To Bee Or Not To Bee Blog Hop Winners

Hi everyone!! :o)

Thank you all for hopping along To Bee Or Not To Bee Blog Hop. I'm very happy you liked the hop and left all of us wonderful comments. :o)

With such a success, I decided to organize this hop every year. Mark your calendars - same time, same place next year. :o)

Before I continue with blog hop winners, I would like to thank again all wonderful ladies who joined me in the hop and all wonderful companies and artists who supported the hop with the amazing prizes.

And now the winners:

• xxx: Crafty Sentiment Designs, 3 Digital Images of winner’s choice (passed the prize)
• xxx: Create a Smile, 25€ Gift Certificate to the Store (confirmed)
• xxx: Gerda Steiner Designs, $15 Gift Certificate to the Store (confirmed)
• xxx: Happy Little Stampers, $20 Gift Certificate to the Store (confirmed)
• xxx: Jane’s Doodles, 3 Stamp Sets (in stock) of winner’s choice (confirmed)
• xxx: Kitty Bee Designs, 1 Digital Image of winner’s choice (confirmed)
• xxx: Lawn Fawn, $25 Gift Certificate to the Store (confirmed)
• xxx: Little Miss Muffet Stamps, $10 Gift Certificate to the Store (not confirmed)
• xxx: Paper Smooches, ’Bee Mine’ Stamp Set (confirmed)
• xxx: Sasayaki Glitter, 1 Digital Image of winner’s choice (confirmed)
• xxx: STAMPlorations, $20 Gift Certificate to the Store (confirmed)
• xxx: Sue Hastead of Tanglemouse Cards, 6 x 6 paper pad (not confirmed)
• xxx: Uniko, Clear Stamp Set (in stock) of winner’s choice (confirmed)
• xxx: Jane’s Doodles ‘Daisies’ stamp set from me (not confirmed)

Congratulations!! :o)

Please contact me to claim your prize (email: milkagubo81 (at) gmail (dot) com).

Please do so in a week, until June 7th 2017 (next week Wednesday). If I don't hear from you by then, I'll draw new winners and you can no longer claim your prize.

Put a following in a subject line: BEE - SPONSOR'S NAME (for example: BEE - SUE).

Please do not contact sponsors directly, as it's not possible to claim your prize that way.


Big hugs to all!! Enjoy and smile! :o)

Milka



Update (May 4th, 2018):
In line with Data Protection and Privacy Policy Statement, I've deleted winners' names from this post and all comments that would reveal winners' names. This post will not be deleted from this blog.

Hunny Bee Card (Kitty Bee Designs Spotlight)

Hi everyone! :o)

Today is my turn to be on the spotlight over at Kitty Bee Designs and I made this Hunny Bee Card. :o)

I CASEd my own card that I shared recently here on my blog. I went with same design, layout, background and color scheme, but I used different bee image. You can find my CASEd card here.

For my today's card I used a SUPER CUTE Kitty Bee Designs 'Honey Bee' digital image.

I printed the bumblebee on a thick watercolor paper and left it dry through the night to prevent ink smearing while coloring.

I colored the bumblebee in watercolor technique using Distress Inks. After drying, I fussy cut the bumblebee leaving thin white border around it.

Next up was a background. I heat embossed in white hexagon pattern from Jane's Doodles 'Geometric Patterns' stamp set (which is discontinued) on a thin watercolor paper panel. On my CASEd card I went with watercoloring, but this time I went with ink smooshing technique to color the background. I used Distress Inks Mustard Seed ad Fossilized Amber. I added couple layers of color, drying them between, until I was satisfied.

