Hi friends! TGIF! Please welcome first-time special guest JoAnn Danchick to our blog today! Please follow along in her fun tutorial of this gorgeous card inspiration using Honey Bee Stamps!! Enjoy!

Hi creative friends! I am Jo Ann Danchik and I am thrilled to be here today representing the Honey Bee Stamp Company and showcasing some of their beautiful stamps and dies. I drew my inspiration for today’s card from the Dutch Blue Delft Tiles that I saw in Amsterdam many years ago. I thought that it would be fun to create a card using only shades of blue.

I started by using the small blooms, from the Sweet As Honey Stamp Set, and the larger blooms, from the newer Spring Blossoms Stamp Set. Both sets pair beautifully together. I inked up the stamps using an African Violet Marvy LePlume marker. I find that the Tombow markers work equally as well. Both brands hold a lot of pigment, are easy to stamp with, and can handle a lot of water. I stamped onto the smoother side of Tim Holtz’s Watercolor Paper. I used a MISTI, as it took several layers of ink to get good coverage on the textured paper.

Starting from the center of each blossom, and using a nearly dry watercolor brush, I pulled color from the stamp outline. I added clear water to the edges to lighten the color as I moved out along each petal. While I start out with a general idea of where the card is going it usually evolves and goes in a different direction. LOL! I decided to add the honey pot and a few bees, also from the Sweet As Honey Stamp Set. They were colored in the same manner.

I die cut all the pieces using the coordinating Sweet As Honey Die Set and the Spring Blossom Die Set. The Sizzix Sidekick never leaves my desk. I use it ALL THE TIME! Also, I have been using the Therm O Web purple tape for awhile and love it as well. It releases beautifully and doesn’t tear your paper.

I decided to make the card a hexagonal shape to further mimic a tile. I die cut #110 Neenah Cardstock using the Hexagon Solid Stack die set. Fold your cardstock and make sure that the die is slightly above the cardstock fold to make a shaped card. I also used two smaller dies from the set to create a smaller hexagon frame.

I used Tim Holtz Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink, and one of his new Distress Blending Brushes, for an ombre effect. I continuously added color from the bottom and blended upward. There are some scratch marks on my paper from using old plates on my die cutting machine. I thought about starting over but decided that most of them would be covered and they added a vintage look.

For the smaller frame, I simply went direct-to-paper with the ink cube. I played around with adding the frame to the card and leaving the inside blue…there was not enough contrast. I also tried putting the white inside piece back in…there was too much contrast. I finally settled on brushing a light layer of the Blueprint Sketch Ink on the inside piece. Everything was glued down using a Lawn Fawn Glue Tube.

I colored some #80 Neenah Cardstock using the Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink. I cut one blue and three white pieces using the Love You Die Set. They are small thin pieces and are easily released from the die with a Tim Holtz Die Pick…or the Pokey Tool…as most of us refer to it. They were stacked and glued using the Lawn Fawn Glue Tube. I offset the top piece slightly to give a white contrasting edge. It helped to set the sentiment apart from the background.

The pieces were laid out and adhered with the glue tube. Some of the flowers and the honeypot were given added dimension with Scotch Foam Tape.

Thank you for joining me today on this creative journey! I appreciate the opportunity to share my work and hope that it has inspired you to try your hand at a monochromatic card.
Joyfully,
Jo Ann

SUPPLIES:

Honey Bee SWEET AS HONEY Clear Stamp… [ SSS ] Honey Bee SWEET AS HONEY Dies HBDS06 [ SSS ] Honey Bee SPRING BLOSSOMS Clear Stamp… [ SSS ] Honey Bee SPRING BLOSSOMS Dies hbds-101 [ SSS ] Honey Bee HEXAGON SOLID STACK Dies… [ SSS ] Honey Bee LOVE YOU Dies hbds-114 [ SSS ] Tombow PRIMARY Dual Brush Pens 10… [ SSS ] Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad… [ SSS ] Tim Holtz MINI DISTRESS INK STORAGE… [ SSS ] Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad BLUEPRINT… [ SSS ] Tim Holtz 4.25 X 5.5 DISTRESS… [ SSS ] Tim Holtz Distress BLENDING BRUSHES… [ SSS ] Tim Holtz Sizzix DIE PICK Tool 657498 [ SSS ] Therm O Web PURPLE TAPE Easy Release… [ SSS ] Lawn Fawn GLUE TUBE Adhesive LF1664 [ SSS ] Neenah Classic Crest 80 LB SMOOTH… [ SSS ] Neenah Classic Crest 110 LB SMOOTH… [ SSS ] Tim Holtz Sizzix SIDEKICK STARTER KIT… [ SSS ] MISTI MEMORY MISTI PRECISION STAMPER… [ SSS ] Sizzix BIG SHOT MACHINE Gray And… [ SSS ] Sizzix Big Shot Kick STANDARD CUTTING… [ SSS ]

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and thanks to JoAnn for being our guest!

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