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Wednesday, May 20, 2020

To Bee or Not To Bee Blog Hop



Hello everyone!!! :o)


Welcome to a special annual blog hop supporting bees, 4th To Bee Or Not To Bee Blog Hop. :o)

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



Aim of the hop is to celebrate 3rd World Bee Day, to support bees and bees protectionto raise public awareness of the importance of bees and beekeeping and benefits of using apicultural products for our health.



Bees and other pollinators are very important for ensuring food quality, as well as preserving the entire ecosystem and natural biodiversity. Bees provide a wide range of benefits to humans from pollination of food crops and apicultural products.

Bees Species (general classification):

Solitary Bee
Photo credit: GKV

Bumblebee


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."

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 and royal jelly. I find these all great for my health and for boosting my immune system. :o)

Only thing I don't and can't use from bees is venom. I'm very allergic to bee's venom (and other stinging insects) and have very bad allergic response to those.



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."

Illustrator: Hannah Rosengren Moran


Find out more about World Bee Day, key milestones in the proclamation of World Bee Day, interesting facts about bees, pollinators, apiculture, what each individual can do for bees etc. in a World Bee Day Organization's Interactive brochure about World Bee Day and Brochure Why bees matters - Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.


And here is what I created for today's hop: Just BEE-cause Card. :o)




How I made my card...

To make my card I used Your Next Stamp 'Honey Bee' stamp set and a mini honeycomb die from Your Next Stamp 'Honey Drip and Honeycomb Combo' die set. Super cuteness overload!!! LOVE!!!! 

I ink blended a white cardstock panel with Distress Inks, Mustard Seed and Fossilized Amber. I splattered the panel with water, dried it, ink blended and splattered it with water again. I mixed both Distress Inks with water and splattered the panel. When I was satisfied with color, I dried the panel.

Then I worked on a honeycomb. I die cut honeycombs, glued die cuts on the panel and cut off the excess.

I cut three more rectangles, slightly smaller than the panel, glued them together and glued them on the back of the panel. I did this to add some dimension to my card, but didn't want to use tiny foam squares for this. I glued the panel on a white top folded card base. Just to make my card sturdier, I glued one more white cardstock panel inside my card.

Next up was an adorable bee. I stamped the bee on the white cardstock paper, colored it in grey and fussy cut it leaving a thin white border around it. Then I stamped another bee on a watercolor paper and colored it in watercolor technique using Distress Inks. I fussy cut the bee, traced edges with a black marker and glued the watercolored bee over the grey one. I did this to make the image thicker, because the watercolor paper I use is very thin.

I heat embossed a sentiment in white on a black cardstock paper, cut the stripe to a desirable size, glued some foam on the back of the sentiment and glued it on the card. Then I glued some foam on the back of the bee and glued the bee on the card.

As a finishing touch, I drew white highlights on the bee and white dots on the card panel and my card was finished. :o)

Card measurements: 95 mm x 127 mm (3 3/4" x 5")

List of supplies:
  • Your Next Stamp 'Honey Bee' stamp set
  • Your Next Stamp 'Honey Drip and Honeycomb Combo' die set
  • white cardstock paper
  • watercolor paper
  • black carstock paper
  • Ranger's 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
    • Ground Espresso
  • Stabilo Fiber Tip Pens:
    • Light Grey 68/94
    • Dark Grey 68/96
    • Black 68/46
  • Mitsubishi Uni Pin 0.2
  • Uniball Signo White Pigment Ink Pen
  • Sakura Quickie Glue Pen
  • 3-D foam squares 5 x 5 x 2 mm
  • Sizzix Big Shot
  • Fiskars High Precision Personal Paper Trimmer
  • bone folder
  • Ranger Heat It Tool
  • acrylic block (102 mm x 102 mm)
  • Marabu fine rounded paint brush no. #2
  • Marabu fine rounded paint brush no. #0
  • Marabu fine rounded paint brush no. 3/0
  • Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tools
  • scissors
  • powder bag
  • crafting needle
  • water
  • paper towels
  • dry cloth

I love how my card turned out!!! :o)



GIVEAWAY

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

These are the prizes they have sponsored:


Thank you sponsors!! 


I'm also giving away one Jane’s Doodles stamp set of winner's choice to one lucky winner.

12 prizes will be given away to 12 winners.

Giveaway is opened Worldwide (+18), except for minors.

For your chance to win, hop along blogs of the participating designers listed in a blog hop list and leave a comment on each blog hop stop (19 blogs).

