Just Bee-cause Gift Box and Tag

I have a long history with bugs.  I don’t know how it happened or if it was ever a conscious choice, but somehow bugs became my thing (one of them, anyway).  In high school, the theme of my senior art thesis was insects – I remember having to analyze a painting full of them from a famous artist in a 10 page paper, and then create about a dozen pieces reflecting this theme.  (I also remember foolishly selling most of my favorite pieces from that assignment in an auction shortly thereafter…)

My first job right out of college had me working alongside some amazing entomologists.  The work was interesting and the pay was great, but more often than not I would come home itching, believing there just had to be bugs all over me still…

Now, like a total geek, I seek out bugs for fun.  I visit insectariums and collect field guides to identify the little guys in my backyard.  Don’t get me wrong…most bugs over a half inch in length still gross me out, but I can’t help being interested in all of the different varieties around us.  And bees?  They are some of my favorites!

I created this cute bee gift tag using new stamps from Pink & Main.  First, I stamped the image from the “Buggy” set in black hybrid ink from My Favorite Things on some Xpress-it Blending Card (I am really starting to prefer this ink to Memento Tuxedo Black when I color with alcohol markers).  After coloring him with Copic markers, I fussycut him out and set him aside.  Then I stamped the sentiment from “Buggy Words” in Versamark ink onto a tag (“Tag You’re It” dies – Lawn Fawn) cut from 100# Neenah Desert Storm cardstock and heat embossed it in white.  I thought the grey and white bakers twine (Two Berry Creative) matched his nose and antennae pretty well.

The honeycomb gift box and tea rose were both cut with my Silhouette CAMEO.  I thought these were the perfect companion to my gift tag and would make a super cute way to send my niece her favorite honey candies…just bee-cause I was thinking of her.  🙂

Jamie Lane includes instructions on her blog to assemble the rose here, but it’s really quite simple.  After cutting all of the pieces out of some basic 65# pink and green cardstock (I use the “Patterned Paper” setting in the software for this lightweight cardstock), I inked all of the edges quickly with some cheap pigment inks from a Martha Stewart stamping kit.  Mini ink pads like these (or Colorbox Cat’s Eyes) are perfect for getting into all of the points between the petals easily.  Notice that I also inked the edges very roughly…I would normally take more care when using a less subtle color of ink, but once the petals are rolled you really can’t see any of the messy details anyway.

The second key to making your 3D flowers look more lifelike is lots and lots of curling of the individual petals.  Using your finger or a round pencil, just take each petal and pull it over the pencil, occasionally switching the direction of the curl.  When finished, glue all of the layers of the rose together with liquid glue, starting with the smallest and working up to the largest, and finally the leaves.

The box itself is quite simple to assemble.  Cut your two pieces from light or medium-weight cardstock (I resized each piece to fit on a 12×12 sheet), fold on all of the scorelines, and glue at the six tabs to form a hexagon base and lid.  The lid by itself would make a gorgeous luminary too!

Then, just fill your box with goodies and tie on your tag!  I love how you can make a small gift really special with just a few cut files and a little bit of effort.  Who wouldn’t smile when you gave them this bright and cheery gift?

I know one little girl who thinks this box is pretty special (caught just after she sniffed the flower unfortunately).

Thanks for stopping by today and I’d love to hear what you think!

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