It’s a new month which means we have a new challenge at Country View Challenges for April which is The Birds and The Bees.
Please ensure that birds and/or bees are the main focus of your projects when you join this challenge which is being hosted this month by the lovely Sue.

This page was created in my mini art journal, so I started by covering the chipboard page with a coat of white gesso and then I stamped the beehive image using black Archival Ink and a Beehive Buzz stamp and die set from Pink Ink Designs. Next I added the hexagonal pattern to the background using Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Vintage Photo Distress Ink and an old hexagon stamp. Then I used an Interlocking Circles stencil from Creative Expressions as a stamp by covering it with Black Soot Distress Ink, spritzing it with water and then pressing the stencil onto the page. When dry, I used some black Archival Ink and the hexagon stamp again around the edges of the page to frame it. The beehive was coloured and shaded using a blue Tri-Blend marker and some Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Vintage Photo Distress Ink which I applied like watercolour.

I stamped the bees onto some mixed media paper and then I used the Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Salty Ocean Distress Inks again to colour them. They were die cut using the dies from the Beehive Buzz set and then stuck in place using glue dots.

I added three blue dome stickers and used the stamp and die set to create the “Bee Extraordinary” wording which finished the page.
I hope that you will join The Birds and The Bees challenge over at Country View Challenges too; it would be lovely to see you there, and if you do join us then you’ll have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use on the Country View Crafts website too (grin!).

This beehive page brought back memories of some colourful beehives that we saw whilst on holiday in Skiathos, Greece.

