How To Make 3 Bee Beautiful Cards

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on April 26, 2023February 25, 2024
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3 Bee Beautiful cards made during Hero Arts Stamp-Along

3 Bee Beautiful cards that you can make yourself! Learn what to use and how to make them in this article.

Hero Stamp-Alongs

These cards were inspired by classes I took while attending Hero Arts' Stamps Spring Stamp Along over the weekend (April 14-16, 2023). A Stamp-along is a virtual event that Hero Arts put on that provides wonderful teachers (some of my fav cardmakers), products, community, and usually a silent auction for a good cause.

You can sign up for the classes at a very low price without having to buy any product at all, but Hero Arts also offer a bundle of the products that will be used during the classes if you are interested.

And, the classes are recorded so you can refer back to them whenever you want.

Dreamy Floral and Bees – Bee Beautiful Card

Beautiful Bee card created with layered stenciling.
Beautiful Bee card created with layered stenciling.

Channin Pelletier, @channinpelletier, designed this beautiful card and taught us how to make it.

Color Layering Bee Florals Stenciling

The focal point on this card is created by using a layered stencil set, The Color Layering Bee Florals Stencils. The set is made up of five stencils that create a rich and colorful image of bees perched on fresh blooms. And then, it also features intricate leaves and branches that complete a window in the center.

Layer One

To begin making the card we'll blend over the first layer with a light hand. The stencils are not numbered but Hero Arts provides the layering on the packaging that comes with the set. The first one is the one with the large floral images.

What I love about this stencil set is that there is enough space between the images to be able to use different colors on the same layer. And that is just what we are doing for this card. So, we'll begin to blend yellow ink over the flowers and blossoms at the top of the stencil. And, we'll do so by holding the brush that we use for yellow blending at the very end of the handle. Make sure to brush both directions in a circular motion. As a result, our blending is light and smooth and color gets in all the little nooks and crannies.

Using the same technique we'll blend over the flowers and buds on the right side using peachy orange ink. And then, we'll blend over the flowers on the bottom left with pink ink.

Layer Two

The stencil that we'll use for the second layer provides detail for the flowers and yellow for the bees. And, we're going to use the same colors of ink to match the flowers that we have already stenciled. But this time we'll hold the brushes right at the head of the brush so that our blending is darker and more vibrant. But, before we do that, we'll blend the bee bodies with the yellow ink.

We do this first because we want to make sure that we don't get any other color than yellow.

Layer Three

The third layer is the base for the leaves. And now, we'll lightly blend over the leaves using a light green. And then, we'll add a little dimension with medium green ink. Don't put the medium green ink away because we're going to use it on the next layer.

Layer Four

We're going to add detail to the leaves and stems for layer four. So, continuing with the medium ink and using a heavy hand we'll color over the entire stencil once it's lined up. And then, we'll use the darkest green ink to add shadows at the bases of the leaves.

Layer Five

This is my favorite layer because it completes these beautiful images. As a result, we're inking in the rest of the bee's bodies and features and details for the branches. We're using black ink for this step and we want to use a heavy hand to get a rich black.

Beautiful Bee card created with layered stenciling.
Beautiful Bee card created with layered stenciling.

Splattering The Bee Card

I don't know about you, but splattering is scary for me. I'm always afraid that I'm going to ruin this beautiful masterpiece that I've just created. But, do you know what? Every time I use the technique it makes my card look better!

There are a million ways to splatter ink. What I find works best for me is to smoosh the ink I am using onto an acrylic block. Then, add water to it with an eye dropper or a watercolor brush marker and mix to dilute the ink. Then pick the ink up with a brush and tap the handle of the brush on the block to splatter the ink over your project. HINT: The size and shape of your brush determines the pattern of the splatter, and how large your splatters are. I usually use a round size 6 or 8.

I just use the same color ink that is in the florals to splatter with.

Finishing and Assembly

Making the sentiment is quick and easy with the new friendly messages stamp and die bundle. We'll stamp our sentiment onto a scrap of white cardstock with black ink. And then, we'll die-cut it with the coordinating die.

