Today is National Kitten Day, so it seemed like the perfect time to share this playful card featuring the Cutest Crew stamp set – and to give you a free downloadable tutorial!
Fun Cat Card with the Cutest Crew Stamp Set
Whether you’re making a birthday card, sending a cheerful hello, or creating something special for a cat lover, this design is easy to personalize and fun to make.
One of my favourite things about this project is how easy it is to make it your own. Change the colours of the cats, swap the colour palette, or shift the position of the image strip for a new look.
For this version, I created a longer line of cats by stamping the image side by side. The Stampin’ Positioner makes this even easier. One of my favourite colouring tips is to add a little shadow beneath your images to help “ground” them. No space kitties here!
I’ve included a free downloadable tutorial so you can recreate this card at home. I hope you have as much fun making it as I had designing it!
If you’d like even more free tutorials, paper crafting inspiration, and practical cardmaking tips delivered each week, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and come back to visit YamStamps.com.
If you’ve ever admired elegant foiled cards with beautiful metallic details and wondered how they were made, your wait is almost over! Beginning Friday July 10, customers can purchase Stampin’ Up!’s brand-new Hot Foil System (item 170009).
If you’ve been crafting with me for a while, you know I love techniques that look impressive but don’t require a post doctorate degree. From everything I’ve seen so far, hot foiling fits into that category!
Hot foiling uses heat and pressure to transfer metallic foil onto paper, creating crisp, professional-looking designs with stunning shine. If you love the look of metallic heat embossing, this is the next level! Perfect for greetings, borders, backgrounds and accents that will elevate your handmade projects.
Stampin’ Up!’s Hot Foil system is designed to work with your Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine. Using it with other systems will void the warranty.
Why You’ll Love It
Whether you love clean and simple cards or more elaborately detailed, layered designs, the Hot Foil System gives you another way to add elegant shine without making your projects more complicated. It’s one more creative technique to add to your crafting toolbox.
A Bonus Online Class Included
The Hot Foil system was just recently made available to Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators, and in all honesty, I haven’t yet had the chance to play with it! I’m looking forward to experimenting with it and sharing what I learn along the way. Even better- Stampin’ Up! is making it easy for me (and you too!).
If you purchase the Hot Foil System before January 4, 2027, you’ll also receive access to Stampin’ Up!’s online Metallic Magic Craft Class for FREE! That’s a $41CAD value! You will see the class available in the online store, but when you purchase the Hot Foil System, DON’T ADD THE CLASS TO YOUR CART AS WELL! It’s already included in the Hot Foil System right now.
We’ll get guided instruction to help us make the most of our investment. The class will walk us through the basics, share tips and techniques, and help us get the most from our new tool right from the beginning.
Not sure which accessories, foils, or plates you want to start with? You could check out the supplies list for the Metallic Magic Class or take a look through the brochure to see the full product line and project inspiration.
Is the Hot Foil System Right for You? (Spoiler Alert – I think the answer is yes)
If you enjoy:
Learning new cardmaking techniques
Adding elegant metallic accents
Creating professional-looking handmade cards
Being one of the first to get the new products
…then the Hot Foil System may be your next favourite tool.
From everything I’ve seen so far, I have a feeling this is going to become one of those tools I reach for when I want to add a little extra shine to a card. I can’t wait to experiment with it and see where it takes my creativity. I think it’s one of those tools that can easily take a good card and make it even better.
One last tip: Initial inventory is expected to move quickly. If the first shipment sells through, it may take some time before additional stock arrives. If you’ve already decided you’d like to add the Hot Foil System to your craft room, I’d recommend ordering early so you can take advantage of both the first release and the free Metallic Magic Craft Class.
Ready to add a little shine to your craft room? Shop the Hot Foil System here (link will be active July 10), browse the brochure, and let me know in the comments what you’re most excited to foil first!”\
In honour of Nature Photography Day, I’m sharing a nature-inspired project featuring the Capturing Smiles stamp set.
I tend to take a lot of photos of cards and marching bands these days (okay, one band primarily: the Burlington Teen Tour Band), but I still appreciate the beauty that can be found outdoors. This card uses the Capturing Smiles stamp set to create a collection of nature-inspired scenes (and okay, there’s a cityscape in there too!).
