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Thursday, May 20, 2021

World Bee Day

   



Happy World Bee Day!!! :o)


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."

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.


Previous four years, I organized here on my blog To Bee Or Not To Bee Blog Hop, a special annual blog hop supporting bees. Some of my crafty friends joined to hop along with me and there were some amazing sponsors who gave away generous prizes. :o)

Aim of the hop was to celebrate 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.

This year I organized the hop, but due to the family situation, I had to postpone it. At this point, I need to focus on myself, my health, my baby boy Fran, my family and partner Goran. The hop will be as soon things get back to normal and when I'll be able to focus on the hop.

If you like, you can visit previous years' hops for some inspiration and information about bees.
Here are direct permalinks:

Illustrator: Hannah Rosengren Moran


And that would bee all from me today. Thank you for visiting. Bee happy!!! :o)


Milka


Friday, May 7, 2021

Jane's Doodles BREW-TEA-FUL Release Blog Hop

 


Happy Friday! :o)

Welcome to a Jane's Doodles BREW-TEA-FUL Release Blog HopToday we are featuring a gorgeous 'BREW-TEA-FUL' stamp set released into the store. :o) We also have 3 super talented Guest Designers joining us today. :o)


GORGEOUS!!!! Love love LOVE!!!!! :o)


And here is what I prepared for today: Yellow Teapot Goodie Bag. :o)


I made this one for my mom for Mother's Day, which is here in Croatia on Sunday, May 9th this year. I'll put some chocolate treats and tiny note card inside. :o)


How I made this Goodie Bag... 

First I die cut goodie bag parts from a Kraft paper. To create my own patterned paper, I randomly stamped a teapot and tea mugs on die-cut pieces in watermark stamping technique using VersaMark Watermark Ink. I mixed a white tempera color with a bit of water and splattered the patterned paper and left it dry on air. After drying I assembled the goodie bag.

Next up was the teapot image. It's so pretty!! :o) 

stamped the teapot on a watercolor paper and fixed some lines with a black fine liner, as I didn't stamp entire image well. I colored the teapot in watercolor technique with Distress Inks. After drying, I fussy cut the teapot and traced edges with a black marker.

Then I stamped the teapot again on a white cardstock paper. I fussy cut the teapot, leaving white border around it. I glued the watercolored teapot over it. I did this to make the image thicker, as the watercolor paper I use is very thin and I needed thicker image. 

I wanted a simple look of the teapot, so I left floral details white. I just run with a white gel pen over white parts, to hide tiny smears of yellow. :o)

If you follow my blog, you know I love dimension on my projects. This one was no exception. :o) I glued 3-D foams on the back of the teapot and glued it on the front side of the bag. :o)

I left the back side of the bag without additional image.


As a finishing touch, I laced up a twine and my Goodie Bag was finished. :o)

I love how my Goodie Bag turned out!! I'm sure my mom will love it. :o)


At the bottom of this post you can find detailed supply lists of my today's project. Link to this post will be in a right sidebar until the Blog Hop ends. :o)


And now to the Blog Hop prize...

Our generous Jane will be giving away one stamp set of winner's choice to one lucky winner. All you have to do is leave a comment on all blogs along the Hop for your chance to win.

Here is the Blog Hop order:

Jane will announce the winner on Monday, May 10th, 2021, at Jane's Doodles Blog.

Also, Jane is having 25% off sale through this weekendNo code needed.


Now hop over to Marion's blog and see what she created for today's hop.


Thank you for visiting. I hope you enjoyed on my stop today and got inspired. :o) 

Happy hopping and good luck to all!!! :o)


    Milka





    List of supplies:
    • Jane's Doodles 'BREW-TEA-FUL' stamp set
    • white cardstock paper
    • watercolor paper
    • Crafter's Companion Neenah Desert Storm Kraft Coloring Card
    • Tsukineko VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad
    • Ranger's Archival Ink (Jet Black)
    • Tim's Holtz Distress Inks:
      • Mustard Seed
      • Fossilized Amber
    • Koh-i-noor tempera color, white
    • Stabilo Fibre Tip Pen (Marker), Black 68/46
    • Uniball Signo White pigment ink pen
    • Mitsubishi Uni Pin fine liner 0.2
    • twine
    • Sakura Quickie Glue Pen
    • UHU universal liquid glue
    • 3-D square foams, 5 x 5 x 1 mm
    • Fiskars High Precision Personal Paper Trimmer
    • bone folder
    • round acrylic block
    • Sizzix Big Shot
    • Lawn Fawn 'Goodie Bag' Lawn Cut
    • scissors
    • craft knife
    • Xcut self healing working mat A4
    • DaVinci fine rounded paint brush no. 2/0
    • paper towels
    • water

    Wednesday, May 5, 2021

    Jane's Doodles Freebie - Daisies for Mother's Day


    Hi everyone! :o)

    Jane is sharing a GORGEOUS Daisies digital image for Mother's Day for free on Jane's Doodles blog.

    It's free digital image for personal use only. Be kind and respect Jane's artwork. Give her proper credits and share only the link to the image with others, not the image. You know how that works. :o)


    Enjoy and smile! :o)


    Milka