After commenting, return back to my blog and add your name to Inlinkz at the bottom of this blog post, but prior you do, please read Blog Hop details, terms, giveaway rules and privacy policy which are shared at the bottom of this blog post, below InLinkz.

Giveaway (Inlinkz) opens nowMay 20th, 2020, 6:00 PM CEST (UTC +2).

Giveaway (Inlinkz) closes on May 27th, 2020, 11:59 PM CEST (UTC +2).

Winners’ names will be announced on my blog on May 31st, 2020, during the day.


Winners have to confirm prizes by Sunday, June 7th, 2020, 11:59 PM CEST (UTC +2)Unconfirmed prizes will be redrawn. Read more at the bottom of this post below Inlinkz (giveaway terms, rules and privacy notice).



BLOG HOP LIST

Here is the full list of designers participating in today's blog hop.


Milka Gubo (InLinkz – return after commenting and add your name to InLinkz)




Thanks to all amazing Ladies who have joined me in this hop, for your tremendous help and support. This couldn't be done without you. 


SOCIAL MEDIA


Find us on social medias. Share your bee themed projects with us. :o)

These are the hashtags to add to your posts on social medias, so we can visit and hit that button like (heart):
#tobeeornottobeebloghop
#savethebees
#worldbeeday


And that would be all from me for today. I hope you'll enjoy the hop. I can't wait to see what everyone created. :o)


Link to this blog hop post will be added into a right sidebar, until the blog hop ends, ie. giveaway (InLinkz) closes.


Bee happy!!! :o)



Milka

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter
GIVEAWAY TERMS, RULES & PRIVACY NOTICE

By entering this giveaway you are confirming that you have read these terms, rules and privacy notice and you accept the same.

These terms, rules and privacy notice are given in line with my Data Protection and Privacy Policy Statement.
All parties joining the hop (designers, sponsors, commentators, giveaway players etc.) are covered by my Data Protection and Privacy Policy Statement.
All commentators on this blog are also covered by Google Privacy Policy.
No data will be used in any other way than to run this To Bee or Not To Bee Blog Hop.

Giveaway is opened Worldwide (+18), except for minors.

To enter the giveaway, you have to hop along blogs of the participating designers and sponsors listed in blog hop list and leave comment on each blog hop stop (19 blogs).
After commenting, return back to this blog and add your name to Inlinkz.

Inlinkz entries are covered by an Inlinkz Privacy Policy.
E-mails are not visible on this blog.
Add links to your blogs or any other profile (NO PROJECTS ARE REQUIRED TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY, JUST COMMENTING).
If any technical difficulty occurs you should contact me.

Only one entry per person!
Double entries will be removed.
Entries who don't leave comment on each blog hop stop will be removed and not entered to the random draw.

PLEASE do not link any disturbing or violent content to this giveaway (Inlinkz). Those will be immediately removed and blocked.

If you entered your name to the Inlinkz and changed your mind, you can remove your entry by yourself, as the Inlinkz provides that option. If any technical difficulty occurs you should contact me and I'll delete your link through my Inlinkz account or contact Inlinkz by yourself.

Inlinkz opens May 20th, 2020, 6:00 PM CEST (UTC +2).
Inlinkz closes May 27th, 2020, 11:59 PM CEST (UTC +2).

I will permanently delete all Inlinkz entries from this posts after the giveaway is closed and winner's names announced here on my blog, latest by June 30th, 2020.
No data will be kept neither shared with any other party.
If you want to delete your entry to Inlinkz earlier (before I permanently delete all entries), you can do it by yourself as the Inlinkz provides that option to anyone or contact me and I'll delete your entry through my Inlinkz account or contact Inlinkzby yourself.

12 prizes will be given away to 12 winners.

Prizes can't be exchanged for money.
Prizes can't be exchanged for other prize.

Winners will be randomly picked using Random.org from all entries to Inlinkz.
Winners' names (they provided) will be announced in winners post here on my blog on May 31st, 2020, during the day.
Winners have to confirm prizes by Sunday, June 7th, 2020, 11:59 PM CEST (UTC +2).

Unconfirmed prizes will be redrawn (if any) and new winners' names announced on my blog on June 9th, 2020, during the day.
Prizes will be redrawn until all prizes given away.

After winners' names announced here on my blog, winners have to contact me via e-mail to arrange prize delivery details.
Winners can confirm prizes only by contacting me and can't confirm their prizes by contacting sponsor directly.
Winners have to send me confirmation e-mail from the e-mail entered to the Inlinkz.
After the winner of a particular prize contacts me, I will forward sponsor's contact details or gift certificate codes provided by each sponsor itself to the winner.

