The Greetery {Sweet as Honey}

 

Hello and welcome, friends! I'm happy to "bee" here today with a pair of bright and sunny cards just fitting for the summer season! I have a bee-themed thank you gift I need a thank you card for and I just found out my son’s new 5^th grade teacher’s favorite flower is the sunflower, so you can see where this is headed! Ha ha!  I used quite a potpourri of products and I will explain each step of the way, so let’s get started!  ****update****The Greetery is having a summer sale! You can find it HERE!!

To begin, I got to work on the bees; I oftentimes like just sitting down to create groupings of different elements and then I just have fun mixing things up as I create! I used the Honey Bees Die for each of the three sizes of bees. I added two layers of wings on the larger bee: one out of white cardstock and one from vellum. I die cut everything else from white cardstock and then used finger daubers and assorted distress oxide inks to color the bees. I used liquid glue to put them all together. The largest bee has some Nuvo Crystal Glaze over the black body portion. I set the bees aside and got to work on the background.

For the two backgrounds, I used the Seed Catalog Background Stamp on an A2 panel of Lemon Tart cardstock. I have found that I like laying the cling rubber background stamps face up in my MISTI and then lay the cardstock over the top and secure it to the lid using washi tape. I simply add the paper over the stamp exactly where I want it, add a rolled piece of washi tape and then swing the lid down to catch the panel. I have also started to use a mini brayer to smooth out the ink on the background stamps for even coverage. I also added the honeycomb pattern to the corners of each of the background panels using the Buzz-Worthy Sentiments stamp set.

I die cut two of the third-to-largest arches included in the A2 Arches Die die from white cardstock. I added some tumbled glass distress oxide ink to the center of each arch. For the “Bee Kind” card, I stamped the “always” portion of the sentiment at the top of the arch and then added the greenery which is die cut using the Garden Tub Filler Die. I colored it with finger daubers and inks like I always do! Ha ha! I adhered it to the arch using foam squares. I also added some flowers from the BotaniCuts Wildflower Mix die….they are the perfect size to accent the greenery. I used the Buzzy Bits to add the honeycomb centers to the flowers. That big bee is added to the greenery using additional foam squares as well as the “Bee Kind” sentiment. I added the entire thing to the background (which I ended up trimming down ¼ inch and added it to an A2 white card base.

My sunflower card uses the same arch as I mentioned earlier. I used the Magnolia Wreath Die as an unexpected backdrop for the sunflowers. I stamped the “sweet as” portion at the top of the arch, just like I did on the first card. I used the BotaniCuts Sunflower Die die for the flowers; I added some colored pencil detail on the petals for added realism.  I realized I have either lost or misplaced the center dies for the smaller sunflowers so I had an unexpected “make it work” moment! Ugh! I’m hoping the recipient won’t even notice! Ha ha!

I assembled this card the same way as the first card. I haven’t been in a glittery mood lately (who am I?) but I did want some shine so I added some Shimmer Spray to the top of both cards! I’m so happy with how they both turned out and I can’t wait to give them to their recipients! Thanks for fluttering by!