I started by stamping all the bees and hearts onto Copic friendly cardstock. I pulled out my Copic markers and had a little color session. I’m not fantastic with Copic markers, but I enjoy the coloring, so that is what matters in my humble opinion. I utilized the following colors if you are interested: bees (Y00, Y13, Y18, C3, C5, C7), wings (C1), hearts (R27, R29, R89). After coloring, I fussy cut everything out.
For my first card, I used Avery Elle’s Reverse Pinked Die set to cut a frame from Simon Says Stamp Sunshine cardstock. I also cut a smaller panel for the sentiment, this time utilizing the center panel. A panel cut down from Honey Bee’s The Bee’s Knees paper pad was used to back the larger frame. I heat embossed a sentiment using Ranger’s black embossing powder and used Gina K Connect glue to adhere a pair of bees to the card, with the sentiment popped up above them using a strip of Scotch foam tape. For a final touch, I glued the three hearts around the bees, then added Glossy Accents to give a little shine and dimension. Adding some glitter to the black stripes on the bee bodies, wings and noses using my Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen finished off this card. I love the striking contrast between the bright yellow frame and dark teal, honey combed inner panel. The subtle shine from the hearts and slight glitter from the bees adds just enough dimension to keep the card interesting, yet not over powered.
I decided to go for a softer look on my second card. I used my Tim Holtz stamping platform to stamp the honey combs in Distress Oxide Fossilized amber onto a watercolor panel. After stamping, I sprayed the panel with my Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer, letting water move the oxide ink around before drying everything with my heat tool. I returned the panel to my stamp platform, moved the stamps into new positions, and repeated the process. I love the mix between watercolor and stamping the panel ended with.
After cutting down the panel, I backed it with a slightly larger panel cut from Simon Says Stamp Seaglass cardstock. Wanting to keep the colors soft, I heat embossed the heart bee trail in Versamark and heat embossed with Ranger’s Silver embossing powder. I also heat embossed the sentiment onto a scrap of the Seaglass cardstock. After cutting down the sentiment, I cut a piece of Scotch foam tape and popped it up below the heart. I added the mama bee with a few pieces of Thin 3D Foam squares and the second card was complete.
I had so much fun creating with this kit today, and I haven’t even utilized the die or foils yet! You shouldn’t be surprised if you see more inspiration coming from me again when it comes to this kit. In the meantime, Keep Calm and Craft On!
