Diva-licious Butterfly

One of the joys of being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator is seeing all the possibilities in new products. When the Big Shot was first introduced at Convention 08, I didn't think the crowd could get any louder. We oohhhed and ahhhed over every little thing Shelli Gardner (Stampin' Up! CEO) showed us. Now, I get to show the Big Shot to my customers and they get to ooooh and ahhh. In the Spring Idea Book and Catalog, I was thrilled to see 4 pages of Sizzix dies, and a whole bunch of them were labeled Stampin'  Up Exclusive. The one I am about to show you is a Shelli Signature Die. That means, it has Shelli Gardner's Stamp of Approval. How cool. 

I love butterflies. I had to have this Bigz die as soon as I saw it. I have so many ideas for it, that I left it in the wrapper until this week. Why? I knew that once I got started, it would be like a box of thin mints, I would just keep going and going! 

The Diva Coffee Break Design Challenge for this week got me going. I needed an idea to use these colors: 

But, I had limited supplies at my home away from home, including no Going Gray card stock, so I needed a great plan. An amazing design...perfection.  Well, I didn't get perfection, but I did make this:

Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers

Paper: Rose Red, Bashful Blue

Ink: Going Gray, Rose Red 

Accessories: Stampin' Up! Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Big Shot, Pretties Kit, Piercing tool, Sponge Dauber, Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Corner Rounder Punch

Once I created my first butterflies with the Big Shot, the ideas just kept coming. What to do for a background? My new favorite set  my sister paid for and has yet to ink! What color? The only color I don't have paper for, but have ink for! What to dress it up? Those pesty hat pins I never think of using! What to add to tie it together? That cool ribbon I just bought and love. What to make the butterflies stand out a bit more? Sponge the edges. What to soften it a bit? Corner Rounder the corners! and on and on! I stayed up late on this one! 

Wishing you inspiration,

I love this butterfly!