Lastly, I assembled the card. I glued the background panel on a 2 mm thick foam sheet square and glued it on a top folded 3.5" x 3.5" (89 mm x 89 mm) white card base. I glued 2 mm foam on the bumblebee and glued it on the card. I glued a white cardstock paper panel inside the card to make it thicker and more stable (because front of the card is quite heavy) and my card was finished. :o)

Card dimensions: 89 mm x 89 mm (3.5" x 3.5")

List of supplies:

• Kitty Bee Designs 'Honey Bee' digital image
• Jane's Doodles 'Geometric Patterns' stamp set; stamp set is discontinued
• white cardstock paper (card base, inside panel)
• thin white watercolor paper (background)
• Koh-i-noor pop Aquarel Watercolor Paper, 250 gms (image)
• Tsukineko VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad
• WOW! Embossing Powder (Opaque Bright White, Regular, WL01R)
• Tim's Holtz Distress Inks:
• Mustard Seed
• Fossilized Amber
• Tea Dye
• Hickory Smoke
• Black Soot
• UHU universal glue
• foam sheet and scraps, 2 mm thick
• printer
• Fiskars High Precision Personal Paper Trimmer
• bone folder
• acrylic block (large)
• Marabu rounded fine paint brush no. #0
• Ranger Heat It Craft Tool
• scissors
• sprayer bottle
• paper towels 
• water

I hope you'll like my KBD spotlight card for this month and get inspired. Check out more cute images at the Kitty Bee Designs Etsy Store, Kitty Bee Designs Blog and Kitty Bee Designs FB. :o)

I'm linking my card to following challenges:

Note: bold text and challenge badge (if any) are direct links to the current challenge and blog badge (if any) is a direct link to blog or challenge home page.

1) Crafty Creations Challenges, #342 - Anything Goes
This is my 1st entry to this challenge.

2) Happy Little Stampers, Watercolour Challenge, May 2017, Anything Goes

This is my 6th entry to this challenge.

Thank you for stopping by and your kind feedback. Enjoy and smile! :o)

Milka

Watercolor Confirmation Card

Hi everyone! :o)

Today I want to share with you this Watercolor Confirmation Card.

I made this one for my ex neighbors' son.

This was super easy and fast to create. The design is similar to CAS Christening Cards I shared here on my blog last week, I just went with different coloring techniques. You can find them here.

For a card base I used Canson XL Mixed Media Paper. I watercolored front panel of the card with a Distress Ink Blueprint Sketch. After adding couple layers of color, drying them between with Heat It Tool, I splattered the card with water and dried the card. I again splattered the card with white acrylic paint mixed with water and left the card dry on air. Acrylic splatters dried with Heat It Tool do not look as good as splatters dried on air.

After drying, I glued two die-cut birds directly on the card and my card was finished. :o)

I got die-cut birds I used and many many more from friend Valentina of Barvito malo mesto. Thank you Valentina!! :o)

Cards measurements: 101 mm x 133 mm (4" x 5 1/4")

List of supplies:

• Canson XL Mixed Media Paper, 300 g
• birds die-cuts (got this and many more from friend Valentina)
• Tim's Holtz Distress Ink, Blueprint Sketch
• Marabu Acrylic Paint (070 White)
• UHU universal glue
• Fiskars High Precision Personal Paper Trimmer
• bone folder
• Ranger Heat It Tool
• Marabu fine rounded paint brush no. #0
• Marabu fine rounded paint brush no. #2
• water
• paper towels

I'm linking my cards to following challenges:

Note: bold text and challenge badge (if any) are direct links to the current challenge and blog badge (if any) is a direct link to blog or challenge home page.

1) Happy Little Stampers, Anything Goes with Dies Challenge, May 2017

This is my 4th entry to this challenge.

2) Happy Little Stampers, Watercolour Challenge, May 2017, Anything Goes

This is my 5th entry to this challenge.

Thank you for stopping by and your kind feedback. Enjoy and smile! :o)

Milka

TOP4 and Winner (I Love Math Challenge #5)

Hi everyone! :o)

I hope you're enjoying this weekend and having a wonderful time. :o)

Thank you all for joining I Love Math Challenge #5!

There were 7 FABULOUS entries!! Neha and I enjoyed very much visiting your blogs and seeing your Math creations featuring Venn Diagram. Brilliant!!! :o) Girls, you've inspired us a lot and gave us a very hard task to pick TOP 4 favorites.

You can see all entries on main challenge post here and also on Pinterest.
Note to challenge participants: If you don't want your card pinned on Pinterest, please leave me a comment below or send me an e-mail. Thank you.
Update April 25th, 2018: all I Love Math Challenge boards on Pinterest are permanently deleted.

