A Xmas Look at KCC18

Today I have another look at KCC18 using these GORGEOUS Traditions of Christmas designer series papers (DSP) from Stampin' Up!  Though Kendra's Card Challenge is currently on #19, I chose to go back to #18 because I thought these papers would work extra well with it.  I guess you'll have to see if I'm right!  Note that many of the focals and embellishments were either die cut or fussy cut from a couple of the papers.

In addition to the papers, I'm using:

• Stamps/dies for focals: Christmas Greenery Bundle, Beautiful Season (discontinued set)
• Greeting Stamps: Jolly Holly, Greetings of the Season, and Beautiful Season (the last two are discontinued sets)
• Cardstock - Thick Basic White, Basic White, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Pool Party, Real Red, and Secret Sea. 
• Special - Gold Foil Sheets 
• Inks - Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Pool Party, Real Red, Secret Sea, Tuxedo Black Memento, and VersaMark for embossing. 
• Adhesives: Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots  
• For Embellishing: Traditional Sparkling Sequins, 1/8" gold trim (discontinued)

When I use other items, I'll mention those in the card description.  Some of the stamps, dies, and embossing folders I used have been discontinued, but Stampin' Up! always has great new items you can choose from! Here's a quick look at the 18 cards I made from SIX 6" x 6" pieces of paper from this paper pack (plus some additional pieces cut from some of the papers for focals and embellishments.

And now for a closer look at each card:

Card #1: 

Since I decided the foiled sides of the patterned papers I cut for this card didn't look that great together, I used the reverse sides that were not foiled.  So, I decided to mat them on Gold Foil paper!  I punched a couple of circles for the sentiment - a scalloped 2" circle from Basic White, and a 2 3/8" one from Real Red.  After I stamped my greeting in Real Red ink (stamp from Season's Greetings), I added the die cut flower focal and then added the whole with Mini Stampin' Dimensionals.  I added a couple of flags (from Old Olive and Secret Sea cardstock) and then added some "bling" (Low Profile Sparkle Dots).  THEN I decided I wished I had embossed the card front before I started!  I decided to use my scoreboard to emboss the white area on the right side of the card.  Waiting until the card is nearly complete is DEFINITELY not the easiest way to do this, but it worked!

Card #2: 

I found this sketch challenging - not because of the sketch itself, but because of the papers that were put together for it given the way everything was cut for KCC18.  The foiled side of the square piece just didn't look good with the foiled strip.  SO, I turned the square over and used the other side as a mat for a focal die cut piece from one of the other papers.  I added a matted sentiment (old Moonstone dies) but found I really needed to mat all of that on a red rectangle to have it show up well.  They don't show up well in the photo, but three of the flowers have gold Flower Accents added to their centers.  A touch that looks really pretty in real life.  Though these Flower Accents were designed to go with the Kintsugi Inspirations Collection, I find they go really well with these papers.

Card #3:

I definitely deviated from the sketch for this one since I couldn't BEAR to cover up as much of the pretty paper as the sketch called for me to do!  So, I narrowly matted it on Secret Sea cardstock and glued it to the card front.  Then I created a sentiment border by using a narrow strip of the Secret Sea cardstock and my matted greeting.  The greeting itself was stamped with a stamp from Greetings of the Seasons.  I used dies from the Framed Scenes die set (currently on Last Chance sale) - the larger for the Gold Foil mat, and the smaller for the greeting itself.  I also used that smaller die as a mask to add a touch of Secret Sea ink just inside the border of the greeting.  I finished with some Traditional Sparkling Sequins.

Card #4:

Because of the orientation of my patterned paper, I turned the sketch on it's side.  I also found I liked the ribbon border running horizontally rather than vertically as it would have been had I followed the sketch exactly. Here I created a mat from Pool Party cardstock and embossed it with the Joined Together 3D embossing folder. This embossing folder has been such a surprise.  I bought it because it went with the Kintsugi Inspirations Collection that I absolutely fell in love with - never dreaming I'd find myself reaching for that same embossing folder for MANY other types of cards!  Anyway, I wrapped a piece of 1/8" Gold Trim around it before gluing it to my card front.  I matted my piece of patterned paper on a Gold Foil mat.  This time I cut the mat using a die from Textured Notes, but then did some "surgery" on it - cutting a piece out near one end to make it short enough to fit my paper well.  The sentiment was a stamp from the Greetings of the Seasons set - die cut with a die from Mixed Labels die set.  I used the same die to cut a mat from Gold Foil - cutting it in half and arranging it so you could see it above and below the sentiment piece.  When that was glued together, I added the sentiment with Mini Stampin' Dimensionals and added a few Traditional Sparkling Sequins to complete the card.

Card #5:

Such a simple layout - but very striking.  I used the 3D Fern embossing folder as the panel on top of the Old Olive card base.  I DID turn the sketch on it's side because that way the patterned paper would be oriented with the flowers the correct direction.  Other than that, I pretty much made this as per the sketch.  I used a cutting die from Textured Notes for the Old Olive mat. The greeting was cut with a die from Moonstone and decorated either side with pieces fussy cut from the patterned paper.

Card #6: 

I found myself a bit challenged by this one - just had to figure out how to pull it together.  It's a pretty busy floral background, especially compared to the last card!  I used 4 different colors of cardstock - Old Olive (for the base & the top banner piece), Real Red (for matting), Cherry Cobbler for the larger banner at the back of the focal and Basic White for the focal mat.  I added the floral bouquet with Mini Stampin' Dimensionals and really like it, but had no sentiment!  I finally decided on the sentiment you see here - also on Basic White matted with Real Red.  The greeting itself was die cut from gold using a cutting die from Creative Expressions.

