Custom made Nintendo DS Decals and Decorations

This last holiday season, Chris was able to pull a monster victory on our Christmas shopping budget.

As many of you know, she has been part of the Swagbucks website, which is a way to get extra money while surfing and browsing the web. Throughout 2010, she was able to gather up $175 in Amazon gift cards from her membership at Swagbucks. That money, coupled with some AMAZING Amazon deals, allowed us to get the girls each Nintendo DSi XL's as Christmas gifts. Essentially, we paid about $90 out of pocket, for both of the game systems. Talk about AWESOME savings!

We ended up buying the same colored game system for each girl. So they had the exact same matching systems.

When the girls finally picked themselves up off the floor, on Christmas, they decided that they each wanted to make their games look unique and cool. We did pick up different DSi cases for each girl, but they wanted to add their own personalities to their consoles.

Instead of going out and buying the regular skins from the store, Christy came up with an idea of creating our own custom Nintendo DSi Decals.

Christy used to be an avid scrapbooker, back in the hysteria days of scrapbooking. During that time, she had amassed an amazing collection of rub-ons. Essentially, this is a product similar to a sticker, which you can rub onto virtually any surface, and it will stick to that surface. Almost like a temporary tattoo. These 'rub-ons', as they are called, are primarily sold to people in the scrapbooking market. The coolest thing about using rub-ons, is that you can mix and match different designs and patterns to make your own look for your console.

With a steady hand, and a little bit of creative liberty, you can create some really cool Nintendo DSi decals for your system. Take a look at what the girls came up with in the process of putting their rub-ons on their games.

1. First of all, we started off with the basic game system console. Both of ours were the same color, so we had do something to give each one a unique look



2. Next, the girls went through Chris' huge collection of rub-ons, searching for just the right design to match what they wanted their game to look like. This is not an easy decision, by any stretch of the imagination.





3. After you pick your images, you have to carefully lay the designs out on your game. **Important note** Don't push down on the designs until you have them exactly where you want them. Rub-ons are known to come off and stick to surfaces even before you want them to.
   
4. After you have carefully chosen the layout for your designs, just how you want them, go ahead and thoroughly rub the designs onto the game. You will need to do each piece separately, building up your custom decal as you go along.
   



5. After you've gone through all the work of putting your own design on your game, now you can admire all of your creative ideas in your one-of-a-kind, custom Nintendo DS decal.

And as a follow-up comment on using these rub-ons for your games, the girls still have their designs on their consoles - and they've been on there for about a month and a half. Admittedly, they are getting a little tattered, but the cool thing is... they'll be able to re-do another custom design when these ones get so worn down that they want to change them. So, unlike adding paint or a permanent tattoo, they get to change their custom look whenever they want, and create a completely new look. If your kids are looking for a way to customize their games, this is a great way to get customer Nintendo DS decals.