Here are our TOP 4 favorites, 

in order of entering the challenge:

1. Anila Dk #3

Neha: 'The colors are popping against black. Love the use of heart die and how you incorporated Venn diagram and made flower. Brilliant idea.'
Me: Love the CAS design, layout, colors popping against black and how you incorporated Venn Diagram to create a flower out of hearts. So cool!!!

2.  scrAPpamondo (AliceP) #4

Neha: 'Using those colored velum is a neat idea. Man, woman and heart die-cuts fit the bill perfectly.'
Me: Adorable CAS design, beautiful colors and great take on Venn Diagram. Your card looks so mathematical... Like I'm in my notebook. Love it!

3. Sabiha Khan (card 2) #6

Neha: 'Love how you took the Venn Diagram one step further. Those trees and clouds are perfect way to interpret the theme.'
Me: Love your take on the Venn Diagram. So so soooooo cute!!!! Love it!

4. Disha Jain #7

Neha: 'Your take on the theme is lovely. I really like the simplicity and balance of your design. The sentiment adds so much to it.'
Me: Amazing take on the challenge. Love CAS design, layout, Venn Diagram, colors and a touch of black. So pretty... Love it!!

Congratulations Ladies!! Here is a TOP 4 badge for you. Feel free to download it and proudly display it on your blogs.

The winner of one Jane's Doodles stamp set from the TOP 4 Favorites, 

chosen by Random.org is

1. Anila Dk #3

Congratulations!!! :o)

Please contact me in next two weeks to claim your prize (email: milkagubo81 (at) gmail (dot) com). If not, another TOP 4 Favorite will be randomly picked.

Thank you all for wonderful support and participation. I hope you'll be also joining our next challenge which will start on July 7th 2017.

Big hugs to all!! Enjoy and smile! :o)

Milka

Wedding Card no. #1

Hi everyone! :o)

Today I want to share with you a Wedding Card I made by request for a couple that's getting married today. I personally don't know them, but I do want to wish them all the best in their common life, a lot of love and understanding, and their marriage to be beautiful as music. :o)

I used BEAUTIFUL Stamping Bella 'uptown couple BRETT and BRENDA get married' rubber stamp. This is my first stamp from Stamping Bella and the only one I have for now. :o)

I also used one of my favorite font I downloaded from dafont: Impact Label Font. Love it!! :o)
Important: Read licences before downloading.

I stamped the image on a watercolor paper, left it dry for couple minutes and colored the image in watercolor technique using Distress Inks. I'm so satisfied with my coloring of this couple. :o)

After coloring I had no idea what to do with the image. I stared at the image couple days and decided to go with CAS design. No surprise. LOL :o)

I glued a note sheet paper stripe directly on a white top folded card base, trimmed the watercolor paper to preferable size, glued it on a 2 mm thick foam sheet rectangle and glued it on the card base.

I printed couple's names and wedding day date on a white cardstock paper (I used two different font sizes), cut them out, traced edges with black marker and got lovely labels, as if I had label maker. I added foam tape on the back of "labels", glued them on the card and my card was finished. :o)

Card dimensions: 101 mm x 165 mm (4" x 6.5")

List of supplies:

• Stamping Bella 'uptown couple BRETT and BRENDA get married' rubber stamp
• Impact Label Font (freebie)
• white cardstock paper (card base, sentiment)
• thin white watercolor paper (panel)
• note sheet paper
• Ranger's Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• printer
• Koh-i-noor Hardtmuth Mondeluz aquarel colored pencils 3710
• light green 25
• dark green 26
• Tim's Holtz Distress Inks:
• Spun Sugar
• Blueprint Sketch
• Tea Dye
• Vintage Photo
• Walnut Stain
• Hickory Smoke
• Black Soot
• Stabilo Fine Tip Pen (marker), Black 68/46
• UHU universal glue
• foam tape 1 mm thick
• foam sheet 2 mm thick
• Fiskars High Precision Personal Paper Trimmer
• bone folder
• scissors
• acrylic block (102 mm x 102 mm) 
• Marabu rounded fine paintbrush no. #0
• paper towels
• water

I'm linking my card to following challenges:

Note: bold text and challenge badge (if any) are direct links to the current challenge and blog badge (if any) is a direct link to blog or challenge home page.

