Week 6 (February 4th) - Christmas Cheer

     This is not my first Christmas card post AFTER Christmas, nor will it be my last! Christmas cards are probably my most favorite, and there is never enough time around Christmas to make as many as I want. So I will be throwing one in occasionally here and there.
     This is technically my second Christmas Cheer card that I have made in my card making career. Back when I first started making cards, I would buy things that were cute with the intention of doing something with them eventually...which I still have a habit of doing now! I bought this cute 99 cent ribbon that had bright little martinis on it, but instead of olives, they had candy canes in them. The thought of "Christmas Cheer" came to mind and thus my first card was born. Many people loved it, some thought drinks and Christmas were a bizarre mix. Either way, I new someday I would find a way to make more (my supply was limited based on the fact that cheap ribbon usually only means a yard or two).
     Enter in the new 2012-2013 Stampin' Up catalog! There in it's glossy pages was a WHOLE stamp set devoted to drinks, with sayings about Happy Hour and Cheers and fun things like that. I loved it instantly. I also could not justify buying it right away. I always try to buy stamps that are very versatile, and this had slightly limited uses. However, I loved the cute little geometric patterned beverages so much, that it was put on my "Fun List" to buy in the future. I wound up asking Santa for it for Christmas, and there it was under my tree!

     I knew that the very first card I would make would be for Christmas, even though it's a bit late. And this is that card! Before getting into the technicalities of it, I want to mention that this card taught me an important lesson that every good crafter should learn. Always stick with your first instincts and ideas! I knew this card should be a skinny vertical layout, but once I started stamping, I realized the images would be too big for what I was intending. SO I made it horizontal and fiddled with it until I was kind of happy with it. For me, just kind of happy isn't enough. I stared at it until I thought, hmm....maybe I should turn it vertical and try again. As soon as I turned it, it got 85% better in my head. Then I made one little trim to it, making it more narrow, and that added the other 15% of perfection that I needed to be completely happy with it!
     Below is a picture of the progression it took...I felt like I needed to document it since they were such tiny changes that made such a huge difference to me. And of course the usual supply list and instructions...soon :)

Idea progression

(Supply list and instructions coming soon!)