The only thing left to do to the card panel is to blend around the edges. This helps to frame and bring attention to the focal point. Again, we're using the same ink color and a light hand. And, don't forget to tap off on a piece of paper towel before taking your brush to the card panel.

We'll attach the card panel to a white A2 card base using a tape runner and then we'll pop up the sentiments using foam tape.

Bee Floral Window – Bee Beautiful Card

Lovely Bee shaker card created using dies, stencils, and rubber stamps.
Lovely Bee shaker card created using dies, stencils, and rubber stamps.

Yellow is my least favorite color. But, this just might be my favorite card ever. Isn't it gorgeous? Nicole Spohr, @NicoleSpohr, designed and taught how to make this card.

I have not done anything different to my card than what Nicole taught. So, it would be inappropriate for me to give step-by-step instructions on how to make it. But I will tell you what to use.

The Bee Florals Window Fancy Die

For this card, you'll use a stunning die that features three busy bees in an organic wreath shape filled with flowers, buds, and leaves. It's called The Bee Florals Window Fancy Die.

This is a very unique die that will cover most of an A2 card (4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″). It's unique in a couple of ways. First, it creates many partial cuts. This is great because it helps to define the shapes but also gives the card dimension. There are all kinds of windows that do cut out that help to define the shape more. And there is a huge window in the middle that provides the perfect place for a sentiment. And, you can use it to make a shaker card as well, that is what you do for this card.

But, before we get into making the shaker card, you'll want to use the layered stencils that we use for our first card, SA221 Color Layering Bee Florals Stencils. You'll use Hero Arts Core Ink Butter Bar for the first layer, and Fawn for the second. And then, you'll use Moss for the base leaf layer, and Field Greens for the detail. And, to finish the stenciling, you'll do the bee and stem detail with Charcoal.

Hero Arts Core Ink

Hero Arts Core Ink is what we use for all three of these cards. It's a paper crafting essential that is ideal for everyday stamping and cardmaking. This dye ink offers versatility as it dries into the paper and softens over time. It is quick-drying, smooth, and waterproof. And, it's ideal for layering colors and scene-building techniques.

Burlap Bold Prints Rubber Stamp

One of the things that I think makes this card so special is the cross-hatch pattern that creates the beautifully textured background behind the shaker. You will want to use the Burlap rubber stamp, Butter Bar, and Fawn ink to create a similar background.

Artist tip: Use without a block! Place the rubber face up, apply ink to the design, and then press the paper to the inked rubber.

Clear Card Panels

Did you know that heat-resistant acetate is available? And why is that so cool? Because you can heat emboss your sentiments, or anything else, on it.

Neon Bee Florals – Bee Beautiful Card

Beautiful spring card created using neon watercolors.
Beautiful spring card created using neon watercolors.

Kelly Taylor, @KellyTaylorCards, designed and taught how to make this card. I love the soft beauty of it! And it's hard to believe that you can achieve these colors using Neon Watercolors, but you can!

But, before we get to that, you'll need to use The Bee Florals Window Fancy Die and cut it from an A2 size piece of watercolor cardstock. Then add a drop each of Pink, Yellow, and Chartreuse watercolor ink to your palette or glass mat. And then add a drop of water next to each of the watercolor drops. And now, dilute the ink by mixing it with water until you get the color that you want.

I diluted my inks a lot to get pretty pastels for the base layer of the flowers, bees, and leaves. And then, I used the same colors but didn't dilute them as much to add shadows. Next, you can use the 5th stencil layer with black ink to add in the bee and stem details.

To finish the coloring, we'll use a light blue alcohol marker to color in the bee's wings. And, we'll also draw a shadow all the way around the die-cut image with it.

Finishing and Assembly

To assemble the card, we'll begin by fastening an A2 piece of light blue cardstock to a white card base with a tape runner. And then, when we're sure that our watercolor painting is dry, we'll use liquid glue to attach it over the blue onto the card front.

All that is left is to create a sentiment just like we did for the first card. But this time we'll heat emboss it with white embossing powder on a scrap of black cardstock. And finally, we'll pop it up with scraps of foam sheets or with foam strips.

Supplies

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Are You Interested In More Cards Made With Versatile Dies?

Check out: How To Make 3 Cards From 1 Die-cut

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