DC Lighting Control - Power 3 LED Strips

[striker21]

I currently have available a 12V DC source and from that I want to power 3 LED strips but I want to be able to either have them all on at the same time, blink the strips in a pattern, or have them off. I have done some research into 555 timers but it looks like they won't be able to handle the current. I'm looking for some ideas on how I can implement this simply and keep it on the cheap side.

 

[mdjensen22]

use the 555 timer to drive a transistor or relay instead of directly driving the LEDs.