Queen Bee Doll Kits and other Buzz Worthy Goodies‏

New Goodies!

Happy Saturday everyone! The weather around here has been BEE-u-tiful and now I'm dreaming of summer! As soon as I typed "Queen Bee" in last week's newsletter I knew what I had to do next. I'm sure those of you that follow me had an idea too! QUEEN BEE DOLLS! Yep, and she's sweeter than honey if I do say so myself! The perfect addition to our extensive Art Doll Kit section! We also have new Tim Holtz Stencils, More Gilded Life Bezels, and a few other goodies to pollinate your creativity!

CHECK IT OUT HERE

Art Time in my Hive!    I had an absolute blast with miss Queen B. Warning, this Newsletter may contain a copious amount of bee-related word plays! One of my favorite customers sent me lists and lists of them, some of which I will share with you below. But back to the art. I'll share a few tips with you. Bee Calm and Art On! Supplies: Queen Bee Art Doll Kit, Santos Doll Head Paper Cuts, Small Honeycomb Stencil, Honeycomb Bit Cut-Outs, Brass Bee, Brass Fleur-de-lis, Glue N Seal Matte, Archival Ink in Sepia and Black, Ink Blending Tool

I started Miss B. by painting her entire body with gold acrylic paint. I wanted to stencil her back, so I used our new Small Honeycomb Stencil. TIP: These stencils work more like masks, so you have to plan your colors ahead of time. I wanted the inside of the cells black and the borders gold, so I painted the body in gold and stenciled the cells in black. Or you can do the reverse!

The best thing about this new stencil is that the pattern is repeating. Stencil not long enough, no problem.

After you have stenciled to the bottom simply lift up the stencil and line the top row up with your last row of paint and continue! You can do the same for the sides. So this stencil can cover any piece, no matter how large! It also looks great when you just stencil small parts here and there!

Her "skirt" is especially great because depending on how you alter, it can look like a beehive OR a bee body! Or a little bit of both like in the art sample. The top layer of her "skirt" comes in pieces, so you can alter each segment separately, making altering a snap. I love how I was really able to ink up the edges of each piece. Really added a lot of dimension! I had fun picking two papers that were vintage, yet had the obligatory yellow and black. Sort of a modern interpretation. 

I wanted lots of texture on the wings, and I wanted them to resemble veins, like you would see on insect wings. First I painted my wings black to add contrast then I attached my lace with Glue N Seal added liberally. Once dry, I trimmed and inked my edges. You could also use Cheese Cloth for this! Just Bee sure to pull it apart a bit. 

Finally I attached some embellishments and set her in the optional Honeycomb Stand! It's like a little bee docking station. You can remove her as you wish! I especially love the look of our new Chipboard  Honeycomb Bits. Handy little things that you can used just about anywhere. You can cut the pieces apart as needed too. 

These gals will get your wings a-buzzing! And if you're not sure where to start, just 'Wing It!'

Don't worry bee happy!

I just realized that our New Honeycomb ATC Door Shrine Kit would make a great Wardrobe Closet for your new Queens! 

As I mentioned earlier, one of my customers had fun sending me clever "Bee" word plays, some of which are probably above! She prefers to remain anonymous, but she knows who she is. Here are a few of my favorites that I thought I would share. Courtesy of Queenteena.

"Honey, BEE sure to COMB your hair!!"

"Hive been busier than a bee!"

"Hive More BEEs for You, so You Can BEE More!!!"

"Easy-Beezy!"

"Bee UTEE!"

"Do you have a bee in your bonnet to try out ..."

"BEEmail me"

"To Bee or not to Bee"

"Easy as A, BEE, C!"

"Bee Adorned and You'll Bee Adored!"  

  "Let your Inner Nectar SHINE!"

"Just Bee!!"

"Show your Inner Queen BEE"

And those are just a few from the emails that kept me entertained all week! Hope they made you smile too! 'Pure Gold'

Inspiration By Danene Grillo!

I just love this awesome mixed media canvas by Danene Grillo! Hard to believe she did the entire piece using just one of our stencils, Bus Stop Mania! Lot of great twists and turns of the stencil for sure. Danene just started her first blog, so be sure to stop by and say hi! Danene is very talented so you are sure to see lots of great art pop up there. Thank you Danene!

Inspiration By Terri Kahrs!

Could this Sweetheart Fairy be anymore gorgeous and colorful? She was created by the talented Terri Kahrs! I adore Terri's bright and happy style. Just scrolling through her blog makes me happier! Thank you Terri!

Inspiration By Lynn Stevens!

Design Team Member Lynn Stevens created this awesome Mini Santos Doll. Lynn also used our Mini Doll Head Paper Cuts, Small Wheel Set, Wing Collage Sheet, Bird Cage, Nest Charm, Bird Word Paper Cuts, and Gear Cut-Outs. I'm not sure how I lived life before seeing a Frida Santos on wheels! SO creative Lynn! I heart her so much!

Inspiration By Linda Cain!

This super cool Tower Shrine is by Design Team Member Linda Cain! I adore how she painted and placed the Letterpress Blocks and OH MY that roof! Can you guess what she used? Our Small Stencil Board Strips. How brilliant is THAT! They certainly aren't just for stenciling! 

You can see more amazing step-out photo and instructions on Linda's blog here.