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")