1) Happy Little Stampers, Watercolour Challenge, May 2017, Anything Goes

This is my 4th entry to this challenge.

2) Stamping Bella, Bellarific Friday, Free Form (contribution for June 2nd post)

Thank you for stopping by and your kind feedback. Enjoy and smile! :o)

Milka

LMMS news

Happy Friday! :o)

It's Little Miss Muffet Stamps Inspiration Week. I don't have a finished project to share with you today. Instead, here are some LMM's shop news.


New images have been released to the store yesterday.

Gorgeous mermaid warriors, Polka Dot Pals Gelsey and Polka Dot Pals Fialka, great for underwater and girl power cards.

Also in this release, Polka Dot Pals Ian, showing an ASL (American Sign Language) sign for 'Thank You'.

Would you like to win some LMMS store credit? 

There's still time to join us in our current Challenge #163 - Anything Goes. There is a prize for one lucky winner: $10.00 Gift Voucher to the LMMS shop. We like to select couple other projects to highlight as well. :o)

Also, LMMS is one of the sponsors of the blog hop I organized: To Bee Or Not To Bee, and is giving away $10.00 Gift Voucher to the LMMS shop. There's still time to enter the giveaway. Find all the details here.

Thank you for stopping by. Enjoy and smile! :o)

Milka

CAS Christening Cards (Fairy Tale Challenge #169)

Hi everyone! :o)

It's time for a new challenge over at Fairy Tale Challenge Blog.

Our theme for this fortnight is #169, Alles was Flügel hat / Things with wings.

This time our lucky winner will win this lovely embossing folder.

Here is my take on the challenge: CAS (clean and simple) Christening Cards.

I made this two cards for my niece and nephew, my cousin's kids, who will be christened this Saturday.

These were super easy and fast to create.

I blended Distress Inks (DI) directly on white top folded card bases, splattered cards with water and DI mixed with water. I used DI Spun Sugar for her and DI Blueprint Sketch for him.

When I was satisfied with colors and splatters, I glued foam behind white die-cut birds, placed one on each card and my cards were finished. :o)

I got die-cut birds I used and many many more from friend Valentina of Barvito malo mesto. Thank you Valentina!! :o)

Both cards measure: 92 mm x 127 mm (3 5/8" x 5")

List of supplies:

• white cardstock paper
• birds die-cuts (got this and many more from friend Valentina)
• Tim's Holtz Distress Inks:
• Spun Sugar
• Blueprint Sketch
• foam sheet scraps 1 mm thick
• Fiskars High Precision Personal Paper Trimmer
• bone folder
• Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tools
• Ranger Heat It Tool
• Marabu fine rounded paint brush no. #0
• water
• paper towels

I hope you liked my project for this fortnight and got inspired. Stop by the Fairy Tale Challenge Blog and see gorgeous creations my Design Team Mates made for this challenge. Do join us, we can't wait to see your projects. :o)

I'm linking my cards to following challenges:

Note: bold text and challenge badge (if any) are direct links to the current challenge and blog badge (if any) is a direct link to blog or challenge home page.

1) Happy Little Stampers, Anything Goes with Dies Challenge, May 2017

This are my 2nd & 3rd entry to this challenge.

2) STAMPlorations, CAS Card Challenge, May 2017: Anything CAS Goes w/optional twist: Feminine Colors

This are my 2nd & 3rd entry to this challenge.

At the end of the post...

There's still time to hop and enter the giveaway at To Bee Or Not To Bee Blog Hop. Find it here. :o)

Thank you for stopping by and your kind feedback. Enjoy and smile! :o)

Milka

To Bee or Not To Bee Blog Hop

Hello everyone!! :o)

Welcome to a To Bee Or Not To Bee Blog Hop, special blog hop supporting BEES.

I've invited some of my crafty friends whom I admire greatly to hop along with me, and I have some amazing sponsors and artist lined up with gifts to give away to You! :o)

Aim of the hop is to support bees, to raise public awareness of the importance of bees, beekeeping and apicultural products, and to support initiative of the SlovenianBeekeepers’ Association that the May 20^th is declared World Bee Day by the United Nations (UN).

