmas From Our House Greeting and attached it with some dimensional tape.  A bit of glitter glue finished off the snowy look of the birdhouse and branches. 

Have you made any holiday cards yet this year?  Check out the Christmas stamps from DRS Designs right here.

Thanks for visiting!
Karin

Hi Everyone,

Lacking design inspiration, I looked back over my recent cards, and landed on this one here.  Instead of stamping the butterfly inside an inked-up oval, I tore some paper and masked off the top and bottom of my white panel and sponged some ink inside the center.  That gave me space to stamp the Filigree Butterfly multiple times and left me room for the Special Birthday Wishes Greeting.

I tried to do the random placing of enamel dots as embellishments, but I think they may need to be various sizes for the perfect effect.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

Birthday Wishes

Hi Everyone,

Since we're smack in the middle of summer, I decided to break out my Medium Daisy Bloom stamp and make a birthday card.  Even now, after years of stamping, heat embossing always gives me a thrill.  It's so satisfying to see the powder firm up and give off that glossy sheen :)

The white powder with glittery bits in it makes the flowers pop off that black background and I couldn't help but add some yellow glitter glue to the flower centers.  Cutting the black panel an extra 1/4" smaller than I normally would, better shows off that bright card base color.

For the sentiment, I die cut the Special Birthday Wishes Greeting , embellished it with yellow chalk and attached it with some dimensional foam tape. 

Be sure to stop by DRS Designs for lots more birthday stamps!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karin

New Friend

Hi Everyone, 

Bringing home a new pet is one of the highlights in life, and I'm celebrating that milestone occasion with today's card, made with stamps from DRS Designs.  

The new Let's Play Puppy is super adorable and is the perfect companion to the New Little Friend Pet Greeting, which was stamped and die cut, with a few gems added to match.  The puppy was stamped, colored and fussy cut and attached them to an embossed background of dog images. 

I know Dog Bones aren't orange, but since I used them for embellishments, I colored them up because the card needed it for visual balance. 

Wishing you and all the fur babies a wonderful day!

Karin

Birthday Blessings

Hi Everyone,

I took a bit of creative license with my card today.  I'm fairly certain that in real life, lilies don't come in the color of teal or blue, but that's what I was feeling.  This stamp is one of my favorite flower stamps from the DRS Designs catalog, no matter what color it is!

I layered my image and sentiment onto an embossed butterfly background and embellished everything using gems, butterfly cutouts, and some glitter glue.  

Here are the stamps I used:
Birthday Blessings Greeting

 Circle Lily

Thanks so much for visiting me on the blog today! 

Karin

Herd it's your Birthday

Hi Everyone,

I went with one of my tried-and-true card layouts for my share on the blog today.  When I make this for a vertical card, I only use 4 circles and place the greeting at the bottom.  However, making a horizontal card let me use the Cow Cutie image from DRS Designs a couple of more times, and that let me place the Herd Birthday Greeting in the center.  Using those punches makes it a quick card too :)

I know it's hard to see in the photo, but if you're wondering about the background, it's just a paisley and flower embossing folder that I added some red, yellow and green ink to, before running it through my machine.  

Thanks for peeking in today!
Karin

Birthday Wishes

Hi Everyone,

Ever since I made this birthday card using the new Fillagree Butterfly stamp, I've seen butterflies in my backyard.  It might be because I've finally planted some flowers, but I like the idea of me using this stamp being the thing that summoned them :)   

I began by using the negative of an oval die cut and inking inside of it before I stamped, and heat embossed the butterfly.  I know it doesn't show in the photo, but the sparkle on the butterfly led me to add a couple of strips of gold glitter to highlight the Special Birthday Wishes Greeting.

To finish it, I embellished it with a die cut flower and big gemstone center.  

Thanks for stopping by!
Karin

Birthday Blessings

Hi Everyone,

Masculine cards are always a challenge for me, so I decided simple was better when designing this card.  It's very hard for me to not add glitter, gems or any sparkly embellishments! However, I resisted and give you this...

I used the new Birthday Blessings Greeting along with the Brush Pussy Willows from DRS Designs.  I stamped them in brown ink and then added a bit of green along the stems, coloring in the little fuzzy parts with a white gel pen. 

A simple green ribbon (no bow!), the die cut sentiment attached at an angle for something unexpected and a photo corner punch finished it off. 

Thanks for stopping by!
Karin

Butterflies

Hi Everyone,

I'm still on a background making kick, so for this card I inked up the new Fillagree Butterfly and stamped it all over the background.  Coloring them up using my Copic markers, it created a nice backdrop for the Happiness Butterfly Greeting.  It was simply die cut and enhanced with a bit of lavender ink.

The butterfly embellishment is two die cuts with some glitter glue that was adhered only from the center, so that I could bend and shape the wings.

Be sure to stop over at DRS Designs to see all the new stamps, and to score the retiring ones before they're gone!

Happy days to you....

Karin

Cutie Cow

Hi Everyone, 

I'm having fun stamping background papers recently, so here are some that match the adorable Cow Cutie stamp you've been seeing on the DRS Designs blog.

I stamped the top portion using the Camouflage Background in black ink to match the cow spots, and the Checkerboard Background in red along the bottom.  I covered up the seam with a punched border and attached the cow to a paisley dry embossed die cut.  I finished it using the new Udderly Wonderful Birthday Greeting because it's just perfect.

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The only change I made, was putting the top portion on the front in a die cut and stamp the rest inside.  

I couldn't resist stamping the Cutie Cow one more time too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karin