Winners' names will be permanently deleted from winners post on this blog as soon as all prizes confirmed (or redrawn), as well as correspondence with winners, latest by June 30th, 2020.
Any comment left on winners post which reveal winners' names will be permanently deleted as well, latest by June 30th, 2020.

Winners post will not be deleted from my blog.


No data will be kept neither shared with any other party.



Update (June 30th, 2020):
In line with Giveaway Terms, Rules and Privacy Notice (see above) and my Data Protection and Privacy Policy Statement, I've permanently deleted all Inlinkz entries to this giveaway.


50 comments:

  1. Love it! All the yellow is bee-utiful behind the honeycomb die cut! Thank you so much for asking me to join in the FUN!!!

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  2. Your card is gorgeous! Love the background. Thanks for organising this hop!

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  3. Love the take on your bee card, so beautiful! Thanks for the super sponsors and all information!

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  4. fabulous way for raising public awareness of how bees are essential to our lives and well being:)

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  5. I love your Save the Bees Blog hop!
    We really need to work harder at saving
    the bees-without them, we will lose so many species of plants and foods. Thank you for hosting this informative, fun blog hop!

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  6. A fabulous card, love the cute bee and honeycomb background.
    Lorraine

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  7. I love this.. love saving the Bees and this hop. thank you for bringing attention to this. have a great day! - Jessica Lynn

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  8. I love that you are bringing awareness to the importance of bees...such a cute card you made with that adorable image.

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  9. the bee has such a sweet expression
    on it's face. Darling card.
    Can almost taste the honey.
    thanks for sharing
    txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  10. OMG! Your card is sooo cute! I LOVE that little bee and what an awesome background! I love this hop and all your bee facts!

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  11. OMGosh this is so adorable, love the design and the adorable bee. I did not know that much about bees, thank you for sharing!

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  12. That bee is so cute, love how the honeycomb die pops out against yellow background.

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  13. Milka, such a beautiful way to celebrate the protectors of the human life. I am prettier to see how the use of wireless communication is destroying the bee clan.. I love your intiative.. And definitely the beautiful way to depict the honey that we cherish from bees 🐝 🐝

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  14. Your bee card is just adorable! Love the honeycomb background and that super cute bee!

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  15. Thank you for hosting this blog hop and sharing the importance of bees! Your card is wonderful! I love the background you created for this cute little bee. :)

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  16. I sometimes think about how you had an impact on me, way back in 2017, with this hop. There are many things in life we take for granted and your hop made me realise, it's not just honey, it is pollination! I can say that you made me and family aware and hope we create some more awareness. Thank you for making me a part of this and making my son appreciate bees more, learn about the waggle dance and also spot Croatia on globe :) And also have fun while creating, our crafts! Haqpy Bee Day ;)

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  17. I love this hop of yours and look forward to it every year! It's such a fabulous initiative to support, and I am so glad that so many companies help you support it! We're trying to grow bee friendly plants in our garden too! I also wanted to have a little bee house, but my daughter is petrified of bees, so until she's over that phase - we can't have that, unfortunately! But every little helps! Your card is adorable, by the way! :-)

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  18. Thank you for all that you do Milka. Such an awesome hop.
    Your project is fantastic. I love that sweet bee and the pretty background.

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  19. It's high time we all realize the importance of our actions and the impact it has on the planet! Thanks for spreading awareness with this inspirational Hop! I love your bee-tiful card

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  20. Thank you, this post has fabulous content and an adorable card. I was meant to come across this hop, excited to see everything! Thanks so much for being passionate about bees!

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  21. Thank you for all the interesting info on bees, your post is so good to read :) We recently watched the movie Bee along with our 5-year-old daughter during these quarantine days and she was so excited to know a lot about them! I'll share more info with her now!
    And your card is just so so so adorable!! YNS products are always super cute, no exception to this bee, your coloring gave life to the image! Thank you to all the sponsors for the giveaway! I loved hopping along, eager to try my hands on a bee card soon! :)

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  22. Thanks for organising this fun hop and spreading awareness of these amazing animals. Your blended panel paired with the honeycomb and sweet image combined for a perfect card for this theme!

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  23. So many pretty things to look at on your card! I love your background, the cute stamped image and of course the "just bee-cause" sentiment. Thank you too for putting together such an important blog hop concerning bees. :) Hope you are staying well and safe.

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  24. This bee is as sweet as the honey. Thanks for creating this blog hop.