Source: http://www.mkgp.gov.si/en/world_bee_day_initiative/

Bees (and other pollinators) and beekeeping are very important for ensuring food quality, as well as preserving the entire ecosystem and natural biodiversity.


Bees Species (general classification):

• Honey Bees (find more about Honey bees types here)
• Bumblebees
• Solitary Bees

Source: http://www.buzzaboutbees.net/about-honey-bees.html

Interesting facts...

• "Bees pollinate as many as 170,000 species of plants.
• Without bees, there would not be so many different kinds of fruits and vegetables, or such beautiful colors on the lawn.
• A bee colony is as big as a small town. There are from 30,000 to 60,000 bees in each colony.
• The queen bee is the only one that lays eggs. She lays up to 2,000 eggs per day.
• Out of 20,000 species of bees, only one is widely used for commercial honey production.
• The Carniolan honey bee, Apis mellifera carnica, is an indigenous Slovenian race of bee and the second most widespread bee race in the world.
• Honey bees’ wings strike 11,400 times per minute, thus making their distinctive buzz.
• Honey bees are the only bees that die after they sting. 
• To make one kilogram of honey, the bees have to visit 4 million flowers and fly four times the distance around the world."

Source: http://www.mkgp.gov.si/fileadmin/mkgp.gov.si/pageuploads/podrocja/svetovni_dan_cebel/zgibanka-svet-dan-cebele-ANG.pdf

Honey bees provide a wide range of benefits to humans from apicultural products, pollination of food crops and ecological services. Beekeeping is practiced all around the world. Honey and wax are the best known primary products of beekeeping, but there are more products of beekeeping that are very valuable. The main bee products that are used for human consumption are: honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly and venom.
Source: http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/activities/discussions/beekeeping

I use most products mentioned above regularly: honey, pollen, propolis. From time to time I use royal jelly, mostly before autumn and winter to get my immune system ready for "flu and other boring stuff" season. :o)  

I use yellow beeswax (Cera flava) for making my own cosmetic creams. My skin is very sensitive and doesn't like creams available on the market, full of chemicals. Since 2013, I use only natural and homemade creams for my skin: face and body creams, sun lotions... In December 2015, I shared my own Face and Body Cream recipe here on my blog. Here is a direct link to the blog post.

The most simple cream I make and I use most is an Almond Cream. If you would like to try it, these are the ingredients for 100 ml:

• Almond Oil (Amygdalae oleum), 80-85 grams
• Yellow Beeswax (Cera flava), 16 grams

For other supplies, instructions how to make your own cream and tips, jump to my blog post here. If you need more instructions and help, don't hesitate to contact me. :o)

What can we do to protect bees and other pollinators...

• "Care for the environment and avoid harming it.
• Plant a variety of nectar-bearing plants and native species that bloom form spring to autumn to provide food for pollinators.
• Provide a welcoming environment for solitary bees and other pollinators with a feeder hut/shelter.
• Mow lawn less often and when bees are not present (i.e. early morning or late afternoon).
• Seek out local beekeepers and support them by buying bee products.
• Educate our community about the importance of bees and encourage pollinator-friendly campaigns and events."

Source: http://www.mkgp.gov.si/en/world_bee_day_initiative/

Illustrator: Hannah Rosengren Moran

© Hannah Rosengren Moran

Source: http://www.hannahrosengren.com/help-save-bees.html

https://www.shophannahrosengren.com/search?q=plant+these

And now a project I created for this hop: Bee Happy Card.

I used an ADORABLE C.C. Designs, Roberto's Rascals 'Bee Henry' stamp.

I stamped Henry on a thick watercolor paper and colored him in watercolor technique using Distress Inks. I smudged one antenna while coloring and wasn't able to clean it, so I fussy cut the image, traced edges with black marker, stamped another image on a white cardstock paper and colored it in black. Then I glued colored pieces over "black" image and fussy cut the image again, this time leaving thin white border around Henry.

