Diva's Coffee Break Designs ~ Two Cool Projects!

Good Morning!!!

I'm so excited, today I'll be able to order some products from the new SU catalog. I'll be figuring out what to get today.

I have two wonderful things to share with you today. Wednesday is Diva day, and today's assignment is to make a project using the big shot. I focused specifically on the big Z butterfly die.

First, I want to talk about WHY I have paper butterflies on my wall! Well ~ my daughter and I were making butterfly cards to use up some older products. This year i have just about used all my leftover paper, and I'm making cards up and using up my products. I'll have nothing left over and I feel really good about not wasting my products. Anyway, when we were done, i had a few extra butterflies. So, my daughter and I stuck them together for fun, and we were flying around my living room. When I "flew" by my tree... there it was. Why hadn't I thought of that before! I stuck one butterfly to the branch of my tree in the living room. I settled on three total. Isn't that fun? Something quick and simple you can do with your big shot. Last night i had a bunch of folks here for club, and they were all making comments on how cool it looked. All I can think is that I've graduated.. I'm turning the walls in my house into a scrapbook page!















This next project is paper butterfly pins. I'm making 20 of them for a dear demonstrator friend, Sherrill Graff. She's going to use them as swaps at convention. I know i've shown these before, but they are really cool so I thought I'd share some directions on how to make them. I like to start with a 12 x 12. For designer series paper, you can use a whole sheet. I stick 5 sheets of DSP together using mod podge. You really need to use a heavy layer of mod podge. I put my brush in some water and let those layers dry over night.

Step two: I cut my 12 x 12 down to 3x6" so I get 8 butterflies from the 5 sheets.

Step 3: I lay my heavy cardstock on top of the butterfly die and cut them out using my big shot.

Step 4: Now you can sponge them color them, stamp on them.
Step 5: Add a thin layer of crystal effects to one side and let it dry, then flip it over and do the same with the other side, let them sit overnight and dry.
Step 6: Add a heavy coat of crystal effects to the side that's going to face up and let them dry for a few days. (in the example above, I sprinkled dazzling diamonds on top at this step.
Step 7: Pull the crystal effects back out and use them to glue the butterflies together. You can add extra CE anywhere you missed at this point.
Step 8: after a few days, you can add the butterfly body. I cut pieces of dsp very thin, then put beads on it and crystal effects them to the front of the pin.
Step 9: Flip the pin over, add crystal effects and put your pin back on.
Step 10: After all that work, wear proudly! You deserve it!

So, let me also tell you about why I'm making 2o of these at one time! My friend and colleague Sherrill Graff, wants me to make her 20 swaps for convention AND is willing to pay me with product from the new book! isn't that cool? I'm not the only one! She's hired many of my friends and colleagues as well. She took applications, and studied everyone's blogs who applied and I was one of the chosen bunch!
Here are the others that were chosen.. If I were you, I would bookmark all their sites because they do some amazing work.

1.Gretchen Barron http://gretchenbarron.typepad.com/
2. Barbara Dondero http://BarbsStampingSpot.blogspot.com
3.Tammy Fite www.stampwithtammy.com
4. Judy Jackson
5. Mary Brown http://stampercamper.com/
6.Sarah Wills http://sarahsinkspot.blogspot.com/
7.Selene Kempton http://stampinfunwithselene.blogspot.com/
8.Virginia Killmore http://virginias-website.blogspot.com/
9. Elizabeth Sloman www.mamastamper.com
10.Marisol Gutierrez http://atouchofsol.blogspot.com/
11. Dawn Bullock www.stampincreations.blogspot.com
12.Sandi MacIver http://www.sandimaciver.com/sandi_maciver/
13.Stephanie Sullins http://owlwhimsy.blogspot.com
14.Susan Shields http://createdwithlovebysusan.blogspot.com/
15. Rebekah "Becky" Jensen www.stampthat.com
16. Heidi Michel www.heartfeltblessings.blogspot.com
17. Barb Slaughter stamper0910@yahoo.com blog in progress
18. Lisa Milliron http://www.uniquedesignsbylisa.typepad.com/
19 Connie Babbert http://inkspiredtreasures.com/
20 Nancy Dawson http://creativewishes.blogspot.com
21 Bethany Keeney http://keeneyfarm.blogspot.com/
22 Kirsten Brown http://imstampinsilly.blogspot.com/
23. Mary Jo Price-Williams http://technostamper.blogspot.com/
24. Elizabeth Hurst www.animalscraps.blogspot.com

Happy NEW CATALOG DAY!!!