Stampin' Up! Advent Calendar – Door 4 and a Pretty Floral Card

Well, it looks like we’re turning the Stampin Up Advent Calendar into a bit of a series! That certainly wasn’t my intention when I first started opening the doors, but here we are at Door 4!

This week we discovered a lovely collection of labels ephemera, and of course, I had to make a card with them.

After my not-so-successful attempt with the Designer Series Paper a couple of weeks ago, I thought I’d give it another go. This time, though, I was going to be a little more careful with my choice of pattern!

What’s Behind Door 4 of the Stampin Up Advent Calendar

There are quite a few different labels tucked away behind Door 4, including circles, decorative shapes and some really pretty floral ones.

Some are perfect for stamping a quick sentiment, while others are large enough to become the main feature of your card.

Naturally, I went straight for the biggest floral label!

I also pulled out the 12 Days of Creativity Stamp Set and coordinating Dies from the earlier doors, along with a softer checked pattern from the Designer Series Paper.

I really wanted to use a few of the calendar products together rather than treating each door as a completely separate project.

A Little Bit of This and That

I decided to bring in my Scalloped Christmas Dies for the background layer.

Now, these dies had completely escaped my attention in the catalogue! It wasn’t until I saw other people using them that I went hunting to find out where they came from.

They cut a beautiful scalloped rectangle with tiny pierced dots around the edge. And despite the Christmas name, there’s absolutely no reason you can’t use them all year round.

With my background layers sorted, I stamped some extra flowers and greenery in Crisp Cantaloupe and Peaceful Pine to tuck around the floral label.

And that’s where the thinking started!

I wanted a little more floral detail, but I didn’t want everything competing with the patterned paper. I’d already made that mistake once with these papers!

Sometimes It’s the Little Things

One of the things I love about creating cards during my Lives is that you get to see the whole process, including the bits where I’m not quite sure what I’m doing next.

I ended up adding a little ink blending on the Crisp Cantaloupe card to warm up the background, then brushed Wink of Stella over the printed flowers for some sparkle.

I deliberately left the extra stamped flowers without the shimmer. Sometimes having one element a little more understated helps the other details stand out.

I also wanted something to separate the layers, but the Hydrangea Hue ribbon I’d pulled out felt a little too heavy.

So, out came the white Baker’s Twine and my Hydrangea Hue Stampin’ Blends marker.

Here’s a handy little tip: You can colour white Baker’s Twine with your Stampin’ Blends to coordinate with your project. Just gently pull the twine beneath the marker nib, rather than pressing down too hard.

I tied mine into a bow and even added little knots to the ends of the tails, something I’d spotted on one of my older cards and thought I’d try again.

Bringing It All Together

A few Stampin’ Dimensionals gave the floral pieces some height, while a touch of Secret Sea in the flower centres helped tie the stamped images back to the printed label.

For the finishing touch, I chose one of the tiny gold butterfly sequins from Door 3.

Rather than fiddle around with liquid glue, I attached it with a Mini Glue Dot. Much easier!

And there we have it. A pretty floral card with a little sparkle, plenty of layers and a few changes of direction along the way.

Of course, by the time I’d finished, I was wondering whether I should have stamped the flowers in Pumpkin Pie instead!

But isn’t that always the way? We can be terribly critical of our own cards, when the person receiving them will probably just think, “Oh, what a pretty card!”

Watch the Replay and Grab the Tutorial

You can watch the full cardmaking session below and see how everything came together.

I’ll also be adding the PDF tutorial, complete with measurements, to my Freebie Library. If you’re on my newsletter list, you’ll already have access.

And before I finished the Live, I couldn’t resist opening Door 5!