Susie Bentz  continuing with the Inspiration Team Blog Takeover!  Eileen is still gadding about  “across the pond”, crafting away with lots of new friends,  so I am having a go on her blog.  Today I am sharing a honey bee themed journal  I made for my sister using Eileen’s die from Sizzix!

Bee Journal Supplies:

• Sizzix Eileen Hull Scoreboards XL Die, Journal
• Sizzix Little Sizzles Mat Board
• Leisure Arts Diamond Art Kit, Bee
• Therm O Web Eileen Hull Easy Cut Adhesive Sheets 6″ x 12″
• Therm O Web Eileen Hull Red Liner Tape, 1/4″
• Clearsnap Eileen Hull ColorBox Blends Inks – Sunshine, Golden, Nutmeg
• Emerald Creek Eileen Hull Molten Dimensions – Glistening Glass
• Rinea Metallics Foiled Paper Variety Pack 
• Sizzix Eileen Hull Textured Impressions embossing folder – Honeycomb
• Marvy Uchida Jewel Picker
• Marvy Uchida Le Pen
• Plaid Mod Podge – Gloss
• Honeycomb stencil
• Black cardstock
• Gesso, modeling paste, elastic, beads, twine, misc. dies

The Cover:

This project started with a lovely honey bee themed Diamond Art Kit from Leisure Arts.  The design is printed on a heavyweight canvas type material and the honey bee area has a coating of strong tacky adhesive. I positioned the fabric on a piece of mat board, centering the bee image and then adhering it with Eileen’s Easy Cut Adhesive Sheets.  After placing the fabric side down, so that it was facing the Journal die, I cut it using a Big Shot machine.

Because the Diamond Art kit was intended for a beginner the instructions were very clear and easy to follow – very much like a paint by numbers kit!  It was fun and relaxing and I completed the design in a couple of hours. 

The shine off of those rhinestones is really eye catching!

At this point I began to alter the background with gesso, stencils, modeling paste and Eileen’s ColorBox Blends inks.

I used Sunshine, Golden and Nutmeg inks, blending and playing until I was happy with the  color.  Next I sprinkled on Eileen’s Glistening Glass Molten Dimensions from Emerald Creek.  I had to be careful with my heat gun because if I got too close to the rhinestones they started to melt!

The Diamond Art Honey Bee is meant to be framed and hung on a wall, not handled on a daily basis.   I  added a top coat of Mod Podge to protect the design. I chose the Gloss formula because I didn’t want to lose the amazing shine!

Assembly:

For the back of the journal I covered mat board with Gold Rinea Foil paper.  I die cut the cover then used Eileen’s Honeycomb Textured Impressions embossing folder. Because the journal cover is longer than the embossing folder I had to run it through a second time. I flipped the folder to the other end of the cover and matched/ overlapped the design.

I used Eileen’s Red Line tape on the spine to hold the cover together.

Here’s a peek at the inside!  I stenciled a honeycomb design and strung black elastic to hold the signatures.

Finally I added a dangle of fun beads on the spine!

The Signatures:

There are coordinating signatures on the inside featuring die cut Rinea Foil paper.   I actually created an etched glass element for one of the covers!  (you can find a quick tutorial HERE) 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you find some time to play today!  Susie

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