Card #7:

Again, this is pretty much like the sketch.  As you can see, I built my cluster on a matted white circle.  The mat was gold foiled paper which I die cut using the Spotlight on Nature dies.  LOVE THEM!  It's so nice to have such a variety of circle shapes with fancy edges!  But I digress - back to the cluster.  You may not realize it's a cluster because of the way I layered it, but it is at least 5 different small pieces of fussy cut florals from these papers - all layered together to create that focal.  Instead of the border strip for the cluster to sit on, I used 1/8" gold trim - which is also what I used for the bow.  The sentiment stamp is one from Greetings of the Season.

Card #8:

This one is pretty much like the sketch.  Obviously, I matted the flag and the border with gold.  I also embossed the larger half circle and added a smaller one with a sentiment. However, I really didn't like it as much until I added the WASHI TAPE - around the half circle and at the bottom of the border piece.  I don't know why it made such a difference to me, but I definitely like it better now.  The sentiment is again from Beautiful Season stamp set.

Card #9:

 

It's a bit hard to tell in the photo, but the Cherry Cobbler backdrop was narrowly matted on gold foil.  The cardstock backdrop itself was embossed using a discontinued embossing folder called Metal Plate 3D.  This sketch called for banners made from 3 pieces of patterned paper and 2 pieces of cardstock.  For one of the pieces of cardstock, I used gold foil, and for another I used a scrap of a 4th piece of patterned paper.  The sentiment was stamped using Real Red ink and a stamp from the Jolly Holly stamp set before being added with Mini Stampin' Dimensionals.  Iridescent Faceted Gems added a lovely final touch (I love these and they're currently on last chance sale).

Card #10: 

This card started with an Old Olive cardstock base - which I turned into a book fold card (before realizing that messed up my plan for the focal.  SO, I turned it 90 degrees and added a die cut sentiment at the top (cut using a die called Deck the Halls Mini from Moonstone) and embossed the rest with the discontinued Fern 3D embossing folder.   I added another die cut focal on top of the circles in the sketch, added a couple of border stickers near the sentiment and completed the card with some Traditional Sparkling Sequins. 

Card #11: 

This is one of my all-time favorite sketches - love the lattice look.  However, I struggled a bit to figure out a focal.  As you can see, I added another one die cut from the paper.  The card itself was made from Real Red cardstock and the front was embossed using the discontinued Fern 3D embossing folder. The sentiment is stamped in Real Red ink using stamps from Jolly Holly stamp set and then matted with another patterned paper piece onto a piece of gold foil that was die cut using the Textured Notes set of cutting dies (a go-to favorite of mine).

Card #12:

This card was made pretty much like the sketch, though I DID add a bit of gold trim across the top with a little bow.  The greeting was stamped with Greetings of the Season stamp and Real Red ink.  And, I added the focal/sentiment block with Mini Stampin' Dimensionals.

Card #13:

This card was also made in a very similar way to the sketch.  I DID emboss the Basic White card front using the Joined Together 3D embossing folder. (I've found that embossing folder to be MUCH more versatile than I expected!)  I used gold foil to mat all the pieces, and Real Red ink to stamp the sentiment (from Beautiful Season stamp set). I finished this one with a few red Jewel Dazzles (from HOTP).

Card #14:

I really think this one is pretty - though I almost wish I'd made it for a December birthday rather than Christmas!  But, Christmas cards were what I needed.  I added a Real Red cardstock panel to the card front - again embossed with the Joined Together 3D embossing folder.  The focal was added with Mini Stampin' Dimensionals. The matted sentiment was glued in place with a gold bow added above it.

Card #15:

These last four cards were based on a single sketch, but I didn't want to make them all the same.  This one I turned 90 degrees to make a portrait-style card.  I used the Fern 3D embossing folder to emboss the card front (card base is Old Olive cardstock). I matted the DSP on basic white and glued it in place.  I glued a basic white circle to the corner of this before adding my focal (die cut from another piece of DSP) with Mini Stampin' Dimensionals.  Then, I stamped my sentiment with Old Olive ink and fussy cut it before gluing it in place.  The final touch was to add some of the Traditional Sparkling Sequins.

Card #16:

This time I again matted my DSP with white, but made the card in a landscape orientation from Cherry Cobbler cardstock and embossed the background using an old embossing folder from Crafter's Companion called Scattered Holly.  I punched 3 circles - 2 3/8", 2", and 1 3/4" - the largest and smallest from white and the 2" one from Cherry Cobbler.  I stamped my greeting (from Jolly Holly stamp set) using Real Red ink.  After gluing the 3 circles together and adding some bits of flowers and leaves, I glued it in place on the card front.  The final step, again, was adding some of those Traditional Sparkling Sequins.

Card #17: 

This time I again used a landscape orientation, but used a Basic White card base and matted my DSP on Gold Foil paper.  I used a 2" Cherry Cobbler cardstock circle as the mat for my focal which I created by fussy cutting pieces from one of the DSP papers.  Before adding this with Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, I stamped my greeting (from discontinued Greetings of the Season stamp set) direct to the card front using Real Red ink.  I finished by adding a few gold Traditional Sparkling Sequins to the upper right corner, and a gold ribbon bow at the top of the focal.

Card #18: 

This time I used Pool Party cardstock to create another portrait-style card.  I embossed the card front with an old Cuttlebug folder called Swiss Dots.  After matting the DSP with white and gluing it in place, I added a bouquet of flowers (die cut from one of the papers) to the card front using Mini Stampin' Dimensionals.  Then I added my matted sentiment (mat was a scrap of Real Red cardstock, Sentiment was stamped using Real Red ink and a stamp from Jolly Holly).  I just added one red Traditional Sparkling Sequin to the bow on the focal to complete this card.