Cutest Crew Birthday Kitties For PP781

by Joanne James12. April 2026 08:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Jan to host this week and she an interesting colour challenge for us to work with:

    

I say 'interesting' as I found this colour combo quite challenging - it kept making me think of bees! I perused my shelf and progressed from bees to animals of another kind - take a look:

 

Here's the low-down on today's card:

I saw the layout over at Hand Stamped Sentiments and thought it would be perfect for more of those Cute Crew kittens - and so today's card was born! I decided to use yellow for my base and add a quintet of black, white and grey kittens along with some yellow butterflies, to the central panel of my card. I stamped some pay prints onto Smoky Slate cardstock and then tore the edges to mirror the sketch, as well as adding a row of tone-on-tone butterflies stamped lightly onto the cardbase. You can see my sweet kitties in more detail below: 

A sentiment and some black baker's twine, along with a little heart charm from my stash, completes my card. I added additional rows of kitties both inside my card and on the envelope flap too for a little extra feline decoration. This will be heading to a member of my extended team who has an upcoming birthday and I know loves this set!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

 

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

The Paper Players Design Team

 
Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:
 
1.  Create a new paper project
2.  Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission.
3.  Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL.
4.  Have FUN!

Enjoy your day; the James Junior is back to university today to start his final term of the year tomorrow - it seems hard to believe that's his first year done! I'll be back soonwith another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Comments (9) -

Claire Broadwater
Claire BroadwaterUnited States
4/12/2026 6:01:04 PM #

Joanne, I just adore all your little kitties! I love the torn paw print panel!  It is perfect for this sketch.  This card is so fun and would brighten anyone's day.  That special envelope adds so much detail, too!  Have a great week, My Friend!

Reply

LeAnne Pugliese
LeAnne PuglieseUnited States
4/12/2026 11:59:05 PM #

I break out into a smile every time I see these kittens (and puppies too!)...they're adorable and perfect in their gray and black "outfits"!!!  The extra little stamping on the background papers and card base add just the right touch!

Reply

Jan Clothier
Jan ClothierNew Zealand
4/13/2026 3:31:31 AM #

Great pivot from bees to cats and dogs! The devil is in the detail - that paw-print dsp you created works a treat but the tone-on-tone butterflies is a whole extra level of clever. Great way to use the colours. They are challenging but are they ever getting a great variety of treatments. Smile

Reply

Jenny Engelke
Jenny EngelkeUnited States
4/13/2026 1:23:19 PM #

This is super sweet, Joanne! Great coloring on the kittens. The subtle stamped butterfly border is a fun touch! Thanks for playing along with us at Hand Stamped Sentiments!

Reply

Jolanda Johnstone
Jolanda JohnstoneUnited States
4/13/2026 3:22:58 PM #

So very cute, Joanne!  I am really fond of this stamp set and your color combo with the HSS sketch works very nicely.  Thanks for joining us this round.  Cheers, Jolanda - DT

Reply

Christy Stanford
Christy StanfordUnited States
4/14/2026 4:09:48 PM #

I would never have guessed you had any trouble with this color combo at all, Joanne, these kitties are the cutest!  I love how you colored them all with different markings.  The stamped border of butterflies is a wonderful subtle detail.  Congrats on being an Artist Pick over at HSS!

Reply

Stef Perry
Stef PerryUnited States
4/15/2026 9:41:31 PM #

Joanne, the moment I saw your card, I thought "how brilliant" to showcase those darling kitties!  Such a great way to use these colors.  Love the paw prints on the gray and the butterflies on the background, extending the horizontal strip.  Fabulous card!

Reply

Ann Schach
Ann SchachUnited States
4/17/2026 2:35:16 AM #

Absolutely adorable, Joanne! I love this set. In fact, I am using the puppies on my next card. What a great way to use the challenge colors! Have a wonderful weekend!

Reply

jaydee
jaydeeUnited States
4/17/2026 6:35:39 PM #

Joanne, you know I am a cat person, so you had to know that I was going to love this card!  I love the collection of kitties with their own individual patterns.  I also love how you colored the butterflies to tie into the base color.  Fabulous CAS card
hugs
jaydee

Reply

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