Next up was a background. I heat embossed in white hexagon pattern from Jane's Doodles 'Geometric Patterns' stamp set (which is discontinued) on a thin watercolor paper panel. I watercolored the background with Distress Inks Mustard Seed ad Fossilized Amber. I added couple layers of color, drying them between. When I was satisfied, I splattered the background with water and Distress Inks mixed with water.

Lastly, I assembled the card. I glued the background panel on a 2 mm foam thick sheet rectangle and glued it on a side folded white card base. I glued 1 mm foam on Henry and glued him on the card. I created a sentiment using black Create a Smile Alphabet Stickers and glued them directly on the background panel. As a finishing touch, using white gel pen I drew white dots on the image and letters. They look like pollen. :o)

At the bottom of this post you can find detailed supply lists and card measurements.

GIVEAWAY

Fantastic companies and artists are supporting the blog hop with incredible generosity.

These are the prizes they have sponsored:

• Crafty Sentiment Designs, 3 Digital Images of winner’s choice
• Create a Smile, 25€ Gift Certificate to the Store
• Gerda Steiner Designs, $15 Gift Certificate to the Store
• Happy Little Stampers, $20 Gift Certificate to the Store
• Jane’s Doodles, 3 Stamp Sets (in stock) of winner’s choice
• Kitty Bee Designs, 1 Digital Image of winner’s choice
• Lawn Fawn, $25 Gift Certificate to the Store
• Little Miss Muffet Stamps, $10 Gift Certificate to the Store
• Paper Smooches, ’Bee Mine’ Stamp Set
• Sasayaki Glitter, 1 Digital Image of winner’s choice
• STAMPlorations, $20 Gift Certificate to the Store
• Sue Hastead of Tanglemouse Cards, 6 x 6 paper pad
• Uniko, Clear Stamp Set (in stock) of winner’s choice

I'm also giving away a prize: Jane’s Doodles ‘Daisies’ stamp set.

14 prizes will be given away to 14 winners. For your chance to win, all you have to do is hop along blogs of the participating designers and leave comment on each blog hop stop. You can enter the giveaway until Saturday, May 27^th (12 AM, CEST +2 UTC).

I will announce winners here on my blog on Wednesday, May 31^st. Winners have to confirm prizes within a week. Unconfirmed prizes will be redrawn.

Now I'm sending you off to hop. Thanks to all the amazing Ladies who have joined me in this hop and created GORGEOUS projects, as well for all help and support to organize this hop. It's first one I organized. :o)

• Milka Gubo (me)
• Zrinka Berić
• Birka Reinitz
• Neha Bhatt
• Kaja Vezenšek
• Tina Pavlović
• Sue Hastead
• Beverly Brown
• Amy Tsuruta
• Kathy Curry
• Samantha Mann
• Sonja Kerkhoffs

I hope you'll enjoy the hop. Link to this post will be in a right sidebar (Featured Post), until the Blog Hop ends. :o)

Bee Happy!!! :o)

Milka

List of supplies:

• C.C. Designs, Roberto's Rascals 'Bee Henry' clear stamp
• Jane's Doodles 'Geometric Patterns' stamp set; stamp set is discontinued
• white cardstock paper
• thin white watercolor paper
• Koh-i-noor pop Aquarel Watercolor Paper, 250 gms
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Tsukineko VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad
• WOW! Embossing Powder (Opaque Bright White, Regular, WL01R)
• Tim's Holtz Distress Inks:
• Mustard Seed
• Fossilized Amber 
• Tea Dye
• Vintage Photo
• Walnut Stain
• Hickory Smoke
• Black Soot
• Uniball Signo White
• Stabilo Fine Tip Pen (marker), Black 68/46
• Create a Smile Alphabet Stickers: Black
• foam sheet 2 mm thick
• foam sheet scraps 1 mm thick
• acrylic block (102 mm x 102 mm)
• Fiskars High Precision Personal Paper Trimmer
• bone folder
• Marabu rounded fine paint brush no. #0
• Marabu flat fine paint brush no. #6
• Ranger Heat It Tool
• scissors
• paper towels
• water
• powder bag

Card measurements: 96 mm x 133 mm (3 3/4" x 5 1/4")