One of the things I enjoy about this design is that it can be customized in many different ways. Change the colours, swap the scenes, or adapt the layout to suit your own style.
The scenes are coloured with Stampin’ Blends so it’s still easy and impressive, even though it may take a bit longer to create than some of the cards and tutorials I share.
I’ve made the tutorial available as a free downloadable PDF. Simply click the link below to download the instructions and create your own version of this project.
A card that looks polished and impressive… but secretly comes together without too much fuss.
I created this card for a recent Demonstrator-Only card swap featuring products from the May-August Catalogue (which goes live to customers on Tuesday May 5!).
If you’ve ever wanted to create something that feels finished, but still works on a lower-energy crafting day, this design is one to keep in your back pocket.
Today’s project uses Golden Glow, Crisp Cantaloupe, and the 2026–2028 In Color Painted Patterns DSP to create a coordinated layered birthday card. There’s a fully linked supply list on the YamStamps Sunday Swaps Page, but please note that the links to the items in the May-August catalogue won’t work until May 5th! Also – while it goes against everything I learned in grade school, I use “Color” because that’s how the product is labelled….
The background is created using a single sheet of Designer Series Paper! The small dot pattern is one side of the sheet, and the large dots are on the other. One 4″ x 12″ strip will create one cardfront so it’s easy to create a few of these cards at the same time.
Let the Thrifty Sentiment Be in the Spotlight
The Words & Wishes Dies really shine in this design, particularly because they are popped up on a Foam Sheet. Thrify crafting for the win – and super coordinated flow. After I die cut the background from the large dot DSP, I stuck the cut outs onto a foam sheet and then die cut the sentiment from that. When you adhere the sentiment into the negative spaces, you’ll see how the pattern flows across the words and creates cohesion! The trickiest part of this project was making sure I didn’t lose the dot to the “i”…
HINT: In my experience, the large random dot pattern is a bit more forgiving than a smaller, more solid pattern, and circles are always more forgiving than hard edges like rectangles or stripes.
Add Just Enough Sparkle
Rhinestones are one of my most favourite all around accessory to add to a project. They catch the light, draw the eye in and give that finishing touch.
Application Hints:
Space them out
Create a loose visual triangle
My preference: odd numbers
One Design, Endless Variations
You may know this about me – but I don’t want to use up all my brain cells for crafting (typically I craft at the end of a work day so I don’t have many left over!!). With this one design, you can create so many looks – swap out the paper you use, swap out the colours for a whole new take. The Words & Wishes Dies have a number of coordinating sentiments and backdrops so you can swap out the sentiments as well!! That’s why I love card designs like this – paper crafting doesn’t have to be difficult to be impressive.
Your Turn
If you’ve been wanting a go-to birthday card that you can recreate without overthinking every step—this is a beautiful one to try.
Pull out your supplies, pick your colour, and give it a go.
And when you do:
Are you leaning Golden Glow or Crisp Cantaloupe?
Did you keep the background soft or go a little bolder?
Comment below, save this layout for later, or share your version—I’d love to see what you create.
Ends tomorrow – earn double the Stampin’ Rewards when you shop! Place an order of $25CAD or more by the end of April 17, earn twice the regular amount of Stampin’ Rewards that you can use against future orders! Sign into your online account, and make sure that you’ve opted in to Stampin’ Rewards to earn.
Shortcut to shopping in Canada is yamstamps.com/su or you can message me for assistance placing your order.
Check out all that’s new and fresh for February in the Stampin’ Up! Canada sphere!
Good news is all around – Wiarton Willie predicted an early spring yesterday, and today, there’s new products and promotions for your crafting needs.
Free Stampin’ Positioner!
Exclusively available as part of a New Demonstrator Starter Kit! Get a FREE Stampin’ Positioner in your starter kit February 3 – March 2. Existing Demonstrators had the opportunity to buy one over the last couple of weeks, but now the only way to get one is in the starter kit.
New Products Available! New Kits!
Two new crafting kits are available for purchase – Best Ever to reward your champions, and Happy Happenings to celebrate those happy occasions in life.
Place an order for $100CAD worth of product (AFTER your coupon codes are applied, and BEFORE shipping and taxes are added on) – and you are eligible to purchase the Product of the Month for just $5CAD! There’s a new Product of the Month available for February – the beautiful Painted Illusions Designer Series Paper!
