Showing posts with label Honey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Honey. Show all posts

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 protection, to 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 now, May 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.


Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Hunny Bee Card (Kitty Bee Designs Spotlight)

http://kittybeedesigns.blogspot.com/

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

Saturday, May 20, 2017

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 20th is declared World Bee Day by the United Nations (UN).



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):


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. 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."


Illustrator: Hannah Rosengren Moran



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



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:


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 27th (12 AM, CEST +2 UTC).
I will announce winners here on my blog on Wednesday, May 31st. 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)


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")
    Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...