Hello! Wow, this month seems to have flown by for me, it’s already time for another Kitty Bee Designs Spotlight. This month I’ve chosen to highlight Kitty Bee Designs‘ Birthday Bumble Bee.

I wanted to feature some sort of honeycomb pattern into the design but I’m not normally a fan of the pattern. I did not own one patterned paper, stamp or embossing folder with the honeycomb pattern, even partially incorporated in it. I decided that, if I really wanted to make something with a honeycomb theme I was going to have to put something together myself. I had a old set of generic stitched hexagonal dies lying around so I decided to dust them off (for their very first ever use) and create something incorporating the hexagonal shape typical of honeycomb.

I started by printing the Bumble Bee onto XPress-it blending card, sizing it to fit the second largest of the hexagonal die set. I colored the image with my Chameleon Pens and die cut it out. I also die cut a black hexagon, one die size larger to mount the image on to. Once I had glued the two hexagons together, I finished the bee off with some dots on the antennae and the eyes, using a black Sakura Glaze Pen. I also added a tiny bit of sparkle, using a clear Sakura sparkle overlay pen on the white of the hat and on the candle, setting the piece aside to dry thoroughly when I’d finished.

For the rest of the card, I decided to try a white on white theme and cut multiple hexagons from scrap white cardstock, using the smallest of the hexagon dies from the set. I didn’t want to cover the entire front of the card with a repetitive pattern, instead I wanted a more scattered effect. I spent a little time arranging and rearranging the hexagons until a found something I was happy with.

Once I decided on the hexagonal placement, I die cut a sentiment banner, using My Favorite Things Stitched Sentiment Strips. Then, using Versamark ink and gold Wow Embossing Powder, I heat embossed a small sentiment from a bee themed, generic stamp set. To accentuate that small sentiment further, I also cut a strip of generic gold washi tape to the length I wanted and cut a fishtail end in it, to match in with my sentiment strip.

To assemble the card, I firstly added my Bumble Bee image to the top section of the card, spacing it evenly on three sides but not gluing it down. I then added my washi tape, centering it in the void at the bottom portion of the card. Next, I added the white hexagons, starting in the top right corner and moving the bee image to one side while I worked. Once these first three hexagons were in place it was easy to line up the rest of the hexagonal placement on the card base, using a clear ruler to assist as I worked. I glued all the hexagons into place and finished off with the sentiment strip, mounted onto some foam tape.

Finally, to give just a little more interesting and bling, I arranged some sequins around the card and again, once I was happy with their placement, I glued them all down with Ranger Multi Medium Matte Adhesive.

Not being a hexagon person made this card a bit of a challenge but I’m pretty happy within the whole design finished up. I hope you get a chance to check out the Birthday Bumble Bee and all the other images over at Kitty Bee Designs’ Etsy Store.

Thanks so much for spending time with me today. I look forward to next time…😊

Published by Anne

I have been practicing this craft since 2004 and am self taught, only learning from published lessons. I have found this has stopped me learning others' bad habits and I often find economical ways to achieve my results. I've found that primarily making cards gives me a constant supply of projects to complete and giving them as part of a gift is always well received. The only downside to it all? I dare not buy a card for anyone now, they would be devistated and, quite possibly insulted. But I take that as a compliment.

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