We saw them whilst out walking along a cliff top trail; they were overlooking the sea and had this beautiful view!
Hoping that you are all staying safe and well!
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this mini art journal page:
- Pink Ink Designs – Stamp & Die Set – A Cut Above – Beehive Buzz
- Ranger Archival Ink Pad, Jet Black – 90mm X 62mm
- Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Mustard Seed
- Creative Expressions Mini Stencil – Interlocking Circles
- Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Black Soot
- Ranger Roller – Small Brayer 2 1/4
- Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Salty Ocean
- Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo)
- Docrafts Papermania (Mini Chipboard Album 15x15cm)
- Pébéo White Gesso
- Hexagon Clear Stamp
- Spectrum Noir Tri-Blend (True Blue Blend)
- Mixed Media Paper
- Stix2 Glue Dots
- Dome Stickers
Challenges I’m so pleased to be able to join Art Journal Journey where the theme is Inspired By in honour of Eileen from The Artful Crafter’s Blog who picked the theme and was supposed to host this month. It’s so heart breaking that she won’t be joining us as she passed away last month shortly after her heart surgery – she will be greatly missed and I’m so pleased to be able to remember her throughout the month by joining AJJ! My page was inspired by bees and beehives, and I’m sure Eileen would have loved the positive wording “Bee Extraordinary” too! |
Beautiful page, Jo, love the background and the beautiful bees! And thanks for linking to AJJ, too, much appreciated, Eileen would have loved your page! Hugs, Valerie
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Gorgeous page, I love bees and all those bee images are fun. I love the stencil. Have a great week, hugs Wendy.
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What an absolutely amazing entry, Jo. It is beautiful. At first, I thought you fussy cut the bees, but was delighted to see you took the “safe” way out (grin). It is an absolutely perfect first entry for Eileen’s theme this month at Art Journal Journey. Bees are so badly needed for our food supply and I’m glad you showed those bee hive boxes. I saw some at a farm here in KS that looked similar. Same colors, too. I wonder if the color is important for the bees or the farmers. Thanks again for joining us.
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Lovely page!
If shops were open… I could send you some honey from Oker bees that roam our river. But certainly… all closed …
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That’s a super stamp/die set. I have looked at it myself. You’ve inspired me that maybe it needs relooking at because I love your page. I like the honeycombs at the edge of the page and all the circles. You’ve really created a beehive. And I like those bright beehives and the view from Greece. It looks like a beautiful place and is high on my bucket list. Hope you have a great start to the new month. And thanks for joining us at AJJ. Hugs-Erika
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This is a lovely bee page, Jo ! Greece looks fabulous, hopefully we can get away again this year! Have a happy April ! xx
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This is a wonderful page for Eileen Thema with the bees and the great background, I think it’s so cute!
Nice to see the beehives for real!
Have a beautiful day, hug Elke
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Another lovely page by you Jo. And this time it is all about the ‘bee’ which is close to my heart. We need to do all we can to ensure they are not wiped out and it was only Monday that I saw a lovely big fat bumble bee enjoying the sunshine when at the caravan for the day.
This is a lovely stamp by Pink Ink with all the bees being busy around the hive and I love the way you have created the remainder of the page using gesso to begin with and creating the wording in that way, That is beautiful script.
I think I will have to try to create a page in my square journal for this challenge at Sue’s. Thank you for inspiring me to join in.
Hugs, Neet xx
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I look forward to bees, even if I don’t ever see honey bees on our patio. I love those colorful bee hives!
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Absolutely beautiful page😍😻👏👏💐
Congrats, hugs from Chile 😊
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Just Bee-autiful Jo – love it! Not seen that stamp Beefore either! Big hugs! Rachel xx
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This is wonderful Jo, a gorgeous background and beautifully coloured. Take care and have a very happy Easter, Sue xx
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I like the colors you chose for you bee extraordinary page. The view from the cliff is extraordinary, too. Take care.
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It’s a fabulous page – love these colours. Eileen loved a play on words – a truly fitting page in her memory! Hugs, Chrisx
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Love this! The bees are fabulous as are the photos! The bee hives are super cool looking and the view from the cliff is breathtaking!
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Fabulous page, Jo!!! I love the different shades of blue and yellow!!! These look fantastic together!!! Have a happy April and Easter!!! xx
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A gorgeous page Jo, and wonderful photos!
Happy Easter!
Alison xx
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This is beautiful and colorful! I love all of the different bees and the gorgeous background! Awesome photo and stunning view of the sea!
Hugs, Tammy
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Lovely page Jo! The bees are brilliant, love your background too!
Happy Easter! x
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Great page Jo, the die cut bees give a great dimension to the page.
Avril xx
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Your page is so pleasing to my eye, Jo. The blues and yellows are so lovely together. XOX
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What a cool bee page Jo. Super texture and dimension with that busy hive. Happy April, hugs xx
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Stunning!! How can we not be inspired by those Bee’s, what a fabulous stamp set that is along with the dies. Beautiful colour and composition, I love everything about this Jo especially how those background flow of colour seems to draw the eye in. Fantastic.
Keeping everything crossed I get to play this month.
Hugs for April Tracey xx
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Your journal page is precious, Jo! I do love bees, and I love how you’ve used this particular stamp set with the mixed media background to set off those little bees and their hive. Thanks for sharing the photos of Greece, too! Enjoy your week! Hugs!
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Hi Jo,
This is both such an adorable make with bees, and so sad news to read… 😦
I didn’t know Eileen, but this looks like she was a really kind person, smiling and sharing lady. I’m sure she will be missed a lot by all her friends and her family of course. My prayers for her.
Regarding your page, I’ve cracked and ordered some PinkInkdesigns stamps just after seeing this wonderful scene from you!!! So I tell you not thank you haha 🙂
Hugs and enjoy the Spring, the nature and sunny weather at the moment,
Coco xx
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Such a lovely page!
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Wonderful creation Jo. Love this.
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Great page, Jo. The bees are fun, the designs are cool, and your colors are refreshing. Bees are so inspiring in Art – I love to see them in art – but prefer them to be behind the scenes in life – lol. Really great details here and a lovely tribute to Eileen too. Hugz
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Beautiful art journal page with all those lovely bees, Jo! And your pictures from Greece are making me wish even more that travelling will be possible again soon!
Happy April!
Evelyn x
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Jo this is fabulous, love it. Hugs Debs xx
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