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  25. What a fabulous idea for a Hop!! I love planting trees, shrubs, and flowers for bees in my garden and yard. We have many, many bees around here...as well as other pollinators. I have a huge cherry tree in my yard...and when it is bloom, you can hear the buzzing of pollinators clear across the yard! So fabulous watching all the busy little creatures getting food and making it possible for all my trees to bear fruit.
    Love your sweet bee card, Milka! What a fabulous background for that cute little bee.
    Thank you so much for this hop and for all the work you put into organizing it. I know the many hours of planning that goes into this sort of thing!! I appreciate you making it so much fun for us while raising awareness and appreciation for bees. Thank you to all the amazing sponsors!!!
    <3 J

    jwoolbright at gmail dot com
    HerPeacefulGarden.blogspot.com

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  26. Milka, what a fabulous hop and such a great cause to be highlighting, we definitely need to be caring for our wee bees! LOVE your sweet creation, that bee image is a real cutie and love your honeycomb background! Hugs, Wends xoxo

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  27. Such an adorable card & lots of interesting information about Bees 🐝.. Great hop!!

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  28. Lovely card...Thanks for creating an awareness by hosting blog hop...

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  29. Gorgeous card. Thanks for creating the hop. I'm off to hop!

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  30. What a fun hop. So many lovely cute bee cards!

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  31. I am so glad I learned about this blog hop! What a worthy cause! Bees are so often forgotten, but play such a vital rule in mankind's survival! Your card is just darling!

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  32. I got to know about this hop two years back, I loved hopping along for both the years..I must say me and my kids learnt so much about Bees and their cause through this beautiful hop. I am super excited to be a designer for the hop this year !! Your card is just so beautiful,Milka !! Hugs and best wishes to organize many more hops in future!!

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  33. Thank you Milka inviting me again for this wonderful bloghop with a great cause. Because of you I know how important role had my little country for his day. And I don't take everything for granted anymore. You're such great person with a golden heart. Just like is your just BEE-cause card. Love it how you create the background and than add the honeycombs. ♥

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  34. Bees really are the most amazing creatures and so necessary for our environment. I love your gorgesou card! Lots of fun! Take care! :)

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  35. Hello, Milka! I am so happy to have found your blog hop! I love bees - they are so important to our food supply and to life in general. I enjoyed reading all of the information about bees and learned a few new facts! Your photos are gorgeous and I absolutely love your adorable bee card! The little bee is so cute and the background you made is gorgeous! Thank you for helping to spread the word about how important bees are! I just finished the blog hop and I so enjoyed seeing all of the bee cards! I am feeling inspired! Wishing you a bee-autiful day!

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  36. I really like the broken honey comb pattern in the background and the bee image is perfect! Thanks so much for pulling all of this together for this important cause!
    Rachelle : )

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  37. Hi Milka, really love your amazing card. The honeycombs are so perfect and your little bee is so cute. Thanks for organizing the hop! -xxx-

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  38. This was such a fun blog hop! I appreciate the bee awareness that knitted it all together. The cards were bee-utiful and I'll be paying a bit more attention to the bees in my world. Thanks for the inspiration and for putting this together. ♥️🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝♥️

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  39. Z velikim veseljem se vsako leto udeležim tvojega blog hopa ob svetovnem dnevu čebel. Hvala, da se trudiš za vse nas in nam postrežeš z veliko zanimivimi in koristnimi informacijami o čebelah.
    Tvoja voščilnica je čudovita. Naredila si krasno ozadje in čebelica je tako simpatična.
    Lepo bodi, jaz pa skočim še k ostalim ustvarjalkam iz seznama, da vidim, kakšne čebelice se nahajajo pri njih.

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  40. This is such an important issue Milka - thank you for raising awareness. These tiny creatures are massively important to our planet. Love your card celebrating bees too! The beautiful ink blend and splatters behind the honey comb and then the friendly bee as the focal point :)
    Vicky x

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  41. I love your happy bee card and as much I appreciate all you told us about taking care of our precious earth warriors. Thank you!

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  42. Milka this is such a good idea and so informative. Your card is perfection! I have just made a card and hoping to post tomorrow but the light is not good now-but thank you for bringing this important information to us all x

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  43. vau, krasen in zelo poučen blog hop ob svetovnem dnevu čebel, vse pohvale za vso organizacijo vsako leto, prav neverjetno!
    voščilnica je prekrasna, prav tako blog hop, res super inspiracije, hvala vsem!

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  44. That's a lovely way to express your gratitude to nature 🙏❣️.. beautiful card..

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  45. That's was real fun hopping along.. lovely creation and a great step taken by the team for saving the bees..

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  46. Your card is very Bee-coming. Thanks for the inspiration. God bless and Bee safe.

    ReplyDelete

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